The Stopfinder Parent Engagement App is the all-in-one, easy-to-use app for viewing and sharing your child’s transportation schedule.

Note: While the District offers the Stopfinder App as a convenience to parents/guardians to remain up to date in the status of your child’s bus transportation, all parents/guardians are reminded that, as per District Policy 810 Transportation of Students, all students must be at the bus stop at least five (5) minutes before their scheduled pick-up time. Drivers will not wait for students who arrive late at the stop. If a student is not at his/her bus stop at the designated time, the bus will not return to the bus stop at a later time to pick up the student.

What the App Can Do? 

• Display your child’s daily transportation assignments — including transfer trips and stops
• Securely share your child’s schedule with other caregivers
• Provide notifications and updates related to transportation
• Send real-time vehicle location notifications based on GeoAlert regions that you create

The Stopfinder app can be a helpful and useful tool, providing the ability for parents/guardians to see where a school bus is located on its route, and to set up push notifications for when a bus reaches any designated point on its route. (Note: The District has set parameters, which will only show a school bus’s location when it is inside a specific trip window — within ten (10) minutes BEFORE and five (5) minutes AFTER your child’s specific trip.)

IMPORTANT — Please note the following:

• • “Vehicle Location Unavailable” Message — There may be times when the message, “Vehicle Location Unavailable,” appears on your child’s transportation schedule and/or on the map within the Stopfinder This message may appear because:
    
    
    • Bus location information typically take a minute or so to load, as the system obtains the GPS data. Please allow enough time for the app to load the correct data.
    • Even if the student schedule reports “vehicle location unavailable” please continue into the map portion and wait for the tracking information to load, this may take several seconds. Typically, the bus will appear and will begin tracking. (Note: To maximize the capabilities of the tracking system, please make sure you are utilizing a high-speed Wi-Fi connection.)
    • The bus is outside of the specified trip window of ten (10) minutes before and five (5) minutes after your child’s specific trip.
    • The vehicle location cannot be found because of poor cell service along the route. In some more rural areas, it may take several attempts throughout the duration of the trip before the bus location is found and becomes visible on the map.
      
      
  • Wi-Fi Connection — It is recommended that the Stopfinder app be accessed via a high-speed Wi-Fi connection to maintain the tracking portion of the app. Delays and vehicle location disruptions may occur when the app is used via a slower speed connection and/or cell service only.
    
    
  • System Reboot — Just like any other application or Web service, there may be times when you will need to completely log out of the Stopfinder App, close the application, and log back in to reboot the system.
    
    
  • GeoAlert Zones — It is very important to set up GeoAlert zones within your child’s specific trip. Doing so ensures that, even if a bus’s location is not showing or is not found, parents/guardians can still receive an alert or push notification if the vehicle crosses the GeoAlert There is no limit to the number of GeoAlerts that parent/guardian may create. The GeoAlert feature does not need to be active to receive communication alerts from Mars Area School District’s Transportation Department.

Tip: When setting your GeoAlert zone, pick a location along the highlighted route that is several minutes prior to your child’ scheduled stop to receive the notification in a timely manner. The system needs time to send and receive information; therefore, there may be a short time delay in processing the information.

How Do I Sign Up for the App?

As the Stopfinder App is directly connected to students’ transportation schedules, access to the app is by invitation only. Periodically, throughout the School Year, the District will distribute an e-mail invitation to those parents/guardians, who have yet to sign up for the app. Parents/guardians will have three (3) days from the receipt of the e-mail invitation to sign-up. Once signed up, the app can then be downloaded for free via the App Store or Google Play. 

Additional information as well as a video, offering instructions on how to the use the Stopfinder Parent Engagement App, is available via the District’s website at www.marsk12.org. Any specific questions or concerns may be addressed to the Transportation department directly at [email protected].