26
Mar
Bismarck Schools updates system for seamless bus tracking
- Posted By: Robb Snyder
- Category Featured, Announcements
From KX News / By Amber French / Mar. 26, 2026
BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — Bismarck Public Schools (ND) is adjusting their 2-tiered bus system they launched this fall, and has found a solution to make riding the bus smoother next year.
During the 2025 school year, Bismarck Public Schools launched a 2-tiered bus system separating bell schedules for students. The change allows one driver to transport elementary and high school students at different times, helping address the ongoing driver shortage.
Each BPS bus is now equipped with a tablet that provides turn-by-turn directions and connects to their Stopfinder app. The app lets parents track the bus’s location and changes in real time.
Jason Schafer, the Transportation Supervisor for Bismarck Public Schools, says that while the app has been compatible with BPS buses, there have been issues on Harlow’s buses.
He says that because the equipment on those buses is older, it hasn’t been feeding information to the app, but that will change next year.
Schafer said, “Instead of a third party communicating with the app, they will have the Wayfinder app right on here, that’s the same product as the Stopfinder app, so the reliability on the Harlow’s general education side, should really be flawless, because we have had no issues at all at our BPS buses this year.”
According to Schafer, 30-percent of parents have activated their Stopfinder app, but he hopes that with new tablets on Harlow’s buses next year, more parents will download the app and take advantage of its functions.
Jason Schafer says one of the biggest problems he has seen with the app is not turning on notifications.
Schafer says, “When you first sign into the app, just like any app, it asks if you want to push notifications, and I don’t know about you, but I put nope, I don’t want this stuff coming through. If you say no, then you don’t get the push notification that the bus might be late or that it’s arriving inside of your geo fence, if you set up that geo fence.”
Schafer says next year, the Stopfinder app shouldn’t be an issue for parents.
He encourages parents to download and turn on push notifications on the app so that they can get instant updates and notifications on the bus route changes and delays.
