Notifications
Slow to notify and not all options show up, edit/delete buttons do not show for me. Maybe it’s not capable either my iPhone. Not sure the reason!! I also can’t edit the times for it to notify me, and I have to be in the app to get them, I don’t get alerted by text or anything, and I can’t put in my email.
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Tracker rarely works
The tracker rarely works when needed. Sometimes it will work for a minute then the bus icon disappears from the map leaving the app useless.
Good
It actually really helps my child knowing her buses near and it’s really sweet and I think you should get it because it helps your child know where her buses is and this bus company is really good
Horribly app
Can’t even see where the bus actually is, constantly refreshing screens zooms out. Only allowed a radius.
Locates bus but annoys constantly
It checks the box for bus location, but the annoying bugs make it clear this isn’t a business priority.
My guess is that they had an intern or family member develop the app. They may fix the bugs this coming summer depending on availability and skill gains of the intern.
My guess is that they had an intern or family member develop the app. They may fix the bugs this coming summer depending on availability and skill gains of the intern.
Not like a GPS
The radius is too large to pinpoint exactly where the bus is located on the map
On and off
One day work one day doesn’t. How can you trust an app if they don’t work consistently. I don’t know why school spend tons of money for this garbage.
Buses
You can’t change the time to see where the bus is when it is running late
Ok Bus App
App has less downtime than others. I really wish it had bus location timestamps. It is an important piece of data to tell if tool is accurate.
Also, UI has wasted space and constantly zooms out as app refreshes.
Lastly, AM window closes too early on two hour delays and you can no longer see the bus. That may be a district setup thing though.
Also, UI has wasted space and constantly zooms out as app refreshes.
Lastly, AM window closes too early on two hour delays and you can no longer see the bus. That may be a district setup thing though.
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Needs audible notifications
Recent updates have improved reliability, but still misses notifications occasionally. Needs an audio notification so I don’t have to keep checking the app (I use an Alexa reminder to check the app). Changes/delays to the bus route should come via push notification too. Overall, it gets the job done.
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Glitchy but gets the job done
The main purpose, to see where the bus is and how soon it will be here, works great. That’s the important thing. However, it’s a bit annoying that it has you set a home zone only to have the map center on a spot nowhere near my set home zone. And worse, I move it to my home area, only to have it recenter every time the bus moves. And naturally it’s also not centering anywhere near where the bus is either. Makes no sense and is really annoying. But at least it works for the main goal.
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Useless app
Showing me notification that the bus is within Abbot Lawrence Academy while it is still stuck in route 495, my child is waiting more than 40 minutes in this cold weather.
So helpful!
We struggled knowing when the bus was coming to our stop, and hated to see my kids waiting for the bus out in the cold. This app is a game changer
Some display bugs
Auto-zooms to five-mile-wide view every time the location moves.
Translucent grey double bar appears over map always.
Translucent grey double bar appears over map always.
Seemingly Worse and Worse
The latest update has made this even more useless. Now the buses aren’t showing up at all. Notifications only appear if the app is open. If a bus does appear it always jumping from one spot to another.
So promising, but some disappointments
Our school district bus service changed this year and started using this app. I like it for the most part. Most days we get notified when the bus enters the zones I’ve indicated, though notifications are spotty.
For example sometimes notifications fail when the bus doesn’t appear on the app. That make sense because the servers are not updating. But other times I am in the app and can see the bus, but never got a notification. One of the biggest frustrations is in the apps UI. I see the bus doesn’t appear so I zoom in to follow it. Every 10-15 seconds the map zooms back out. There is no way to keep it zoomed in. This must have happened when they released a recent update because this was not an issue at first.
Overall it’s ok and better than the old way of just waiting. But the system is not perfect and the user interface has some bugs.
For example sometimes notifications fail when the bus doesn’t appear on the app. That make sense because the servers are not updating. But other times I am in the app and can see the bus, but never got a notification. One of the biggest frustrations is in the apps UI. I see the bus doesn’t appear so I zoom in to follow it. Every 10-15 seconds the map zooms back out. There is no way to keep it zoomed in. This must have happened when they released a recent update because this was not an issue at first.
Overall it’s ok and better than the old way of just waiting. But the system is not perfect and the user interface has some bugs.
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Response from developer
Thank you for sharing your feedback. Regarding bus being in the zone, but not getting notifications, we only notify if bus comes into zone within the route times. So, we don't send erroneous notification if bus is in the zone area outside of route times for some reason. We understand that it is very frustrating when it zoom out. The current default zoom was originally designed to protect privacy in cases where buses make door-to-door stops, but we recognize this approach isn’t ideal for routes that transport students from pool stops. Our team is actively reviewing enhancements to keep the map focused on the bus without unnecessary resets. We’d also love to connect with you to gather additional feedback and ideas to improve the app. If you’re interested, please email us at beaconconnect@gobeacon.com so we can schedule a quick call at a time that works best for you.
Unpleasant app
Why is the default map view of bus location zoomed extremely far out to show nearly the entire city? And why does the app reset to this useless zoomed out view whenever the bus moves? I’m begging developers to use their own apps.
Even worse
The latest update has made this even more useless. Now the buses aren’t showing up at all.
Response from developer
Sorry about this experience. It’s possible your district chose to remove the “Follow Bus” feature and allow geo notifications only. Please email us at beaconconnect@gobeacon.com and include your district name—we’ll confirm your district’s configuration and guide you on available options.
Very accurate
Nice to be able to time it when the kids need to walk up to the bus or get home. Working really well.
Unreliable
The bus is always jumping all over the place. Notifications are spotty at best. Seems like a good idea just needs more work. A lot.
