# FirstView Classic

> Real-time school bus tracking for parents with arrival estimates and alerts. (iPhone/iPad app by Firstgroup America Inc.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/firstview-classic/id1188696043 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Firstgroup America Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/868213520)
- Category: Education, Travel
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.40/5 from 12,178 App Store ratings · 132 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 12.0 · 59 MB
- Languages: American English, Canadian French, Mexican Spanish
- Released: 2017-02-07
- Data updated: 2026-06-10
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/firstview-classic/id1188696043/reviews.md

## What is FirstView Classic?

IMPORTANT: FirstView Classic app is now retired. We’ve launched a new version called FirstView 1.0, built to better support your school bus tracking needs. 
Please install our new app, FirstView 1.0, now available in the App Store.


Designed with parents, for parents – FirstView®, powered by First Student, makes you a part of your student’s journey. To school. From school. Every day.

FirstView® is your resource for knowing the location of your student’s bus, estimated arrival times at your student’s stop and when your student’s bus arrives or departs their school. FirstView® is a partnership between First Student and the school districts we serve, bringing increased transparency and communication about the school bus for students and their families. Currently, FirstView® is only available to a small number of school districts but we are working hard to offer it to as many districts as possible! Please contact your school district or our FirstView® support team if you would like to know if FirstView® is available for you.

Dedicated Customer Support
• Contact FirstView® Monday – Friday by:
	- Calling the toll-free phone number 888-889-8920 from 7:00 a.m. EST to 5:00 p.m. EST;
	- Emailing Customer Support at support@firstviewapp.com; or
	- Using the in-app messaging to provide feedback.

Live Tracking
• The FirstView® map screen shows you the live location and direction of your student’s bus, your student's stop schedule for the current day and timestamps for school arrivals and departures.

Predictive Stop Arrival Times
• Analyzing route and real-time GPS data, we determine an estimated time of arrival to your stop provided on the FirstView® map.

Custom Alerts and Messages
• Set up push or email notifications alerting you when your student's bus is a chosen distance or number of minutes away from your stop.
• Receive push messages about why your student’s bus is late and an estimation of how long it will be delayed.

Multi-Stop View
• Buses for all your students can be tracked with FirstView®. Using individual colors for each student, every selected stop appears on the map simultaneously for easy viewing and differentiation.

Additional User Notifications
• The main user of the FirstView® app can connect three additional email accounts to receive email alerts.

Secure and Easy Access
• FirstView® requires a password-protected account along with your student’s ID for app set-up. This way, only you can view your student’s stop.
• Register and log-in from your smartphone, tablet or desktop.

## Key features

- Live bus location tracking
- Estimated stop arrival times
- School arrival and departure timestamps
- Customizable push and email notifications
- Multi-student bus tracking
- Secure password-protected access

## What do users think of FirstView Classic?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🚀 Reliable most of the time
- 🚀 Convenient
- 🚀 Accurate
- 🚀 Wonderful until it works
- 🚀 Overall good

**Cons**

- 🐛 Gross overestimation of time
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
- 🐛 Tracking unavailable
- 🐛 Inaccurate ETA
- 🐛 Lags or stops
- 🐛 GPS does not work
- 🐛 Tracking is off
- 🐛 Time is always wrong
- 🐛 Archaic app
- 🐛 Keeps signing out
- 🐛 Alerts only when bus is on time
- 🐛 Terrible
- 🐛 Doesn't update properly
- 🐛 App constantly forgets student
- 🐛 Delay
- 🐛 Not accurate and detailed enough
- 🐛 Needs update
- 🐛 Waste of time to look at
- 🐛 It doesn't update properly
- 🐛 Delay
- 🐛 Gps data always delayed
- 🐛 Completely worthless app
- 🐛 Not reliable app
- 🐛 No good
- 🐛 Keeps getting kicked out of my account
- 🐛 The app doesn't work
- 🐛 Bus tracking feature doesn't work
- 🐛 Lags... by a lot
- 🐛 Never Accurate
- 🐛 GPS does not work!
- 🐛 It's never accurate
- 🐛 It worked fine until 3 weeks
- 🐛 Bus NEVER ARRIVED!!!
- 🐛 This app is CRAP
- 🐛 Worst App Ever!
- 🐛 Useless

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Student profile gets deleted due to errors
- Bus not showing in app
- Tracking unavailable
- Constantly have to re-add pickup and dropoff locations
- App forgets student information
- GPS tracking not available with sub drivers
- Doesn't track combined routes or alternate buses

**Most requested features**

- Modify distance for notification to 5km
- Highlight bus route and pickup/dropoff locations
- Color code buses by route
- Allow selecting bus for specific days
- Add ability to notify driver if child won't be riding
- Provide full screen option

## Recent user reviews (10 of 132)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/firstview-classic/id1188696043/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Not good

*2025-05-27, version 2024.1.3*

App could be better very inconsistent location of buses and need to integrate dynamic island to track bus on screen

### 3/5 — My opinion matters

*2025-05-22*

I enjoy the fact that I am able to have a rough estimation as to where my children are on the way to and from school. Some downfalls of this app are the little two absolutely zero communication between first view and the Buffalo school bus system, also the accuracy of when the children are on their way home from school. There’s been a number of occasions where it will be an indication of 15 minutes until my child would be at their stop and in actuality they’re already there. I can’t thank you enough for this app. Overall it’s a great app.

### 1/5 — Stopped working; no help

*2025-05-19, version 2024.1.3*

The bus tracking worked the first couple of weeks then nothing. No alerts, no tracking. I’ve uninstalled and reinstalled. Turned off and on notifications. Nothing. Useless.

### 1/5 — trash

*2025-05-12, version 2024.1.3*

i don't think it can gauge time correctly at all

### 4/5 — First view

*2025-04-22, version 2024.1.3*

Pretty accurate very helpful when
Properly running

### 4/5 — Works 90% of the time

*2025-04-15, version 2024.1.3*

This app is great, but sometime it doesn’t track at all and the beginning of every school year there are problems. Even though first app
Know’s when school starts they are not prepared.

### 1/5 — Clunky

*2025-03-13, version 2024.1.3*

Frustrating to use.  Frequently inaccurate.  Forced to log in every time.  The map doesn’t work.  I have to wonder in 2025 how an app like this can be so clunky and user unfriendly.  My 8 year old is taking STEM classes.  Thinking he might be able to take a stab at this.

### 1/5 — Great idea but horrible execution

*2025-03-06, version 2024.1.3*

Bus just jumped from 15 minutes to my stop about 2 miles away to 2 min past

### 1/5 — Where

*2025-02-20, version 2024.1.3*

Does not work for fish bus…very aggravating especially on cold mornings and snowy afternoons.

### 2/5 — Buggy

*2025-02-20, version 2024.1.3*

I’ve had problems all year with the app requiring me to login every day. Checking the box to tell it to remember me does nothing, I still have to manually enter my username and password every day. Then for months it was displaying an annoying hi banner telling me that there were new features in the newest version and that I should upgrade. But I was already on that version. Every time I login I’m shown the initial login wizard and I have to skip it. This wouldn’t be as problematic if there was support for Face ID, but having to re-authenticate every day gets old real quick. Support was friendly but ultimately not helpful. This app has potential but with current problems it needs some attention.
UPDATE: February 2025, the problems persist. This school year the app has forgotten the student associated with my account twice.

## Frequently asked questions about FirstView Classic

### What does the FirstView Classic app do?

The FirstView Classic app is designed to provide parents with real-time information about their student's school bus. It allows users to see the live location of the bus, estimated arrival times at their stop, and timestamps for when the bus arrives at or departs from school.

### What are the key features of FirstView Classic?

Key features include live bus tracking on a map, predictive stop arrival times based on GPS data, customizable push and email notifications for bus proximity or delays, and the ability to track buses for multiple students simultaneously with color-coded stops.

### Is FirstView Classic free to use?

Yes, the FirstView Classic app is offered free of charge to parents. There are no in-app purchases or advertisements mentioned in the description.

### What are the system requirements for FirstView Classic?

The app requires a password-protected account and the student's ID for setup. It can be registered and logged into from a smartphone, tablet, or desktop computer, indicating broad compatibility across devices.

### Who is the target audience for FirstView Classic?

This app is intended for parents who want to stay informed about their child's school bus journey. It is particularly useful for parents whose school districts partner with First Student and offer this tracking service.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2024.1.4 — 2025-07-01

Please Download the New FirstView 1.0 App


FirstView Classic is no longer supported. To continue using FirstView:


1. Delete this app, FirstView Classic.
2. Download FirstView 1.0 from the App Store.


Thank you for using FirstView—we’re excited to bring you an enhanced experience in the new app!
For questions, contact support@myfirstview.com.

### 2024.1.3 — 2024-11-13

FirstView Classic is available for any First Student yellow bus parent whose school district has been utilizing the bus tracking product prior to the 2024-2025 School Year. 
This update includes:

• Fixed an issue for two schools with the same name and same stops causing incorrect trip tracking.

If you experience any app issues or have feedback, contact us at support@firstviewapp.com

### 2024.1.2 — 2024-10-15

FirstView Classic is available for any First Student yellow bus parent whose school district has been utilizing the bus tracking product prior to the 2024-2025 School Year. 
This update includes:

• Addressed 'Now Online' remaining on the screen.
• A few other minor bugs from user reports. 

If you experience any app issues or have feedback, contact us at support@firstviewapp.com

### 2024.1.1 — 2024-09-27

FirstView Classic is available for any First Student yellow bus parent whose school district has been utilizing the bus tracking product prior to the 2024-2025 School Year. 
This update includes:

• Fixed a bug with translations and walkthroughs
• Resolved logout issues and built protections around loss of network

If you experience any app issues or have feedback, contact us at support@firstviewapp.com

### 2024.1 — 2024-09-21

FirstView Classic is available for any First Student yellow bus parent whose school district has been utilizing the bus tracking product prior to the 2024-2025 School Year. 
This update includes:

• Updated push notification system
• Bug fixes and performance updates

If you experience any app issues or have feedback, contact us at support@firstviewapp.com

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## More apps by Firstgroup America Inc

- [First Student Connect](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/first-student-connect/id1235084766)
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All apps by Firstgroup America Inc: https://appshunter.io/developer/868213520

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-06-10.*