Hillsborough school district launches new app to help parents track kids' buses

The Hillsborough County School district launched a new cell phone app Monday that will help parents track their kids' buses.

Parents can sign up for the app, called "Here Comes the Bus," by using their child's student identification number. The app will then send alerts when the bus is leaving school and when it's within a designated radius of the parent's home.

"This is all about safety," said Hillsborough Superintendent Addison Davis. "This is all about making it more convenient to our parents. This is all about taking care of our students along the way."

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Davis believes the app will also help families better prepare when a bus is arriving late, which continues to be an issue due to a driver shortage.

In the second semester, students will be able to swipe ridership cards when they get on and off the bus, so their parents will have that information too.

Roughly 90,000 students in Hillsborough County schools ride the bus.