Berkeley Co. School District discourages use of bus app amid problems

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. (WCSC) - The Berkeley County School District alerted parents over the weekend that after issues with a new bus tracking app, it is no longer recommending its use.

In a message sent to parents Saturday night, district officials said the My Ride 360 app has “many issues impacting the app’s ability to provide school districts with consistent and reliable information.” The app was purchased by the state’s Department of Education and the expectation that school districts use the platform, the message states.

But as the district works with the app’s vendor to resolve the issues, it told parents it would provide any school bus delay information on Google documents it linked to the message.

“[The district] will not be encouraging the use of the My Ride 360 app until issues with the product are remedied so that consistent and reliable information can be provided to parents/guardians in our district,” the message states.

The app is supposed to function as a “one-stop shop” for bus rider information: tracking bus routes, drop-off locations and estimated arrival times. But on the first day of the school year, Berkeley County parents reported issues with the app.

“It doesn’t work, it isn’t showing me where the buses are. Yesterday, it didn’t have the bus on the map at all,” Moncks Corner parent Bridgette Davis said on Aug. 22. “Yesterday afternoon, the bus was at the school and disappeared. I waited at the bus stop for an hour waiting for them to come. I had no idea when they were going to come.”

The My Ride 360 app was introduced over the summer to be an added resource for bus drivers and riders coming into the new school year.

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