Parents soon will have a new tool to access transportation information for their children as the Mars Area School District rolls out the new Stopfinder Parent Engagement App on March 14.

The app provides families with school bus schedule information and GPS-based alerts to know when a student’s school bus is departing or arriving.

Mars Area school board members previously approved purchase of the app licenses and GPS hardware in November. Parents now will have the chance to access the app with sign-up information sent through the district’s Skyward family access portal.

“They have to have an email invitation from the district. They can download the app, but they won’t be able to use it without the email invitation,” Christina Smith, transportation director, said.

The app is free for parents to download from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Parents can set “GeoAlert” zones with the app, which provide notifications when a student’s bus arrives or departs from any location along its route.

“They are customizable as far as size, and there’s no limit to the amount of GeoAlerts that they can set,” Smith said. “If they wanted to set them up at home or at school, it just has to be in the path of the bus.”

The district also will be able to communicate directly with families in the event of a bus delay, traffic jam or other urgent situation, Smith said.

“We’re excited,” she added. “Hopefully, it will be a big help to parents, and they’ll enjoy it.”