Bus Registration

The Ride 360 app that School District 197 uses to provide families with student transportation information will be discontinued in May 2024 and will be removed from the Apple Store and Google Play Store. 

The new app, My Ride K-12, is now available to all users and can be downloaded now in the Apple and Android app stores. Usernames and passwords from Ride 360 will carry over into My Ride K-12. Please download the My Ride K-12 app by May 1, 2024  and begin using it to ensure you are receiving accurate information regarding your student’s bus.

Once app users have downloaded and logged in to the new My Ride K-12 app, they can delete the Ride 360 app from their devices. Additionally, you can use your existing login information to access a web version of My Ride K-12 at myridek12.tylerapp.com — website user guides are available here in English and Spanish.

If you have questions, please contact the Transportation Department at 651-403-8320 or transportation@isd197.org.

For more detailed instructions on downloading the app, check out the user guide in English and Spanish. New app users may need their child's six digit Student ID which you can find in the Campus Parent Portal here.

The Transportation Department send messages and alerts through the My Ride K-12  mobile app. Parents and students can access their bus stop location, route, and pick up time on My Ride K-12. 

Please note that the Here Comes the Bus App is still available to use and a great tool for tracking the real-time location of your student's bus. Scroll down to the Here Comes the Bus Section for detail.

The following are not allowed on the school bus: 

• Guns (including play guns) 
• Knives or other sharp objects 
• Gasoline engines or cans 
• Animals, insects, or fish (unless necessary to assist a person with a disability, such as a seeing eye dog.) 
• Matches, lighters 
• Glass items 
• Laser pens 
• Skis, ski poles, hockey sticks 
• Skateboards, scooters 
• Skates — ice and inline 
• Golf clubs, lacrosse sticks
• Baseball bats (unless secured in a backpack)
• Balloons 
• Sleds 
• Rakes 
• Hazardous material 
• Perfumed item such as hairspray (including pumps and aerosol). Items may be carried — but not used — inside the bus. 
• Fingernail polish and fingernail polish remover. 
• Food and Beverages 
• Balls must be kept in a backpack

How will I know which bus my child takes? 
Families receive a postcard the week before school starts showing bus stop locations, bus numbers and times for the school(s) your child(ren) attends. 

Busing for after-school activities will be provided on a limited basis for students in grades 5-12 who stay after school to participate in school activities. A map with activity bus routes is posted at each secondary school. Students identify which bus they ride by locating the bus route which travels closest to their home. Bus stop locations for activity routes may be different than the bus stop locations for to and from school routes. Activity Bus Schedule.

We live close to our child's school. Will busing be provided? 
Bus transportation is available to resident:

• Elementary school students (grades K-4) who live more than 0.75 mile from school 
• Middle school students (grades 5-8) who live more than 1 mile from school 
• High school students (grades 9-12) who live more than 2 miles from school

Students who are eligible to ride a bus and want to receive transportation must register by August 1 each year.

Resident students who are not eligible to ride a bus may request bus service for a fee.

How are bus stop locations determined? 
Bus stops are established so students in grades K-4 who live three quarters of a mile or more from their school, 5-12 who live one mile or more from school are transported to the school in their attendance area. 

Our goal is to consistently identify bus stops in neighborhoods on the basis of safety, efficiency and distance between stops. Generally bus stops are located at an intersection in order for the driver to have a wide area to scan for traffic and students, to create efficient routes and to minimize buses backing up. Please note:

• School bus drivers do not have the authority to change bus routes or student pickup/drop off locations. 
• Bus stops are placed at locations that meet defined criteria, are centrally located and within reasonable walking distances from the student’s home. 
• Activity routes are available. Click here for the Activity Bus Schedule or check with your secondary school as to depart times and bus stop locations. Bus stops are within walking distance from students' homes.

Why do some children have to cross the street to board the school bus? 
We are not able to route buses so that all children can board the bus on the door side. We recommend that children wait on the side of the street that they reside. The bus will stop traffic in all directions to accommodate students that need to cross the street to board the bus. 

We live on a cul-de-sac. Will the bus come down our street? 
Except to transport special education students, buses are not routed down cul-de-sacs because of the danger to small children and property caused by the bus turning around and/or backing up in a small area. 

Our neighborhood has no sidewalks and has hills and curves. Can we have an additional bus stop so our children do not have to walk to the existing stop? 
With the large number of streets and bus stops in our school district, it is necessary for some students to walk on roads that have hills, curves and/or no sidewalks. 

I cannot see the bus stop from my house. 
The school district provides transportation to and from school for more than 6,000 students each day. We are not able to position bus stops so that all parents are able to see the stop from their home. 

My child carries a large musical instrument and/or a heavy backpack; or he/she is the only student using the bus stop, the stop needs to be closer to our home. 
Generally, bus stops are centrally located for all students. Bus stops are not changed to accommodate one or more students because that may displace other students further from their home. Even though other students are not all riding the bus we must keep bus stops as they have been published. A central bus stop is necessary because other students may begin riding the bus or new families may move into the neighborhood. 

It is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child arrives safely at the bus stop. 

The bus drives right past my house. Why can’t it stop at my house? 
The higher frequency of stops can make the motoring public “impatient.” This results in drivers driving around the bus and causes greater safety concerns than the distance a student has to walk to the bus stop. It also delays the bus by increasing the number of stops, making overall student ride time longer. 

I own a daycare and need the stop at my house because the state requires me to see the students at all times. Why can’t the bus stop be located at my house? 
As noted above, bus stops are centrally located and at intersections. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the daycare provider to get the students to the bus stop. 

I have young children at home and/or I leave home because of work. 
In order to be consistent and fair in placement of bus stops, the school district is not able to establish stops based on personal circumstances. 

What is the maximum length of time for a bus route?
Routes will be established so no student rides the bus for more than one hour and 15 minutes one way.

What do I need to do? 

• Arrange for your students to be at their bus stop five minutes before the scheduled pick-up time. 
• Be aware that the bus will pick up and drop off students at the same stop every day school is in session. 
• Help your children learn their bus numbers. 
• Review bus safety rules with your children. 
• Accompany younger children to the bus stop and meet the bus at the end of the day for the first days of school, or arrange for an older child or child care provider to be at the bus stop for the first days of school. All students in grades K-12 will be dropped off at their stop location whether or not parents/guardians are present.
• Understand that the bus pick-up and drop-off times are based on existing weather and road conditions. Traffic congestion, road construction, inclement weather and population changes may cause minor adjustments in pick-up times. Parents will be notified of any major changes in bus schedules that will affect their child.

What if my child needs to be dropped off at a different stop? 
Students will not be picked up or dropped off at a destination other than their assigned bus stop. Students are only allowed one pick up stop and one take home bus stop. For example, we receive requests from parents for their student to be dropped off at one stop two days a week and another stop three days a week. Multiple drop off sites are not permitted. 

Bus stop request forms must be completed and sent to the transportation department for processing. We will review bus stop change request forms after the third week of school. Please note that forms must be fully completed in order to be processed. Families will be contacted if stop changes/requests are approved.

If your bus stop change request is based on a change of address, please contact your student's school to make the address change first. 

Please complete this form only after reviewing Frequently Asked Questions on https://www.isd197.org/district/departments/transportation. If you feel you have a request that is not answered in the this section, you may submit your request in writing to: 

School District 197 Transportation Department
1145 Medallion Drive
Mendota Heights, MN 55120

When making your request, please keep in mind:

• Bus Stop & Routing Criteria applies to all riders.

• Buses will not travel into cul-de-sacs, private roads (i.e. apartment complexes and home associations), dead-end streets, or other areas where they cannot safely maneuver. An exception to this may be a bus that is transporting students with disabilities. All students, regardless of age or grade who reside in these areas will need to walk to the assigned bus stop regardless of distance.

• Availability of sidewalks is not part of the criteria used in establishing bus stops. 

• Buses drive by many students’ homes every day. The bus driving by doesn’t warrant adding/changing a bus stop.

• Visibility from the home to the bus stop is not part of our criteria for establishing bus stops. Bus stops are collection points in neighborhoods. If a parent/guardian is concerned about watching their child at the stop they will need to walk with them and supervise them at the bus stop. We strongly encourage parents/guardians to arrange for an adult to be at the bus stop whenever students are present.

• In order to be consistent and fair in placement of bus stops, we cannot establish stops based on personal circumstances such as employment, day care, or siblings.

• Bus drivers do not have the legal authority to make bus stop changes; doing so may result in disciplinary action up to termination. A temporary exception may be made by the driver due to inclement weather or other temporary circumstances. In each case the transportation department must be notified in advance by the driver.

No stop changes will be made or reviewed until after the first three weeks of school.

The District’s Transportation Department is now using My Ride K-12—a school bus tracking app for your mobile device. The app provides a bus-location function, provides all of your bus stop/pickup information, and sends push notifications when your student’s buses are running late. Please note that the bus-location function in the My Ride K-12 app is different from a real-time GPS tracking system like the Here Comes the Bus app. The Here Comes the Bus app is still available to use for tracking the real-time location of your student's bus.

Downloading and using the My Ride K-12 app is easy—simply download the My Ride K-12 app to your phone, select “School District 197” and follow the prompts to register your student. You will need your child's six-digit Student ID, which you can find in the Campus Parent Portal here or contact your child’s school. For more detailed instructions on downloading the app, check out the My Ride K-12 tab above.

Communication Methods:

You can expect to hear from us by the following methods when buses are running late:

• My Ride K-12 mobile app: Push notifications will be sent to registered app users when buses are running 10 or more minutes late. 
• Here Comes the Bus App: Real-time bus tracking is available.
• District Text and Email Message: A text and email will be sent to families when buses are running 10 or more minutes late.

Please note: We are aware that both My Ride K-12 and Here Comes the Bus apps may experience intermittent malfunctions. We are in constant communication with the vendors to improve accuracy and reliability.

If you have questions about this process, please contact the Transportation team at 651-403-8320, 651-403-8324 for Spanish, or email at transportation@isd197.org.