Stopfinder app provides real-time school transportation location

From The Mecklenburg Sun / Jan. 27, 2026

Parents and guardians of Mecklenburg County Public Schools (VA) students now have a tool to stay informed about their child’s school transportation.

Thanks to a recent initiative by the transportation department, a new app called Stopfinder has been installed on school buses, offering a user-friendly and comprehensive solution for tracking student transportation schedules and bus locations.

Stopfinder offers easy access student’s daily transportation assignments, including transfer trips and bus stops, all in one place.

Using GeoAlert regions, Stopfinder sends real-time vehicle location notifications. This means that parents or guardians can see exactly where their child’s bus is along its route and receive alerts as it approaches or leaves key locations.

The app provides instant updates and notifications related to the student’s transportation. Whether there’s a change in schedule or an update from the transportation department, Stopfinder users will be informed right away.

The app also allows parents and guardians to securely share their child’s schedule with designated caregivers, ensuring everyone involved stays up to date. While access to student schedules is granted only to the student’s designated contacts by the transportation department, the designated contacts may, at their discretion, share the schedule with additional caregivers.

Brian Dalton, MCPS executive director of facilities and operations said, “with Stopfinder, parents and guardians gain peace of mind by knowing the whereabouts of their child’s school bus in real time. The ability to securely share schedules with caregivers ensures that everyone responsible for the student’s well-being has accurate and up-to-date transportation information. The app streamlines communication, increases safety, and reduces uncertainty during daily drop-off and pick-up times.”

For this app to work properly, “it is essential that the transportation department has accurate and up-to-date information about pick up and drop off locations for all bus riders,” he said.

To take advantage of these features, parents and guardians need to download the Stopfinder app, available in both the App Store and Google Play. After downloading, they’ll receive an invitation via email to activate a Stopfinder account.

Access is provided only to student-designated contacts by the transportation department, ensuring security and privacy. Once the student profile and GeoAlert region is set up, users of the program will begin receiving timely notifications and will always be in the loop regarding their child’s transportation schedule and bus location.

If you have not received an email invitation to register for Stopfinder, or if you have questions, contact the MCPS Transportation Department at (434) 738-6771.