By Shauna Seaver
The Idaho district transports more than 20,000 students to a wide variety of educational programs. Parents are kept up to date on their students’ locations through Tyler Technologies’ Student Transportation solutions.
For K-12 transportation departments, the first month of school is notoriously hectic. Drivers are getting to know their students and routes, students are attempting to board the wrong buses, and phones are ringing off the hook with parent questions and requests. It was no different at West Ada School District (WASD), Idaho. Routing Specialist Erin Sweeney said, “Directors, interns, temps, you name it — everyone was here answering phones at the district transportation office during the first month of school.” The district needed a solution to help them manage student ridership, improve efficiency, and proactively communicate with parents.
WASD began looking for routing software that could connect all aspects of transportation management and chose Tyler Technologies’ Student Transportation solution. Sweeney said, “One of the things that stood out to us about Student Transportation was the many pieces that work together — being able to have student ID badges, a parent communication app, and onboard tablets for the drivers.” These connected solutions were especially important due to the complexity of the district’s transportation services. “We’re the biggest district in Idaho,” Sweeney said. The district’s size creates a variety of educational offerings, from career and technical education and extracurricular classes to gifted and talented programs and after-school activities. “We move our kids all throughout the district to make sure they can get to the opportunities available to them.”
West Ada School District’s transportation team received a 2025 Tyler Excellence Award in the category of Equity & Access.
With a fleet of buses and shuttles always on the move, WASD added student scan badges and My Ride K-12, Tyler’s integrated parent communication app, to increase transparency for parents. With the My Ride K-12 app, parents can see when and where their student scans onto the bus, monitor the bus ETA, and receive push notifications from the district if there is a delay. The ability to communicate with parents via My Ride K-12 has significantly reduced the number of phone calls to the transportation office. Sweeney said, “In the past, our fleet contractor even had to hire temps to answer phones, and we don’t have to do that now. I know that’s because of My Ride K-12. The parents know where their students are going or why they’re late — messages are sent right to them. They’re able to look on the app and get an idea of where the bus is and how far away it is from their stop. The number of calls went down immensely because parents weren’t panicking when the bus didn’t show up on time.”
The My Ride K-12 app has also helped West Ada School District better serve their diverse and multi-cultural population. The district serves families who speak 85 different native languages. Increasing community access to transportation tools with multiple language settings, such as My Ride K-12, was a top priority for West Ada. Sweeney said, “Previously, families had to call our office and rely on translators, delaying responses. Now, with the app’s multilingual capabilities, they can access real-time information in their preferred language — empowering them with immediate, self-service support.”
Student scan badges have also helped drive efficiency in the district’s transportation operations. Sweeney said, “Getting the kiddos and the bus drivers to scan the students in and out has really helped us know who’s riding where, where we need more buses, and where we need less.” The information the district gains from those badge scans helps them use their resources more effectively, such as shifting a bus to a different school or cancelling a shuttle that’s underused.
For efficiency, student safety, and parent transparency, Tyler’s Student Transportation solutions have helped West Ada School District provide a higher level of service. “Before Tyler, we couldn’t see a student’s full transportation schedule in one place. The software helps us know where we need buses from the routing standpoint and it allows us to give our students what they actually need.”
Sweeney and the transportation team at West Ada School District have recently been recognized for their work in ensuring their students have access to the district’s many educational opportunities, winning a 2025 Excellence Award from Tyler Technologies for Equity & Access.
Shauna Seaver is a Content Marketing Specialist at Tyler Technologies, a leading provider of integrated software and technology services for the public sector. Shauna specializes in stories that amplify the voices of school administrators and transportation teams that use technology to improve district operations to best serve their students.
Email: info@tylertech.com
Phone: 833.895.3783