There are many mTransport apps on the stores. Which one should I use?
What is mTransport?
mTransport is a logistics solutions for managing students and vehicles. mTransport raises student security by improving communications quality, reliability, and simplicity, between everyone involved in school transportation.
How does mTransport work?
In the mTransport – Driver application, the driver of school bus, minibus or car sees the list of stops and students on his route. Students register when they board or leave the vehicle by showing their card to the reader, or the driver indicates himself manually the information about their presence.
The information is sent to the mTransport system which in turn sends notifications to parents, so they know in real time who is responsible for their child. The notification indicates when the information was manually provided by the driver.
What is the purpose of the mTransport App?
The mTransport app for parents aims at bringing peace of mind to them. Its main feature is to send notifications regarding the school transportation. More functions are also available, like quickly accessing the contact information of the school, or announcing the absence of a student to the bus driver.
What notifications will I receive?
In the mobile app, you can select which notification is useful to you
- Vehicle on its way: to be notified when the bus leaves the stop right before yours.
- Got on the bus: to be notified when your child gets on the bus, or does not, at her/his stop in the morning or at school in the afternoon.
- Got off the bus: to be notified when your child gets off the bus at school in the morning, or at her/his stop in the afternoon.
- Declared absences: to be notified when a guardian (yourself or another authorized parent for your child) declares an absence to come in the near future.
Picked up/drop off notification specifies when the information is manually provided by the driver (stated by driver), in situations where no card was scanned.
Notifications are also sent in the following cases: when mTransport is not used on the trip, when its use is interrupted, when parents notifications are temporarily disabled (to let some time to the driver to get used to this new work tool).
How many notifications will I receive?
The notifications are for three types of events. When the school vehicle approaches your child’s stop, when your child gets on board (or not), when he gets off board. Parents will also get notifications when exceptional events occur. In the app, the preferences menu lets you decide what info you want to receive.
I received a “Vehicle on its way” notifications but the bus had already left my stop. Why?
A notifications takes in average 3 seconds to be received, but telecom and Internet networks may sometimes delay the delivery. The system triggers a “Vehicle on its way” notification as soon as the vehicle leaves the stop right before yours. If that stop is very close to yours, the notification will not reach you well ahead of time. If the vehicle or your phone experience a temporary weak network connexion, you could receive the notification after the vehicle has passed. We know how parents appreciate a reliable notification ahead of time, and we are working on an evolution of that feature.
Why does mTransport services not work today?
mTransport service doesn’t work when the mTransport Driver’s app is not used aboard the school transportation vehicule.
Possibles reasons : a substitute driver who has not been trained for mTransport, a substitute vehicle without tablet mount, etc.
Why are notifications presently disabled?
When mTransport starts being used on a new school transportation routes, a running-in period is planned to let time for drivers and children to get used to this new tool.
During this period, parents can not receive notification from mTransport. School transportation managers will decide when they want to activate parents notifications and will then let parents know when they are invited to participate in mTransport.
Notifications can also be temporarily suspended by managers when a new driver is assigned to a route, for the driver to get used to mTransport.
Why is attendance not tracked in the vehicle of my child?
Transport managers may choose not to activate attendance tracking features for a vehicle. They then limit themselves to following only the progress of the course without recording the boarding and offboarding of students. Their choice depends on internal organizational considerations and may change over time depending on the needs they identify.
How are the data concerning school transport protected?
We attach great importance to the security of the data entrusted to us, and to all aspects of their use.
A strict agreement is put in place with each transport manager (school board, transport consortium) concerning sensitive transport data. The data remains the property of the transport manager at all times and can only be used for the mTransport service. The steps of data transmission, storage and processing are subject to encryption, security, access control and confidentiality requirements. Data is purged and destroyed at the end of its useful life for the manager, every summer. Of course, no copy is kept.
We agree with the Transportation Manager that only the minimum information necessary to deliver the service be provided, and that a precautionary principle applies at all times.
Can I disable the notification feature?
Yes. In the app, the preferences section allows you to disable all notifications, or only the ones not relevant to you. Even without notifications, you can access the latest events, the event history, and other features.
What happens when I declare the absence of my child via the mTransport application?
When you declare that your child will be absent from a trip, using the the calendar within the mTransport application, all guardians will be notified right away that an absence was announced.
During that trip, when the driver arrives at your child’s stop, the system will indicate that the child has been declared absent by a guardian. This avoids the driver from waiting for your child.
If you registered to get notifications, you will still receive them for this trip. They will inform you that the bus is on its way and then that, as announced, your child did not show up at the bus stop.
Can I use my mTransport account on two different devices?
Yes, you can set your account on as many devices as you like, but all your devices will share the same notification preferences.
One of my children does not show up in the list in mTransport app
If one of your children does not appear, make sure of the following with your school :
- Does your child’s school uses mTransport?
- Does your child’s school vehicle uses mTransport? (participating vehicles are equipped with a tablet and the mTransport Driver app)
- Is the email address registered in your child’s file exactly the same as the email address you use when you log in mTransport?
I have a question or comment regarding the transport itself. Who should I contact?
The school board or your children’s school remain the key contacts for everything regarding school transportation.
I would like my school to provide the mTransport service. What should I do?
Let us know about your interest. Talk to your school institution, your transport provider, and other parents about mTransport. It is simple and easy to start using it.
I have another question or a comment about the mTransport app. Can I talk to a human?
Of course! The mTransport team will gladly help you. You may contact us via phone or email.
Phone : (514) 447-3772
Email : support@mtransport.ca
For any question relative to school transportation itself, please refer to your usual contacts (carriers, school…). mTransport team is not empowered to give you information about school trips.
