The PRSD Bus Attendance Card is an ID card that contains your child's name and a number that is only readable by our attendance system. It helps us take attendance quickly and safely as students get on and off the bus.

The bus attendance cards provide an improved, secure, and reliable way for students to board and exit the bus, automatically recording student attendance, allowing drivers to focus their attention fully on the safe loading and unloading of students.

In the rare event a child gets off at the wrong stop, the card record allows our staff to immediately confirm where they exited, focusing search efforts instantly and reducing critical response time.

The cards also help both regular and spare drivers ensure every student boards the correct bus and exits at their assigned, correct stop.

You are responsible for making sure your child has their Bus Attendance Card every day they ride the bus. We recommend attaching it to a strong badge reel. The cards are readable through phone wallet attachments, and other card protection sleeves.

If a student occasionally forgets their attendance card, they will still be able to ride the bus as our drivers do have the ability to manually record attendance, if required. To help students keep track of their attendance cards, we recommend attaching it to a lanyard or badge reel.

If your child loses or breaks their card, please contact the PRSD Transportation office immediately (780-624-3006) for a replacement. We will issue one replacement card per student free of charge, however, subsequent replacements may be subject to a small fee.

The card needs to be held fairly close to the card reader for the system to read it correctly. To help students keep track of their attendance cards, we recommend attaching it to a lanyard or badge reel

No, every student will be issued just one card that will work on each bus they are registered to ride.

Bus notes will continue to operate as they always have. When a parent requests a bus note for their child to take an emergency ride to a different location on a bus they do not normally use, the school office will process this request and create a bus note. This note will be given to the driver, and the transportation department will also be notified. This procedure ensures that, in the event of an accident or incident, everyone is aware of the additional rider.

Bus notes will continue to operate as they always have. When a parent requests a bus note for their child to ride on a bus they do not normally use, the school office will process this request and create a bus note. This note will be given to the driver, and the transportation department will also be notified. This procedure ensures that, in the event of an accident or incident, everyone is aware of the additional rider.

Yes. The card is assigned to your child for the entire time they require bussing on PRSD buses. They must keep track of their card from one school year to the next.

Please call the PRSD Transportation office at 780-624-3006.

The primary purpose of the app is to give parents real-time visibility into their child's bus location and estimated arrival times, enhancing convenience and reducing uncertainty.

The app is designed to keep you informed and connected:

• Live Bus Location: You can view the bus's location on a live map while it is on its route.
• Accurate ETAs: The app uses GPS and AI to provide estimated arrival times (ETAs) for all your children in one easy-to-read summary screen.
• Late Bus Alerts: Receive instant, color-coded notifications right to your phone if the bus is running behind schedule.

The app displays the address and time your child scans on and off the bus. This confirmation provides peace of mind that your child boarded and exited the bus at the correct stop.

Setting up the app is a secure and simple process.

• Step 1: Check that you have registered your email for an account with BusPlanner. Visit https://prsd.mybusplanner.ca/ and click "Log In" > "Parent Portal." From here you can either confirm your account by logging in to your existing account, or create a new account using the email address you used on your child's registration form. 
  Please Note: If you needed to create a new BusPlanner account, it may take up to 24 hours for your account to become active.
• Step 2: Once your registered BusPlanner account is active, download the Chipmunk app (available on Android and iOS). You can then connect to your student(s) account by entering the Quick Code “PRSD.”
• Step 3: After the app has authenticated the Quick Code, you will be asked to sign in using your BusPlanner login credentials.
  Please note: Only email addresses registered through the PRSD's Transportation department will be able to access information in the Chipmunk app. If you are having trouble logging in, please make sure you are using the same email address you provided to Transportation on your bus registration form.
  

Yes, privacy is a priority. The app works securely with our routing database and GPS data to calculate ETAs. The system itself does not store personal data on the bus card. The Chipmunk app only displays the bus location while it is on a route and the secure scan events for safety purposes.

Additionally, the app is not a continuous live feed of the bus route, rather it is set to update every 60 seconds and only displays route information specific to the individual user. This means users cannot access any information about other riders on their student's bus route, and accounts are limited to email addresses registered with the PRSD Transportation department.