A demonstration. This is not the district's website. It is a working proposal built for Rio Grande City Grulla ISD, using the district's real campuses, trustees and seal. Every enrollment figure, bus, vote and dollar amount is invented, and each page says so. About this proposal Developed by Pragmatic Business Solutions, LLC (opens in a new tab), a Rio Grande City, TX custom software company.

Rio Grande City Grulla ISD Starr County, Texas
ENEspañol: ES

The parent app

Two apps, one route

The parent asking where the bus is, and the driver running the route it is on, are looking at the same record from two ends. Both screens are drawn in the page rather than screenshotted, so they scale, they print, they exist in both languages from one source, and each is described in full underneath.

The parent's screen: Sofia's bus, six minutes from the stop A phone screen. At the top, the district seal and the title 'Where's my bus'. A card names Sofia R., a pre-kindergarten student at La Union Elementary, riding Bus 27 on route R-09 in the afternoon. Below it a map shows the route as a line with four stops, the bus drawn as a moving marker between the third and fourth stop, and the family's own stop marked as home. The largest text on the screen reads 'Arrives in 6 minutes, about 3:18 p.m.'. Under it an amber notice says the bus is running four minutes behind because of a rail crossing on US 83. A four-step progress strip shows the bus left the campus at 3:05, made the Los Ebanos stop at 3:11, is on the way now, and reaches your stop next. At the bottom the position was last confirmed eight seconds ago, and a row of buttons offers the map, alerts and settings. 3:12 Where's my bus Rio Grande City Grulla ISD SR Sofía R. Pre-K · La Union Elementary Bus 27 · Route R-09 · Afternoon YOUR STOP Route R-09 · La Union Arrives in 6 min about 3:18 p.m. at Los Alamos Rd Late Running 4 min behind — rail crossing on US 83 Left campus3:05Los Ebanos3:11On the waynowYour stop3:18 Position confirmed 8 seconds ago See the bus on the map BusAlertsSettings
The parent — one child, one bus, and the minutes until it reaches their stop.
The driver's screen: route R-09, four minutes behind, 26 aboard A phone screen headed 'RGC Grulla ISD Transportation', showing route R-09, the afternoon run, Bus 27. An amber bar reads 'Running 4 min behind — rail crossing on US 83'. The largest text is the next stop: Los Alamos Road at La Union Road, arriving about 3:18, with eleven students to set down there. Below it the rest of the run is listed — Loma Vista Road with six, Rancho Viejo with five, and the last stop with four — each showing how many are expected and none showing a name. Under that, a count: twenty-six aboard of forty-eight seats. At the bottom an amber notice says the pre-trip inspection is due before the morning run tomorrow, and a line explains that names are never shown on this board — only counts — and that a name appears only on the one screen a driver opens for a student whose guardian has not arrived. A row of buttons offers the run, the map and the bus. 3:12 Transportation Route R-09 · afternoon · Bus 27 Running 4 min behind — rail crossing on US 83 NEXT STOP Los Alamos Rd at La Union Rd Arriving about 3:18 To set down here Counts only — no names on this board 11 REST OF THE RUN Loma Vista Rd3:246to set downRancho Viejo3:315to set downLast stop · yard3:444to set down Aboard now Forty-eight seats 26 / 48 Pre-trip inspection due before tomorrow's morning run Run Map Bus
The driver — the same run from the cab: the next stop, how many get off there, and whether the bus is legal to drive tomorrow.

Why the screen looks like this

  • The minutes are the headline. A parent at a stop asked when the bus gets here, not for a map. The map is underneath the answer, not instead of it.
  • Late is a word, not a colour. The amber band says “Late” and gives the reason. Anyone who cannot distinguish the colour still reads the delay.
  • The last-seen time is always on screen. A stale position should look stale, not look like a bus that stopped moving.
  • One child, and only that child. No roster, no other stops, no other families. The parent app is not a small copy of the staff map.
  • Both languages ship together. The Spanish screen is not narrower, not later, and not a setting buried three taps down. It is the same build.

See the same screen in Spanish

The same screen, written out

Everything the drawing above shows, as text. This is what a screen reader announces, and it is generated from the same source as the picture, so the two cannot drift apart.

The parent's screen

A phone screen. At the top, the district seal and the title 'Where's my bus'. A card names Sofia R., a pre-kindergarten student at La Union Elementary, riding Bus 27 on route R-09 in the afternoon. Below it a map shows the route as a line with four stops, the bus drawn as a moving marker between the third and fourth stop, and the family's own stop marked as home. The largest text on the screen reads 'Arrives in 6 minutes, about 3:18 p.m.'. Under it an amber notice says the bus is running four minutes behind because of a rail crossing on US 83. A four-step progress strip shows the bus left the campus at 3:05, made the Los Ebanos stop at 3:11, is on the way now, and reaches your stop next. At the bottom the position was last confirmed eight seconds ago, and a row of buttons offers the map, alerts and settings.

The driver's screen

A phone screen headed 'RGC Grulla ISD Transportation', showing route R-09, the afternoon run, Bus 27. An amber bar reads 'Running 4 min behind — rail crossing on US 83'. The largest text is the next stop: Los Alamos Road at La Union Road, arriving about 3:18, with eleven students to set down there. Below it the rest of the run is listed — Loma Vista Road with six, Rancho Viejo with five, and the last stop with four — each showing how many are expected and none showing a name. Under that, a count: twenty-six aboard of forty-eight seats. At the bottom an amber notice says the pre-trip inspection is due before the morning run tomorrow, and a line explains that names are never shown on this board — only counts — and that a name appears only on the one screen a driver opens for a student whose guardian has not arrived. A row of buttons offers the run, the map and the bus.