Real-Time GPS
See every bus on a live map with 5-second updates, mileage tracking, geofence alerts, speeding alerts, idle alerts, and timestamped history for parent questions or administrative review.
Learn More →GPS Tracking for School Buses, Built for Safety
UniteGPS helps K-12 districts know where every school bus is, who rode it, and when it arrived. Built from a real parent safety problem in Maine, Crosswalk combines live GPS updates, parent visibility, routing, alerts, and ridership records in one FERPA-compliant platform—so transportation teams can reduce calls, improve accountability, and protect students nationwide with confidence.
Our School Bus GPS Tracking Services
A complete Crosswalk platform for real-time bus visibility, safer ridership, better routes, and clearer family communication.
Parent Bus App
Give families live bus location, ETA information, and ride history so they spend less time waiting outside and calling the transportation office for updates.
Learn More →Ridership Tracking
Verify which students scanned on and off each bus, document IEP transportation, support Medicaid reimbursement records, and strengthen safety compliance with timestamped ridership data.
Learn More →Route Optimization
Turn student enrollment data into efficient bus routes, rosters, and printable route sheets with automated optimization and optional hands-on savings analysis from UniteGPS.
Learn More →SIS Integration
Keep routes, stops, assignments, and ridership records aligned with the district’s authoritative student enrollment system through automated SIS synchronization and onboarding support.
Driver Tablet Suite
Equip buses with driver tablets for turn-by-turn navigation, student scanning, vehicle inspections, advanced parent notifications, mileage categorization, and daily route confidence.
Learn More →Safer Visibility for Every School Bus
UniteGPS Crosswalk gives transportation directors one place to manage visibility, safety, and accountability across the fleet. GPS devices are included with Tier 2, updating every 5 seconds and continuing even when ignition is off. From snowy morning delays to afternoon route changes, districts gain accurate records, fewer parent calls, and trusted data for decisions every day.
Customer Success
K-12 districts and transit agencies use UniteGPS to improve visibility, safety, communication, and transportation accountability.
Why Choose UniteGPS?
UniteGPS is built for districts that need practical, reliable transportation technology.
Direct founder involvement keeps Crosswalk aligned with real district needs, not investor mandates.
Founder-Led
Direct founder involvement keeps Crosswalk aligned with real district needs, not investor mandates.
FERPA Compliant
Student transportation data is handled with FERPA compliance for safer school communication.
Live Support
Unlimited live support means transportation teams reach people without tickets or queues.
Proven Platform
Built since 2014 and trusted by 100+ districts across the United States.
Meet the UniteGPS Founders
Founder-led transportation software built around real district feedback.
Christopher Bunnell
Co-Founder
Christopher Bunnell is a Co-Founder of UniteGPS, the company he helped launch in 2014 after watching his own children wait in the freezing Maine winter for a school bus with no arrival information. Driven by that firsthand frustration, Chris partnered with Steve C. Lanning and Steven J. Lanning to build a real-time GPS tracking solution that gave families the visibility they deserved. Before UniteGPS, Chris served as the on-site client representative in Baltimore for a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project, while the technical team operated remotely from California. At UniteGPS, Chris has led client relationships and stakeholder engagement since day one, ensuring the platform continues to solve real problems for school districts and transit agencies nationwide.
Steve C. Lanning
Co-Founder
Steve C. Lanning is a Co-Founder of UniteGPS, bringing deep database architecture and enterprise-level technical expertise to the platform since its founding in 2014. Steve previously served as an Oracle database administrator on a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project at the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC San Diego, where he first collaborated with Chris Bunnell. In the early years of UniteGPS, Steve balanced the project alongside other professional commitments until growing client traction made it a full-time pursuit. His database expertise has been instrumental in building a reliable, scalable platform that now serves over 100 school districts nationwide, supporting everything from route optimization to student ridership tracking and SIS data integration.
Steven J. Lanning
Co-Founder
Steven J. Lanning is a Co-Founder of UniteGPS and the primary architect behind the Crosswalk platform, which he has built and continuously refined since the company's founding in 2014. Steven began his career on the same Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project as his co-founders, focusing on solution quality assurance and software testing for production readiness while simultaneously pursuing formal software development training. When UniteGPS launched, Steven committed full-time to product development, translating real feedback from transportation directors and drivers into practical platform features. His customer-driven approach to engineering has helped UniteGPS grow into a fully integrated transportation management solution trusted by K-12 districts and transit agencies across the United States.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a GPS for school bus drivers?
Yes. UniteGPS provides GPS tools for school bus drivers and transportation teams through the Crosswalk platform. Districts can use live GPS tracking, route sheets, turn-by-turn navigation through the Tablet Suite, mileage tracking, alerts, and timestamped route history. Administrators see fleet location in real time, while drivers get clearer route guidance and safer daily operations.
How often does UniteGPS update bus location?
UniteGPS school bus GPS tracking updates every 5 seconds, giving transportation offices current visibility into vehicle location, movement, mileage, and route activity. The system also works when the ignition is off, helping districts know where buses are after routes, during field trips, or while parked. Timestamped data helps resolve parent questions and operational disputes with facts.
Can parents track their child’s school bus?
Yes. The Parent School Bus Tracking App shows families where their child’s bus is, along with ETA details and timestamped ride history where enabled. Basic real-time parent tracking is included in Tier 2, and advanced scan-on/scan-off ridership notifications are included in Tier 3. There is no separate charge to parents.
How much does school bus GPS tracking cost?
Pricing depends on the level of functionality a district needs. Routing Essentials starts at tiered monthly pricing by fleet size. GPS Tracking & Routing is $25 per bus per month and includes the GPS device at no additional hardware cost. Tablet Suite is $39 per bus per month, with tablet data and one-time hardware costs for districts needing driver tablets and ridership scanning.
How does GPS tracking improve school bus safety?
UniteGPS supports student safety by combining live bus location, speeding and idle alerts, geofence alerts, parent visibility, and timestamped transportation records. With Tier 3, districts can also verify which students scanned on and off each bus. These records help transportation departments respond quickly, document events accurately, and reduce uncertainty for families and staff.
Is UniteGPS FERPA compliant?
Yes. UniteGPS is FERPA compliant and built for K-12 transportation environments where student data protection matters. The platform supports secure SIS integration, parent communication, ridership records, and transportation reporting while helping districts avoid unnecessary manual data handling. FERPA compliance is especially important when location, roster, and student ride data are connected.
Does UniteGPS include route optimization?
Yes. UniteGPS includes automated school bus route optimization that turns student enrollment data into efficient routes, rosters, and printable route sheets. Districts can replace paper maps, Google Maps, or one person’s memory with a structured routing system. UniteGPS also offers a free Route Optimizer professional service with a documented savings plan for board review.
What support is included during setup?
UniteGPS offers a free 90-day setup period with routes built for the district by the UniteGPS team. SIS integration configuration can be handled during onboarding, reducing manual roster work as students move or change schools. The company also provides unlimited live support with no ticket queues, so transportation teams can reach real people when they need help.
Still Have Questions About Bus Tracking?
Get clear answers from a school transportation technology specialist.
Awards and Recognition
Protects student transportation data and privacy.
Trusted by K-12 districts nationwide.
FERPA Compliant
Protects student transportation data and privacy.
100+ Districts Served
Trusted by K-12 districts nationwide.
Bootstrapped Since 2014
Built for customers, without private equity pressure.
