Learn how a modern school bus parent notification system helps districts reduce phone calls, improve family confidence, and give parents real-time answers. UniteGPS connects routing, GPS tracking, SMS alerts, and ridership notifications so transportation teams can keep families informed during everyday routes, weather delays, sub driver coverage, and unexpected schedule changes.
UniteGPS combines routing, GPS, messaging, and ridership tools to improve parent communication.
Build and manage bus routes straight from your student data — assign students to stops and zones, support transfer points, double runs, and day-of-the-week routing for split-custody and dual-address students, and drag stops between routes instantly.
Analyze your existing routes to find consolidations, eliminate redundant routes, and cut daily mileage and student ride time — with before-and-after overlays and documented dollar savings to defend route changes to your board.
The engine behind optimization: it rebalances student loads across your school bus fleet within hard constraints — capacity caps, maximum ride time, and bell windows — and proposes consolidation scenarios for your team to review and approve.
A daily data feed from your student information system — PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Skyward, or Harmony — that works even without the SIS transportation module, flagging new students, address changes, and disenrollments in one action center and bulk-importing staff.
Parent messaging by email and SMS: send each family their stop and pickup or drop-off times, broadcast route changes, and handle weather and emergency alerts — replacing manual phone trees and a pile of separate apps.
A shared trip calendar with a request-and-approval workflow (secretary → AD → principal), Google Calendar export, and bus and driver assignment checked against your daily routes.
UniteGPS starts by importing student and route data, including stops, zones, transfer points, and special schedule needs. SIS integration keeps new students, address changes, and disenrollments visible so parent messages are based on current transportation records.
See how districts reduce calls, improve visibility, and make school transportation easier to trust.
UniteGPS helps districts make transportation easier to run and easier for families to trust. We don't just sell you software and walk away — we stay, we share what we know, and we help you build a transportation operation your district can be proud of.
Connect routing, GPS, messaging, ridership, and tablets without juggling disconnected transportation tools.
Built to protect student data while supporting responsible parent communication and district workflows.
Real GPS, stop, and scan data help reduce disputes and morning transportation calls.
Founder-built, profitable, and focused on long-term partnerships rather than private equity pressure.
Founder-led transportation technology built around real district needs.
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.
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.
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.
Yes. Instead of your drivers calling each family, the system sends parents their stop and pickup or drop-off times, and the parent app shows the approaching bus so families can have their kids ready.
Get clear answers about setup, pricing, privacy, and parent communication.
Supports responsible student data protection.
Trusted by districts across the United States.
Founder-built company focused on long-term service.
Tell us about your school bus fleet, routing needs, and parent communication goals. UniteGPS can explain tiers, setup, SIS integration, and the 90-day trial.
For immediate assistance, feel free to give us a direct call at 207-591-7777.
For immediate assistance, feel free to give us a direct call at 207-591-7777.