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Madison Metropolitan School District

FirstView Transportation App

Woman using FirstView app by First Student

MMSD is excited to introduce a new way for families to keep tabs on their students’ transportation: the FirstView app, from First Student. 

FirstView provides location data via GPS tracking, and sends notification alerts when a student’s bus is getting close. It can be used to track all of the students in a household/associated with a caregiver account. It’s the easiest and fastest way to get answers to questions like, “When will the bus show up?” and “How can I see when my child will be picked up or dropped off?” 

Getting Started

1. Download the FirstView App

Go to web.firstviewapp.com or find FirstView in the App Store or Google Play. Follow the instructions to download the app to your smartphone and create an account.

2. Set Up Your Profile

Once you have confirmed your account, open the FirstView app from your home screen to begin setting up your profile. You’ll need to know your student’s:

  • State/Province: Wisconsin    
  • District: Madison WI
  • Student ID: Found in Infinite Campus or by calling the secretary 
    • *Students use Student ID to log into to their Chromebooks
  • Route Name: Use your Infinite Campus Parent Portal to locate your students' bus color. You will also need to locate the “ParentView AM/PM Route ID” located under the Transportation Tab in the IC Parent Portal.  
Snippet of ParentView fields in Infinite Campus


3. Follow a Route

Select Profile to “Add A Student.” Next, you will choose AM/MID/PM Route, search for your route name, and select your school (see table below).

4. Set Up Distance Alerts

To set up alerts for tracking the bus, you will be prompted to “Configure Notification.” Select the location you want to track the bus to, choose a geofence size around your location, and set your time range. When the bus enters your geofence within the *time range selected, you will get a notification that the bus is near. 

*It's recommended that you have a time range of no more than 10 mins before and 30 after your child’s scheduled time, due to tiered routes.

Students should still be at their assigned bus stop 5 minutes prior to the scheduled arrival time. 

5. Receive Notifications

Go to Settings and select “Notification Recipients” to add email notifications for up to 3 recipients, including yourself. From this screen, you can also edit your Profile or follow another route.

Alerts and notifications from your district or the bus depot will appear under Notifications in the menu. (To receive push notifications, you must allow your mobile device to receive notifications from the FirstView app. You will be prompted upon downloading the app or you can confirm/update your settings within your phone’s app settings.)

Infiniate Campus Parent

Need to locate your student's bus color?

  1. Login to your Infinite Campus Parent Portal
  2. Click "More" on the left sidebar
  3. Click "Transportation"

Infinite Campus parent portal login

Need Help?

FirstView provides a dedicated customer support team Monday through Friday to assist you:

  • Call toll-free 888-889-8920 from 6:00 a.m. ET to 4:00 p.m. CST
  • Email Customer Support at support@firstviewapp.com
  • Use the in-app “✉” button (right corner) to provide feedback