A 16-year-old student was hit by a car at Crosstown Parkway and SW Cameo Boulevard in Port St. Lucie on the first day of school Monday morning.
Police said the student is okay.
Despite the morning scare, the St. Lucie County Transportation Director said the first day of bus operations went well.
"I would say this has been, in my tenure, the best first day of school that transportation has had in quite some time," the transportation director said.
The incident came as officials across the Treasure Coast urged drivers to use caution near schools and bus stops.
"These are shared roadways. Please slow down. Please pay attention, because on our shared roadways, anything can happen any time," the transportation director said.
For the first time, parents across all three Treasure Coast counties have a new tool to track school buses in real time. In St. Lucie County, the app is called Here Comes the Bus. In Martin County, parents can use the MyReaxium app. Indian River County is launching a new system as well.
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"We have a brand new system that we're using called Chipmunk. It allows parents to know when their bus is about to drop their child off or when it's about to pick them up," Indian River County Superintendent David Moore said.
Indian River County is also rolling out an entirely new routing system this year.
"All of our stops are in different locations, so we really are optimizing the way in which we're using technology to make sure the routes are very, very efficient," Moore said.
Moore said all routes in Indian River County were covered Monday.
"Not only do we have enough drivers, we have drivers on standby," Moore said.
In Martin County, the school district cut 3 bus routes this year to save costs.
"All of our students arrived. The three routes that were reduced caused no issues or delays on our end," the Martin County Superintendent said.
In St. Lucie County, parents with children not yet routed on a bus or who have a safety concern are encouraged to reach out to the transportation department.
"The phone number is the immediate way to get a safety concern to us. That was 772-204-ride. You can also go onto our transportation website," the transportation director said.
WPTV will keep tracking transportation issues during the first weeks of school.
