Parents soon will be able to track their child’s school bus along its daily route thanks to a new website being unveiled by the Houston Independent School District’s Transportation Services department.

This new mobile-friendly online portal — http://parent.silverlining.synovia.com/ — allows parents and legal guardians to track the morning pick-up and afternoon drop-off of their students. Viewable on any computer or smartphone, parents simply must enter a student identification number and HISD account number provided by each school.

“We are so excited to be rolling out this program, which will provide parents the ability to track their child’s school bus arrival and departure in real time,” HISD Transportation General Manager Nathan Graf said.

Using the portal, parents will be able to see their students’ school buses in real-time on the map. They can follow the bus along its route and see when it has picked up their student and when it has dropped them off. Parents also can receive emails or text messages when their child’s bus enters or leaves a specific zone.

The service currently is being launched as a pilot program at two HISD schools — Oates and Poe elementary school. Additional schools will be added throughout the year with all elementary schools included by the end of December and all middle and high schools included by the end of February.

As new schools are added to the system, campuses will notify parents and provide them with their bus code.