New Student ID Cards and Bus Navigation System

Fairfax County Public Schools sent this bulletin at 08/28/2026 02:18 PM EDT

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August 28, 2026

Dear Families,

Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, FCPS is launching an updated transportation system designed to improve student safety, communication, and efficiency. This includes student ID cards, upgraded bus driver tablets, and a new family app, FCPS My Ride.  

Virginia Run will be distributing cards to bus riders on Monday, August 31st as they leave school. Bus riders will tap their cards when boarding and exiting the bus. This helps confirm that students are on the correct bus and get on and off at the correct stop. Our students will come home with the ID card attached to a lanyard. If your child is a bus rider and has not received a card, please contact our main office. We did not receive bus IDs for students that were registered after July 2, so we will issue IDs to students as soon as we get them. All students who are assigned a bus, will be given a bus pass.  If your child does not ride a bus regularly, but receives a bus pass, please help them to store it safely in their backpack for future potential use.  

Please note:

  • Student ID cards do not track a student’s individual location. The system records only when a student taps on or off a bus and tracks the location of the bus—not the student.
  • Students may still ride the bus if they forget or lose their card. Drivers can manually check students in and out using their tablets.
  • Please contact the school promptly if your child’s card is lost or damaged so a replacement can be issued.
  • Students who do not ride the bus will not receive an ID card.
  • FCPS My Ride will provide the information currently available through Here Comes the Bus, along with notifications when a child taps on or off the bus. Only parents or guardians listed in SIS will have access. Here Comes the Bus will continue to work until FCPS announces that the new app is ready.

We ask for your patience as this system is introduced. Bus drivers may need additional time at stops while they begin checking students in and out.  Please work with your child to build a routine to safely store the bus pass when students come home.  Virginia Run will replace a student's first lost card, and families will be charged for subsequent bus pass replacements.

You can access more information here.