• AM (Morning route) - Indicates a route that is run in the morning. AM stops are visible on the app until 1:30 PM local time.
  
• Arrival/Arrived - Indicates that an AVL was captured within the geofence for an assigned vehicle that entered a stops geofence within its time threshold. 
  
• AVL - Stands for Automatic Vehicle Location. AVL's are sent out from GPS devices every 15-30 seconds.
  

B

• Back-end - Used to denote automated processes and information that reside in software systems. These are typically specialized processes that occur "behind the scenes", allowing the app to function and perform calculations that provide the user information. Also known as "backend". 
  
• Break-apart - Refers to the act of dividing a planned route into smaller sections, essentially splitting it up into multiple smaller routes by tier or by stop. Deviations from the planned route may impact tracking in FirstView. Also referred to as "repackage", "split run", "daily schedule change", or "unplanned schedule change". 
  

C

• Dispatch - The specific departure of a vehicle from its initial location to the first stop on the route. Often used in reference to the "Morning" or "Afternoon" dispatch.
  
• Distance Notification - Users can setup alerts to let them know when the bus is near their stop in the app. Users drop a pin on the map, select a distance range, and time range for the notification.
  
• District Dashboard - A platform for administrators that allows tracking, reporting, parent notification features and more. The District Dashboard enables administrators to gain insight on their routes, and more efficiently communicate with parents. 
  
• Driver - The person who is assigned to drive a specific vehicle and route. Dispatchers work to ensure each route has an assigned driver.
  

F 

• FirstAlt - FirstAlt powered by First Student, provides districts with a safe and reliable transportation option for students with special needs, students experiencing homelessness, out of district students, and hard to serve trips. FirstAlt utilizes a fleet of small capacity vehicles for transporting students — a mix of sedans, SUVs, minivans, and wheelchair vans.
  
• FirstView - A platform for transportation engagement among First Student, our customers and directly with consumers. Created by First Student. FirstView provides vehicle tracking, predictive stop arrival times, custom user notifications and much more.
  
• First Student - With more than a century of experience in providing safe and reliable transportation to students across the U.S. and Canada, we at First Student understand the priorities of today’s K-12 community.
  
• FOCUS - A proprietary system used to formulate and update vehicle, route, and driver info. This is then matched up with student files to create a database that powers FirstView. FOCUS is utilized by depots and the FirstView team to ensure accuracy within routes.
  
• FOCUS Routing - 
  

G

H

I

L

M

N

O

• Outbound - School to home trips.
  
• Out of Sequence - Used to describe a route where the driver visits stops in an incorrect order. If visited out of sequence, stops may not register and the app will display "See Map".
  

P

• Package - Term used to describe the stops and path that make up a vehicle's schedule for the day. Routes can be compromised of AM, MID, and/or PM dispatched, and typically consist of multiple runs or tiers. The depot must have the correct vehicle assigned to a route in FOCUS in order for FirstView to properly track. Also referred to as "trip", "route", "schedule" or "journey". 
  
• Parent App - Refers to the parent-facing FirstView mobile app, which parents can use to track their student's vehicle. The app can also be accessed using a web-based version. 
  
• Ping - A query from another computer on a network to determine whether there is a connection to it. Typically referenced when discussing GPS technology.
  
• Planned Arrival - 
  
• PM (Afternoon route) - Indicates a route that is run in the afternoon. PM stops are always visible on the app.
  
• Push Notification - A message that pops up on a mobile device. App publishers can send them at any time; users don't have to be in the app or using their devices to receive them.
  

R

• Route - Term used to describe the stops and path that make up a vehicle's schedule for the day. Routes can be compromised of AM, MID, and/or PM dispatched, and typically consist of multiple runs or tiers. The depot must have the correct vehicle assigned to a route in FOCUS in order for FirstView to properly track. Also referred to as "trip", "package", "schedule" or "journey". 
  
• Run - Term used to describe a specific portion of a route. Each run usually has several stops. Also known as a "tier".
  
• Run End - Refers to the ending of a specific home to school segment within a route.
  
• Run Start - Refers to the beginning of a specific segment within a route, usually either beginning or ending with a school stop.
  

S

• Scheduled Stop Time - The time that the vehicle is scheduled to arrive at a stop. The scheduled stop times are provided to us by the depot or district, and uploaded into the FirstView system.
  
• School Calendar - A calendar in the FOCUS system where the depot can add events such as school closures and early releases. 
  
• Split Run - 
  
• Stale Data - When a processor changes the value of an operand and then, at a subsequent time, fetches the operand and obtains the old rather than the new value of the operand.
  
• Stop - A specific location that has been identified as a stop on the route. Each stop has a geofence and time threshold that help to ensure accurate reporting of arrivals and departures. A stop can be a school, depot or student's home.
  
• Student ID Registration - A configuration that requires student stop data and electronic routing software. Student's are associated with an assigned stop in FirstView via their district's student ID.
  
• Subscribers - These are the parents who have registered and been confirmed to use the FirstView app. These are the users who are able to receive push notifications from FirstView.
  

T

• Task - Refers specifically to the FOCUS number associated with the route.
  
• Tier -  Term used to describe a specific portion of a route. Each tier usually has several stops. Also known as a "run".
  
• Timestamp - An indication of when something was created or occurred. A timestamp is often recorded automatically by a computer system. 
  
• Time Threshold - A specific window of time that the vehicle must arrive to a stop within. If the vehicle enters a stop's geofence within the time threshold, the stop will register on the app.
  
• Tracking - The use of GPS devices and other technical instruments to gather and record data, allowing the user to visualize where a specific vehicle has visited.
  
• Trip - Term used to describe the stops and path that make up a vehicle's schedule for the day. Routes can be compromised of AM, MID, and/or PM dispatched, and typically consist of multiple runs or tiers. The depot must have the correct vehicle assigned to a route in FOCUS in order for FirstView to properly track. See Also "Route".
  
• Trip Services - 
  

U

• Unknown Vehicle - Indicates that the route does not have a vehicle/asset assigned in the depot's back-end system that is feeding FirstView or that the assigned vehicle is not transmitting GPS data within the parameters of the route.
  
• uTrack - An industry leader in transportation software development. Based out of the UK, uTrack is a partner to First Student and helps power the FirstView app. 
  

W

• Web App - A software application developed specifically for use on desktop or laptop computers, rather than small, wireless computing devices, such as smartphones and tablets,
  

Z

• Zonar - Zonar Systems is an American telematics company that produces fleet tracking and management solutions. The company's tracking technology uses data generated by engines, and on-board sources such as GPS systems.