Shane's Drivers Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Hi folks, New to this board and not sure what some of the acronyms and abbreviations are - forgive my learning curve please. Here's our quest - Much like Waze (app) for traffic we would like to be able to forecast when our son will be getting home from school. His van ride is about 16 miles and takes anywhere from 25 minutes to 1 hour + depending on traffic. I know I can use Waze to see what the travel time is from my location to the next, though that would be different in the reverse path as that is the nature of traffic, i.e., northbound bad, southbound good. The 2nd part is if this could be automated to update (like Waze app does). I have found a lot of different apps that allow me to locate where my son's phone is, though I haven't found the app that does both. Anybody else have similar issue or any advice that they could offer? Thanks for your assistanace and I look forward to learning from you savvy parents & caregivers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 Welcome to the forum! I don't know of anything like that although I'm sure it must be out there somewhere. Wait a few minutes, maybe an hour. I'm sure somebody here will have a better answer to your question! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 OP how old is your DS and does he have a Smart phone with him? If so, there are Apps that will let you know exactly where he is (within a margin of errors of a few Meters). I think those are called Family Tracking Apps or something like that. I believe there have been one or more threads on that here on WTM during the past year or so.If he doesn't have a Smart phone consider buying an inexpensive one for him and a Prepaid plan on USMOBILE or some other MVNO (virtual provider). https://www.usmobile.com/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 This is for Android. I assume it is about the same for iPhones. They are called Family Locator Apps. These are free and rated 4 or above out of 5. https://play.google.com/store/search?q=family%20locator%2Bfree&c=apps&price=1&rating=1&hl=en Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane's Drivers Posted September 8, 2017 Author Share Posted September 8, 2017 @Lanny - he does have a smartphone and tracking/locating him isn't the objective. He's 14 with some developmental delays. As he's in the school van for 25 minutes plus for a commute time, we're trying to find a app or IFTTT that will forecast the commute time coming home from school with the commute's current traffic. Imagine if he could operate Waze - it's capable of sending a text to selected parties of the expected arrival time based on current route & traffic. He's not capable of those consecutive steps. Thank you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 OP I believe you can do that from your location (inside your house) with Google Maps or possibly with Waze. Waze is more complicated and I uninstalled it. I believe you can just put in the starting location and the destination and it will give you the information you are looking for. Waze would IMO be much more accurate, because of the network of people who use it. Especially if you are in an area with a lot of traffic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted September 8, 2017 Share Posted September 8, 2017 I wonder if he can learn how to use an App like this one? It would tell you when he leaves school and you would be able to see where he is. I don't think it would give you his ETA, but you could look at your phone and see how close to home he is. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.life360.android.safetymapd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shane's Drivers Posted September 9, 2017 Author Share Posted September 9, 2017 @Lanny - Thanks for the recommendations. I had seen these and like others they do locate where he is at that moment, unfortunately none seem to be working with any traffic apps. Unfortunately Waze starts you from your current position and then suggests your best route to destination based on current traffic. I don't see where it would allow you to reverse the routing to see that traffic. I appreciate the help and I'll keep looking. If I come across something I'll post it on this board as well. Best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I thought this said "Track Time Travel via Smartphone." That would be awesome! :lol: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 I keep reading the title as: Track Time Travel via Smartphone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeaganS Posted September 9, 2017 Share Posted September 9, 2017 (edited) I'm not sure how much this would help, but Facebook messenger allows you to share your current location live with another person for up to 60 minutes, including telling you how far they are (in time) from you. I use this sometimes for fun with DH when I'm on road trips without him so he can track where we are and when we've stopped. It does require the user to start sharing with the other person, though, but it might work for you. ETA: Here's a description of the feature- https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/27/15055408/facebook-messenger-location-sharing-live Edited September 9, 2017 by Meagan S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoutingmom Posted September 11, 2017 Share Posted September 11, 2017 I thought this said "Track Time Travel via Smartphone." That would be awesome! [emoji38]Me too! Sent from my SM-G903W using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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