Download the RideScore app from the App Store or Google Play.

You can either search for ‘RideScore’ in your app store or find the links directly to the Apps using the RideScore App links in the green box on the right hand side at the top of this page.

Yes, the app can be loaded on more than one device, so long as the same user account is used
(same email address) on each device.

You will need to verify your email address on each device. E.g. on a new or additional device,
enter your email address; the system will recognise your email address, and send you a
verification email. For security purposes, you will need to open the email to verify your email
address before access will be permitted. All devices with the App registered to that user account
will receive notifications.

Please DO NOT register again under a different email address, as this will generate a new
registration with another beacon.

Once you’ve registered, the school will send a package home with your child containing your
beacon and all the information you’ll need to get started. Please allow one week to receive your
beacon.

When you receive your beacon, check the bag for fitting instructions, there are a few different options, and these are all explained in the information provided.
Instructions can also be viewed here. 

When you receive your beacon, check the bag for instructions on pairing the beacon to your phone. If you are having some issues, check out our Beacon FAQ’s section below. 

Instructions can also be viewed here.

A beacon is a small Bluetooth transmitter that repeatedly transmits a signal that other devices can see. A Bluetooth-equipped device, once enabled, can “see” a beacon once it’s in range. 

In our case, the reader at the school is the Bluetooth-equipped device that sees the beacon once it’s in range and our software in the reader knows to send a notification to the registered parent / carer once the beacon has been detected (on arrival), or no longer detected (on departure).

No, the system has no tracking capability, as beacons are only detected once they get in range of the Bluetooth reader at the school. The Bluetooth reader can only detect a beacon once it comes into range on arrival and then registers departure when the beacon leaves again. 

Arrival data is recorded and parent notifications sent only when the child enters the range of the Bluetooth reader in the school grounds, usually placed near the bicycle storage area.

Additionally, once the reader senses the beacon has left the area it sends a notification to the parent / carer’s smartphone.

Note: due to the Bluetooth detection range, your child must park their bike or scooter in the school’s designated bicycle/scooter storage area.

Beacon batteries are designed to last for approximately 3 years, however, this may vary between devices and the lack of a notification your child has arrived or departed school may indicate a low or weak battery signal and or fault with your child’s beacon.

The RideScore app has a beacon indicator to check the strength of your beacon. To test your beacon, open the app, ensure Bluetooth and sound is turned on, place the phone near your beacon and tap on ‘Beacon Test’ on your phone (top right corner of screen). You should hear a sound similar to a metal detector, and you will see green bars light up. The more bars that light up, the stronger the signal.

If you do not see any indicator bars light up, push firmly on the centre of the beacon (the barcode) until you feel a click. Then repeat the beacon test process again.

If you still don’t see any indicator bars light up, please Contact Us and advise that you are not detecting a beacon signal.

The beacon is water resistant, so riding in the rain will not affect the beacon, but don’t throw it in a bucket of water.

a) Is the cable tie over the label on the beacon? If the cable tie is over the QR code sticker on the beacon, your phone will not be able to read the code, which will prevent pairing.

b) Your beacon may be turned off. Refer ‘Beacon Indicator Test’ above to test if your beacon is being recognised by your phone.

Please Contact Us to request another beacon, there may be a $20 replacement fee.

Children don’t need to have a phone as the system is automated using the beacon attached to the bike or scooter. All notifications and notices are sent to the parent or carer’s phone.

It is not recommended that your child has access to the app, as they may be able to change information resulting in notifications not being received.

A push notification is a message that pops up on a mobile device. App publishers (like the RideScore Program team) can send them at any time; users don’t have to be in the app or using their devices to receive them. 

Push notifications look like SMS text messages and mobile alerts, but they only reach users who have allowed push notifcations. If you do not enable push notifications, you won't be notified when your child has arrived or departed from school.

The beacon reader is programmed to scan for new arrivals and departures every minute. Accordingly, the timeframe between your child’s arrival/departure and your notification being sent should be no longer than a couple of minutes on arrival and slightly longer on departure as we wait for a couple of minutes to double check the student has actually left. Please be aware that notifications rely on the local mobile telecommunications signals and connections, which should be taken into consideration if delays are experienced.

The individual, or individuals who receive push notifications are those registered through the app using your account – the registered parent or carer.

Yes, we encourage all members of the family riding or scooting to a participating school to be part of the program.

Yes. If a second parent or carer wishes to receive notifications, when creating your profile, enter the details for the secondary parent / carer by selecting the check box at registration ‘I wish to register a secondary Parent/Carer’. 

They will receive an email notification on arrival and departure of the child / children. Alternatively, you can log in to the app using the same email address that you used for your registration and both parents can receive the push notifications. Note that the first parent / carer who registered will need to verify the second person for security purposes (they will receive a verification email).

a. Firstly, please ensure that you have downloaded the RideScore app and completed the registration process.

b. Once you have received your beacon, ensure you have paired the beacon and then securely fitted it to your bike or scooter.

c. Check that your beacon number in your app (under Students) exactly matches the number on the beacon’s sticker.

d. Use the Beacon Test on your app to test the signal strength of the beacon. See our FAQ Beacons Section above on the beacon signal test.

e. If you have not received a push notification via the app, you can also check your Trips screen on the app, and it will show trips recorded in date and time order.

f. You could be experiencing connection issues with the app due to any of the following reasons:
• The phone is in airplane mode (turn airplane mode off)
• You have removed your app (reload and pair the beacon)
• Your phone data is limited, turned off or has run out
• The phone is in an area where there is no or limited signal/connection
• WiFi is not running correctly (turn WiFi off and then on again before troubleshooting)
• The beacon signal is weak or not being transmitted – Refer Beacon Indicator Test FAQ.

Note: notifications rely on mobile coverage, so if you have poor coverage your notification may be delayed. Please Contact Us if you have taken the above steps and it is still not working.

If you have not received a notification, firstly please check your Trips Screen within your App. This could be due to a network error, but the trips screen should show the trip, even if your notification wasn’t received.

If the trip has not been recorded on your trips screen, and you would like confirmation that your child has arrived at school, please call your School’s Administration office or usual process for checking your child has been registered on their class roll for the day.

On achieving the required points, students will receive:
- 20 Points – Bicycle lights
- 70 Points – Movie ticket
- 120 Points – Big Boing Bounce Park entry ticket
If your child continues riding past the 120 points challenge, their name will be placed into the draw to win 1 of 2 Family Passes to the Tree Tops Challenge. 

Visit our Rewards page for full details.

All prizes will be handed out at school assembly at the end of each school term.

There are no costs to participate in the program, however, your phone will require access to mobile data in order to receive push notifications. Mobile data charges vary depending on your provider.

Your personal data is used to ensure you have a child at a participating school, verify you are a human and not a spam program, and allows us to provide you with the notifications that your child has arrived or departed the school. Your personal information is also important to measure the distances that families travel to school by bike or scooter for evaluation purposes.

Your personal data is recorded on a secure server located in Australia that meets all Australian cyber security legal requirements and privacy regulations. 

Any personal information provided will only be used for the purposes of administering and evaluating the RideScore Active Schools Program and for remaining in contact with you. Your personal information will only be accessed and/or used by persons authorised to do so. Your personal information is managed in accordance with the Privacy Policy. 

Information collected from the program will assist council to measure behaviour change and to gather information on the number of students actively travelling to school in order to continue to advocate for improved paths and crossings in your local area, improve the RideScore program and to improve road safety around schools for everyone’s benefit.

a. Yes, the law states only that you may not leave children unattended for an unreasonable amount of time and not make provision for their supervision. RideScore Active Schools is a program similar to many others around Australia and in other countries that enable children to walk and ride or scoot to school safely and easily. The benefits are recognised by local and state governments who all support ride and walk to school programs. Previously, many more children walked and cycled to school than they do today and they are missing out on a great active start to the day and the other benefits being active gives them. 

The program does however recognise and address the areas of concern for parents and schools, specifically:

   i. We provide objective whereabouts information to registered parents/carers that lets them know when their child has arrived safely at school and when they leave, so they know when to expect them home.

   ii. We provide maps to all parents and students that show them where the safe, convenient routes to school are and they get to choose their regular route to school.

   iii. The RideScore Active Schools program intends to progressively offer bicycle education classes to all year 4 classes in participating schools.


b. The specific details of the law in Queensland are as follows: It is considered a misdemeanour to leave your child unattended for an unreasonable amount of time without supervision. This varies in the other states and territories.

c. The QLD Criminal Code (Section 364A) states:

   i. A person who, having the lawful care or charge of a child under 12 years, leaves the child for an unreasonable time without making reasonable provision for the supervision and care of the child during that time commits a misdemeanour. Maximum penalty is three years imprisonment.

   ii. Whether the time is unreasonable depends on all the relevant circumstances. 

   iii. LINK: See Legislation

As a responsible parent or guardian you need to make a judgement on when your child is ready to travel independently to school.

Many families live close enough to school for their children to be able to ride or walk there in 10-20 minutes. But each household situation is different, which is why we have provided simple maps for each school that show where the safe, convenient local area routes around each school are.

We encourage all parents and guardians to review the suggested routes with their children, find the route that works best for them and test it out as a family on the weekend before riding to school the first time. Also, riding together with your child the first few times will ensure you all know the route taken by your child.

The parent or carer will still be fully responsible for the child as they ride or scoot to school, and they need to make an assessment on the skills and maturity of the child to travel to school if they choose to do so independently.

We encourage the child to ‘buddy up’ with another student who travels from a similar location.

If you are transferring to another participating RideScore school, please Contact Us and we can change your details over to your new school. 

If you are heading to another school that is not participating in RideScore, select the ‘leave the program’ function on your RideScore app. Once you have completed the details on the app, please return your beacon to the school. Please ensure that your beacons are identifiable (sticky tape your child’s name to the beacon if possible).

We plan to include walking as a future enhancement of the program. Recording a child’s arrival and departure is a greater challenge for the system if they are walking as they don’t have a bike or scooter that parks in a single location for the day that we can fit the beacon to. We are looking at ways to include walking to school for the next phase of this program.

Request a new cable tie from school administration. You will then need to snip the existing cable tie holding the beacon onto the old bike or scooter to remove it before fitting the beacon to the new bike or scooter. Instructions on how to fit beacons can be found here. 

You can keep a manual record of your score on your RideScore scorecard you received with your beacon pack or you can check the latest score on your child’s profile in the RideScore app.

If you have another question that you think should be included, or any comments on those we have printed above, please Contact Us.