Bus Safety & FAQs

Bus stops are established so students in kindergarten and grades 1-5 who live one mile or more from their school, and students in grades 6-12 who live one and a half miles or more from their school are transported to the school in their attendance area.

Our goal is to consistently identify bus stops in neighborhoods on the basis of safety, efficiency and distance between stops. Generally bus stops are located at an intersection in order for the driver to have a wide area to scan for traffic and students, to create efficient routes and to minimize buses backing up.

• School bus drivers do not have the authority to change bus routes or student pickup/drop off locations.
• Generally, bus stops are located at least 3 blocks away from each other.
• Generally, 15-20 students are assigned to a bus stop. This number may be exceeded at cul-de-sacs, high density housing areas and high school stops because students are not standing on through streets and/or they are older.
• Bus stops are placed at locations that meet defined criteria, are centrally located and within reasonable walking distances from the student’s home.

Roads and streets sometimes intersect on areas of road that cause concern for school bus transportation and the motoring public. We make every effort to select safe places to load and unload students given these varying factors of roads, streets, traffic speed and locations of residences. Adjustments to bus stops to create what we believe is the safest alternative will be made in these instances.

We are not able to route buses so that all children can board the bus on the door side. We recommend that children wait on the side of the street that they reside. The bus will stop traffic in all directions to accommodate students that need to cross the street to board the bus.

Except to transport special education students, buses generally are not routed down cul-de-sacs because of the danger to small children and property caused by the bus turning around and/or backing up in a small area. However, elementary school buses are routed down cul-de-sacs that are on half mile long or longer, and middle school and high school buses are routed down cul-de-sacs that are one mile or longer.

With the large number of streets and bus stops in our school district, it is necessary for some students to walk on roads that have hills, curves and/or no sidewalks.

The school district provides transportation for over 6,000 students to and from school each day. We are not able to position bus stops so that all parents are able to see the stop from their home.

Generally, bus stops are centrally located for all students. Bus stops are not changed to accommodate one or more students because that may displace other students further from their home. Even though other students are not all riding the bus we must keep bus stops as they have been published. A central bus stop is necessary because other students may begin riding the bus or new families may move into the neighborhood.

It is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child arrives safely at the bus stop.

The higher frequency of stops can make the motoring public "impatient." This results in drivers driving around the bus and causes greater safety concerns than the distance a student has to walk to the bus stop. It also delays the bus in increasing the number of stops, making overall student ride time longer.

As noted above, the bus stops are centrally located and at intersections. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the daycare provider to get the students to the bus stop.

In order to be consistent and fair in placement of bus stops, the school district is not able to establish stops based on personal circumstances.

Routes are established so no student rides the bus for more than one hour, one way.

• Arrange for your students to be at their bus stop five minutes before the scheduled pick-up time.
• Be aware that the bus will pick up and drop off students at the same stop every day school is in session.
• Help your children learn their bus numbers.
• Review with your children the bus safety rules outlined here.
• Accompany younger children to the bus stop and meet the bus at the end of the day for the first days of school, or arrange for an older child or childcare provider to be at the bus stop for the first days of school.

Understand that the bus pickup and drop off times are based on existing weather and road conditions. Traffic congestion, road construction, inclement weather and population changes may cause minor adjustments in pickup times. Parents will be notified of any major changes in bus schedules that will affect their child.