School Bus Driver

School Bus Driver

The Bus Driver

15 Years Experience

South, ..

Female, 37

I have been a bus driver since late 2006. I know the inside story, the scoop, the down low dirt of what it takes to be a bus driver, how to handle kids and adults, and how to survive on the "streets" so to speak. I used to have a blog, feel free to browse it or ask me a question here.

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Last Answer on February 07, 2021

Best Rated

My 11 year old daughter came home from school yesterday and said that the bus driver told them that MI law states that if children get picked up first they are to be dropped off first as well. Is this true?

Asked by Deborah about 10 years ago

As far as I know there is no law that requires that to happen, however, each district has its own policies on how routes are set up and run.  Sometimes the bus shop dictates how a route goes and other times it is up to the drivers discretion.  Personally, I believe that every few years routes need to be revamped and revised and it is best left up to the bus drivers who are driving the routes.  The drivers know the number of students that are at each stop and can better determine if a route has a more logical way of being done.  

Here in my county, due to some of the distance, the first ones on are often the last ones off as the afternoon route is run backwards from the morning route.  For my own route, prior to going to a double run, I ran my route one way and the afternoon route was identical to the morning route.  Now, since I have 78 kids listed on my roster and only a 72 passenger bus, mornings have stayed the same as I have less kids in the morning than in the afternoon, but my afternoon run has been split 2 ways.  I still get done at the same time every day, but some of my kids who had been getting home at about 3:45 are now only getting home at 4 pm, and those of my kids who were getting off at 4:10 pm are now getting off at 3:40 pm because of the logistical change.

Why do bus monitor check understand buses

Asked by alias over 9 years ago

I'm not sure what you are asking with this question. Please resubmit your question.

I asked you a question about leaving bus running in reverse or with a full bus of children and you said use aide or helper I have nobody to help. I am alone help comes later I walk kids in to school alone. I thought this was a wac or state law.

Asked by luckyrose over 10 years ago

In my district, special needs buses have to have two people on board, the driver and the aide.  I was speaking only from personal experience.  I've also had other bus drivers help me and I help them as well on checking the reverse and rear lights.  Here in my district, we do not get off our buses to walk students into school.  The only time we are to be off our buses with students on board is to operate the lift.  Thats why special needs buses will have an aide and a driver on board in order to help manage the situation.

Is it difficult to remember your route, or they make it pretty simple to let you know where all the stops are?

Asked by Yvonne almost 10 years ago

Its fairly easy once you get the hang of it. For a regular driver, the route does not usually change day-to-day with the exception of when the driver gets new kids on the route or kids move off the route making it unnecessary to drive into a certain section of their designated route boundary area. An example of this is if you have a child who lives at the end of a long dead end road who doesn't ride anymore, then the route would change in that you would not go down that road in the future. As a substitute, there are route descriptions that most bus shops will provide their drivers so that they may be able to follow it in order to pick up or drop off students.

I found as a sub, the easiest way to learn a route and remember it was to have a child tell you how the route runs. You eventually learn the stops on each bus route and create a mental map in your head.

What will happen if I get written up for the first tin?. Will the bus driver call my parents? Is it just a warning?

Asked by Emily over 9 years ago

Depends on what you did and how the school handles the disciplinary form. If you talk with the bus driver respectfully and ask the driver what you can do to avoid getting in trouble then you may be able to avoid the situation and fix it.

I began driving a school bus just a month ago. Today was 87 degrees so I opened all my windows so the children would not bake.
Another driver warned that police will write a ticket if the windows are down past the black half-way line. Is this true?

Asked by jeff over 10 years ago

I am not sure if there are particular state or county laws where you live that govern the height of a window on a bus that is down.  I suggest you check with your CDL trainer and boss at your bus shop yard.  They can better advise you.  My personal policy is to let the children let down the windows if they are hot.  If the windows are not down, it is the children's personal choice not to let the windows down.  If I have little ones, I have an older child help put those windows down in order to make the little ones more comfortable.

Hi Im 53 and just looking into being a school bus driver
I'm a barber on the weekends.
Can I make a living doing this?

Asked by Gary about 10 years ago

Well if you like to cut hair then of course you can make a living doing that.  All kidding aside, driving a bus depends on your area.  In my area, the pay is low, so many drivers supplement their pay with other jobs between driving the bus.  Most people get the bus driving job in order to get reliable health insurance.