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.
It is legal and well within the bus driver's right to assign seats on the bus. Different drivers choose to do it by sections or by sides, or even by assigning each child a specific spot on a seat. I have my bus divided by grade level, though i have so many middle schoolers that it is difficult to contain them to just a section of rows. So my bus rules are my elementary (pre-k thru grade 5) cannot go past row 6 which is about the halfway point of my 72 passenger bus. My middle school and high school share the remaining 6 rows. Depending on the number of kids in each school I serve will determine whether I allow them certain privileges and that does include restricting seats.
Unless you are forced to sit 3 to a seat to where 3 high schoolers in a seat would make the ride dangerous and unsafe due to lack of space, then really its up to the bus driver. Are the girls crowded? Are there more girls than boys? If the numbers are that all the boys fit (at 2 to a seat) in the 8 seats available (4 rows of seats) then there really isn't an issue other than the fact you feel it is unfair. Life isn't fair.
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The article doesn't seem to want to come up for me, but a quick Google search comes up with a couple stories relating to a bus driver leaving a bus running while stepping off the bus. In my district, we are taught never to get off the bus while it is idling with passengers on board. The only time it is acceptable for us is if we are doing our pre-trip inspection to ensure everything is operational. The reason why we are taught this is for safety. It can be very easy for a passenger to step to the front of the bus and press a couple buttons for fun. Pressing the wrong button or releasing the brake could endanger the other passengers on board. From a safety standpoint, the driver should have been suspended or at least very severely reprimanded. I don't think the offense warrants a loss of a job, but certainly a warning or some action for the driver endangering other passengers. That being said, there are some professions that allow for provisions of the driver stepping off the bus while it is idling, mostly to help a passenger. This can include luggage or any other items the passenger may be traveling with, along with and including walkers, wheelchairs, or other items. On a side note, the article I read on Google was about a driver who stepped off the bus to take a selfie with a Hollywood star. While the actions seem innocent, the driver utilized her cell phone on paid company time AND potentially endangered her passengers by stepping off the bus. Finally, while it is not wrong to ask for an autograph or selfie in general, it may look unprofessional to others, which is probably why she got reported.
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Then you may want to check in with the district and the bus shop to see if something can be done. Have you considered talking with the driver to see what his reasoning is? Maybe if you approach it with a polite manner, he might be more amenable to changing or giving an extra row of seats for space. Good luck.
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I'm not sure exactly what your question is, but from what I gather, safety is a concern. If the school district isn't doing anything to stop the behavior of drivers, then please report the behavior to the police. That being said, make sure you know exactly what the driver has said or done or you could be accused of filing a false police report. You may have a situation where the driver has been instructed to leave students.
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Have you tried speaking with the bus driver directly? Maybe there is a space issue and the driver has assigned seats. If your child is the last stop (in the morning), then it may be that the only seats available are ones with boys in them. If possible you could request that your child be seated next to a child of the same gender or paired up with someone else. When I have assigned seats on my bus, I usually will pair children together with ones whom I know are their friends on the bus. Sometimes with the younger ones, I will pair them up with either classmates or older positive influences.
As far as saying good morning or anything to the children, it is each bus drivers individual preferences. I prefer to greet every child with a friendly good morning. If I don't greet children, they know its either because I was distracted or otherwise occupied answering a child. Sometimes you speaking to the bus driver might bring about the change that your child needs. Good luck!
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That depends on the individual bus driver but most of us at least do a short walk through at the end of every route to make sure the kids have all exited the bus. Whether they dig in the seats and find objects hidden is dependent on each individual bus driver. Personally, I check my bus, but my kids also know that they better take all their objects with them because some other kids aren't honest.
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I haven't had much of a chance to blog recently. Its kind of a shame that I've not been as active in the blog-o-sphere. Maybe I'll create a new post referencing this Q&A so that people can come and get their questions answered directly.
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