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.
That would depend on what you mean. If you intend on using the bus as free child care, NO. Your children need to be dropped off and picked up at their designated stop times in the mornings and the afternoons. Exceptions can be made if you are running late or emergencies occur (we understand when things are out of your control) but we prefer things like these don't become a habit. It's not fair to your children or the other children on the bus. If you know of a neighbor or friend of yours that is a bus driver and you want to ask them to babysit your children in their off times, then that falls under the category of personal friendship/relationships and is outside the realm of professional bus duties. For example, I transport my friends 3 teenage children. They often need help with homework so I will go over to their house after my bus route to help them. This is because we are friends outside of my job not because we became friends THROUGH my job, though the same or similar scenario can occur.
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Yes. I have had a few close calls, though luckily none of my children have been hurt. Motorists disobeying the stop sign happens more often than you think. I apologize for the delay in responding.
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Are all 4 of you trying to cram into one seat at once? If this is the case then I can see your frustration. Can you ask him if he means rows of seats instead of just a single seat? If he means rows of seats then a row of seats can fit 4 people (two on each side). Also, if there are four kids in one seat that are near high school age I would have a hard time cramming those kids in that one single seat. Maybe you can get your parents to discuss the issue with the bus driver?
An example of where I use location of students to my benefit is on my run. I have one seat where I have 5 students assigned to that single seat. Two are middle schoolers, one is a high schooler and 2 are elementary kids that are kindergarten and 2nd grade. The middle school rides the first run and the high schooler and two elementary get on in the second run. The only reason why I have the two elementary with the high schooler is because they are her little cousins and she can squeeze next to them easily without creating an issue. I also don't mind if there is a spare seat that they adjust accordingly and let the little kid sit with someone else as long as there is space available.
Good luck
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Are your kids standing out at the stop 5-10 minutes ahead of time for the bus driver to see them? There may have been a substitute on the bus and not every substitute knows every stop and most rely on students being out at their designated stops on time. If your children have been told multiple times to be out on time ready and waiting and they were not, then I have no sympathy. That being said our policy in our district is that we go by every stop and at least look to see if the kids are at each stop. On colder mornings or mornings where rain is a concern, I don't mind waiting an extra minute for kids to come from the house but generally the kids need to be out and ready and waiting on the bus.
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Special Education Teacher
Should special-needs students be separated from other students?
School Bus Driver
Do the kids treat you with the same amount of respect as other authority figures at school?
Court Reporter
How do you transcribe when people in the courtroom are talking over and interrupting each other?
Is your daughter riding a regular education school bus? You can request special education school bus transportation for your child to be written into your child's IEP or 504 plan. If your child already has a 504 and an IEP in place then modifications to those must be made before any district will make any changes or concessions. Get those in place and the district should help you at least fight that battle of getting your child to school on time. That being said, riding the bus is a privilege not a right and therefore it is something that most districts provide because many parents do not have other options for their children to get to school. If your child needs extra time to prepare to be in school I do suggest that you look into alternatives such as driving her yourself in the morning times so that it is not as stressful if the other options do not work.
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Our cameras are locked away to where we cannot turn off the cameras when the bus is on. However when the bus is stopped and turned off and NO students are on board, the cameras will turn off just like any other electronic when you turn on or off your vehicle. For the safety of the drivers, we are not allowed to turn off our buses while we have students on them except when waiting at a school, and then most of us turn our keys to the left all the way to keep the cameras rolling.
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That's a bit dicey. It is frowned upon for us to do personal business in the bus in general. That isn't to say that we aren't allowed to make stops at a grocery store or Walmart for one reason or another as long as we do not abuse the privilege. What you may have witnessed too is a class field trip to a bank that may have been pre-planned for a teacher and students. Don't be so quick to judge as there may have been many reasons for a bus to be stopping at a local business for one reason or another. Keep in mind we often have second jobs and we get permission to park our buses at one location or another that is not on school property. If you are concerned about seeing a bus making repeated stops at a location, a phone call to the bus yard may clarify the situation and allow the proper authorities to be notified of any ill behavior.
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