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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1007 Questions

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Last Answer on February 07, 2021

Best Rated

How do you handle “kids” when they have constant behaviour problems, the use lots if profanity, talk too loud, yell, smoke, talk back, bad mouth the bus driver where the driver can hear them, etc?

Asked by Gannet over 6 years ago

Write them up and turn them into the administration. Generally i try to handle problems before they get out of control though.

Why is there such a shortage of bus drivers?

Asked by Maya almost 7 years ago

Because the job is severely underpaid for the hours and dedication we put in as drivers. Lots of places won't hire a person to work part time for the hours that we are available since our schedule is so unique and our pay isn't even close to what would be a livable wage.

There is also a video of a bus driver blowing a whistle in a kids ear and yelling at him.

Asked by Jeff over 6 years ago

Thats unacceptable.

Okay this happens months ago but I want to see what you think. Okay my Ag teacher who drives a bus of the class down to the school farm took a phone call while he was driving. Should I have said something?

Asked by Jims over 6 years ago

Again situational. Depending on the situation at hand the rule states no phone use primarily. That being said if he wasn't a normal driver he might not have thought about it. Truthfully, I've taken phone calls but usually make them brief as unless its an emergency it can wait.

When do you usually write citations? Do you use them frequently or only in extreme situations?

Asked by Dan over 6 years ago

Generally I save citations for extreme situations like if a kid punches another kid in the face and blood is drawn or if a weapon is brought on the bus. There are some drivers that will write a kid up for nothing or minor stuff. The only other time I might use a citation is if I've exhausted going to the parent and the parent has refused to do anything about the behavior. Then and only then do I document what I've done and send it on to the school to handle.

Why are parents and students so mean to subs? They are just trying to do their job and they are yelled at they are too early, too late, made a simple wrong turn and can easly turn around. Also kids are usually for them then their regular driver.

Asked by afasdfa over 6 years ago

Subs have a more difficult job than regular drivers because they do take the brunt of problems if a kid misbehaves or is not out at the stop. That being said no route is without problems and problem kids. The trick is to figure out how to approach it.

What happens when a school bus has to enter gated neighborhood like how do you open the gate?

Asked by Mr. Dr. Professor Patrick over 6 years ago

The bus driver is given the code by the association that owns the gate and generally like everyone else has to press in the code to open the gate. Some gated communities are open during certain periods of the day like commuter times to allow buses in and out. Some are open during the day and close only at night. Some require a remote to open and the bus is provided with that. There's ways around it. Some communities have a gate guard that will let a bus in and out.