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 loud do those radios go on the bus? I heard somewhere some of them have a pretty good bass if you crank them up.

Asked by Sam over 6 years ago

They get pretty loud. From the drivers seat it doesn't sound too loud, but moving away from the noise of the engine it can get really loud. The bass and treble are marginal at best.

What do I do if the bus is always later then the posted stop time by five, ten, sometimes fifteen minutes but substitutes come pretty close to the stop time. Would calling the transportation director and asking to have the stop time raised be okay?

Asked by Sydney almost 7 years ago

Actually thats a good solution. If your regular driver runs late but the sub runs on time then the transportation needs to be aware so that they can make changes to the route so kids don't miss the bus by mistake.

Oh and by the way there have had two way radio trainings and that has not stuck with them!

Asked by The angry redneck over 6 years ago

Happens here all the time. The radio can be tied up for 10 minutes or longer on non essential crap.

Why would your bosses be so concerned about what you have on here?

Asked by Gkxlhclgclhclhcl over 6 years ago

Because there are some districts and states with a very strict publicity policy

Good point. Now would it be better if the bus was used on a long route or be a extra spare bus until needed for a district that had a lot of trips that went out of state. Or is this still overkill?

Asked by Interviewer over 6 years ago

That's a tough question. Most districts purchase buses based on capacity and usability. The capacity of these buses are 48 passenger, 40 for the ones that are wheelchair accessible. The standard capacity for a school bus is 72 passengers at 3 to a seat. Of course this figure is impossible the older and larger a child gets. My route alone takes me an hour and a half in the morning and almost 2 hours in the afternoon. I transport more than 85 to 90 children across all age groups on a good day. A bus like that while appealing because of the comfort items, is impractical because even at full capacity i would need to make at minimum 2 rounds to get everyone to and from school. Many routes are designed to have the maximum number of ridership and in some cases will exceed that amount. Even on the longer routes. If the district had drivers available and enough finances available then sure. But otherwise i think it would waste valuable resources.

If something happens would the driver be liable if the driver saw the student walking to the bus? Is there a better way to handle that situation? Would the driver be liable if it was say a sub and he or she did not know that person was coming?

Asked by Jarred almost 7 years ago

That is exactly the reason why we ask students to be ready 5 to 10 minutes before stop time so they are ready to go. So they cannot be held liable.

What’s your opinion on electric and alternative fueled buses?

Asked by Mickey Mouse over 6 years ago

Great for inner city and areas that are largely congested where pollution might be a large concern. Impractical for large areas due to limits on how fast and long it can run on the alternative fuels before returning to regular fuel.