Transportation FAQ
Q: When should my child be at the bus stop in the morning?
A: Riders should be at their stop at least (5) five minutes before the bus is scheduled to be there. This allows for some variation in traffic patterns and prevents students from missing the bus.
Q: Why do bus pickup and drop off times vary, especially at the beginning of the year?
A: At the beginning of the year it takes extra time for the schools to load all the students on their correct buses, drivers are learning new routes and becoming familiar with new students, and parents are asking questions and getting to know their new drivers. Once the year gets underway, things settle into a pattern and routes run on time unless there are traffic or weather disruptions. Thanks in advance for your patience.
Q: How far can a bus stop be from a student's home?
A: Bus stops may be up to 1.5 miles from the student's home. The stops for District 201 students vary between .10 and .15 miles from home. (.10 = 1 block)
Q: Why are there more group stops than individual stops?
A: In order to be efficient with limited public resources and to provide the most efficient transportation possible, students are placed at group stops that are centrally placed to serve everyone fairly. Fewer stops also lead to less wear and tear on the bus and reduce student ride time.
Q: What about the safety of my child- I can't see the bus stop from my front porch?
A: If parents are uncomfortable with their students going to a stop out of view from the house we would encourage them to either walk their child to the stop or share bus stop supervision with other neighborhood parents.
Q: We live in a Cul-de-sac. Will the bus come down our street?
A: Only for certain student circumstances that require a door to door pickup. Buses in Cul-de-sacs are very hard to maneuver. It's not allowed to back a bus with students on board without a spotter and Cul-de-sacs offer too many blind spots and perils to safely navigate.
Q: Why do some children have to cross the street to board the bus?
A: We are not able to route buses so that all children can board the bus on the door side. Students should wait on the side of the street that they reside on and wait until the bus comes to a complete stop. The driver will put out the stop arm and determine that all traffic has stopped before motioning the child across.
Q: Is there a time limit a student can spend on the school bus?
A: No, but Districts are encouraged to limit the travel time to not more than an hour either way. We do our best to make sure that students aren't on the bus that long but occasional traffic or weather conditions may interfere.
Q: Is the bus driver required to see that a child reaches their home after dropping them at their assigned stop?
A: No. Our drivers have up to 60-65 students on their routes and they do their best to make sure that everyone gets home safely. The parent/guardian is responsible for their student from the time of drop off at assigned stop. Once again, parents can share bus stop duties if they can't be there every day.
Q: As a parent can I board the bus to monitor student behavior or speak to the students?
A: No. State law prohibits school bus drivers from allowing any unauthorized person from boarding a school bus while there are students aboard. If you have a problem with the driver or a passenger on the bus please contact the Transportation office for assistance but never board the bus to confront anyone.
Q: My child's bus seems too crowded, why are there sometimes three in a seat?
A: For efficiency, buses are loaded with the attempt of utilizing all available seating space according to manufacturer. Buses are designed to hold three students per seat and our buses are 71 capacity buses. The standards developed for manufacture of school buses incorporate an occupant protection design referred to as
"compartmentalization" which is unique to the school bus. It provides a protective envelope consisting of closely spaced seats that have energy absorbing seat backs to protect the occupants in the event of a collision. The design of a bus makes it safer and more efficient when it is fully loaded.