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

Do you prefer a simple bus with bare minimum options or a bus with every luxury option there is where there is what feels like thousands of switches but they all are nice features?

Asked by Friend over 6 years ago

I have no real preference as long as it starts, runs, works for what i need it to do and gets kids to and from school. The extra items like AC or anything else is bonus.

How do I not get a certain sub again? I always get complaints on her and she messes with seat controls, changes the radio station, leaves windows down, climate controls, etc. I also get a lot of negative feedback about her.

Asked by Glynn over 6 years ago

So you expect a sub to not adjust a seat and mirrors to help them do their jobs? Things like that are a safety concern for the students. If a sub cannot see adequately out the mirrors and out the dash board you are putting the kids at risk. As far as leaving windows down, the sub should put the windows up. Radio stations are an easy fix. Have the driver put their favorite stations on a separate band. Generally radios have 3 bands of FM radio available. When they plan to be out, simply inform them to switch the band that way their presets are not messed with.

I know some routes in my district go multiple different places. So it makes the route bigger but instead of picking up EVERY kid in a neighbourhood we will take a little off another bus. Then they can do transfers.

Asked by Dsmmsdm almost 7 years ago

Again it depends on district and district policy on how they run routes.

Have you ever had a fight on your bus and what happened?

Asked by Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek over 6 years ago

Yes. If the kids fighting draws blood in any way shape or form, i immediately call the police. If i am close enough to a school i have the administrators called out. If not i tell parents and write up kids.

Do you think it’s appropriate to listen to Alex Jones on the bus with kids? Kids are highly receptive. Same with NPR

Asked by Jeff over 6 years ago

Not necessarily. It's probably boring to kids and personally i prefer to play something that is kid friendly.

Can the board and transportation have desertion over whether to transport students who don’t live in the district but go to school in the district for one reason or another. I heard word on the street they may start but I don’t know if they can.

Asked by Don over 6 years ago

Yes they can have discretion to provide transportation to out of district kids. In our district if a parent chooses to enroll their child out of district, they are responsible for transporting that child.

Hi, do you think more districts should have programs that track buses and alert parents also alerts that say for delays, early arrivals, and other changes to the bus schedule? Do you think while convenient they raise privacy concerns or not?

Asked by 02983457 over 6 years ago

I would like to see something like this but it could get abused by parents. I think it could be regulated by each district and company. That way the company can relay info to parents without giving up location info to parents for safety of children.