Over crowding on the buses

[caddis]

I wanted to start this thread to make parents aware of what I think is a problem. Our school district hired a new bus contractor this year and all of a sudden our kids are being made to ride 3 in a seat on a very cramped bus. If this is an improvment like certain school officals claim then I want the old bus contractor back.When the other company provided the buses our kids were seated 2 to a seat. I know that 3 to a seat is apparently legal (I am checking this out as we speak) but I don't feel it is a safe practice. I was made aware that some kids because of there size barely have any seat to sit on while they are being taken home. Some of these kids spend up to an hour on these buses and I don't think they should be put in this position. If this is a cost cutting move by our school district then shame on them. If this practice continues then I guess I will be attending my share of School Board meetings. :stick:

[tyrone_soccer]

My guess is that if this is a problem it will be fixed fairly soon. I know from experience, last year this happened to my kids. Within a week the problem was solved. They added a bus to my kids route and things were back to normal within the first week of school.

[Rick]

<=== Happy his kids came back on the correct bus today. (they were put on the wrong bus yesterday)

It will work itself out...

[SoccerMom]

Yes, this happened last year to us as well, and they added a "little" bus to the route. Hopefully this company will do the same. Otherwise,if you think its crowded now, wait until winter with all the kids wearing their winter coats, etc.

[caddis]

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/ ... t.hmp.html

Here is the law regarding how many kids are allowed to be put on a bus.I did find out that the school thought it would be a good idea to condense the routes. I just hope everybody keeps an eye on this because it isn't going to be a problem until god for bid one of the buses has an accident and kids are hurled up through the center of the bus because there was no room to get them fully into a seat.What our school won't do to save a buck huh? I think the school should be made to send a letter home to the parents when there are going to be more kids than seats on a bus,then we all can consider another form of transportation for our children.

[submarinerswife]

I can say I don't believe this company would cut corners. I know at our school there is a person in the administration office that decides the bus routes etc.... I'd contact the office and ask questions. The new company is good and fair.

But start at the admin office to get answers.

I complained about a bus problem with my childs football team. He was sitting on the floor to go to the away games. Well next game 2 buses showed up to take the kids.

[sissy31696]

Last year the overcrowded bus was a problem on our route, but this year, the bus seems pretty empty, but then again its only the 3rd day of school, and when the cooler weather begins, some of the kids that didnt ride in the warmer months due to parents providing transportation, will start to ride in a few months.

The problem I have right now is that the bus shows up at 8:00, and my daughter is in middle school (5th grade), and all the notes I read stated that they had to be at school by 8:02, grant it we dont live that far away from the school, but there is definitely no way they can make it to the school in 2 minutes, especially when there are 2 red lights and a set of RR tracks! We are hoping the bus will come earlier within the next few weeks if not, I guess I will have to contact the school to see if anything can be done.

[SoccerMom]

What time is the bus supposed to arrive? I would definetly complain to the administration. They seem to take complaints seriously. Its the first week of school, too, so hopefully your driver will get the hang of things and be on time soon.

Our bus is always five to ten minutes early, both in the mornings and afternoons. Last year we had problems with having many different drivers, sometimes a new one daily, and all of them running at different times. Once it was ten minutes early dropping off my son and I wasn't at the bus stop yet, and since he was in first grade at the time, they took him back to the school. So, the school calls to say "where were you, the bus is taking him back to the school" and I'm like "at the end of my lane running, yelling and waving my arms to no avail, trying to attract the attention of the a substitute bus drive who is at my stop ten minutes early, while trying to drag along my puppy, who is more interested in sniffing bird droppings on the road, and my 3-year-old daughter, who is wailing because I woke her up from her nap."

"Well, you need to come to the school to pick up your son (you neglectful mother, how dare you not be at the bus stop camped out all day, don't you know your sub bus driver thinks he's the next Dale Earnhart?). So, I rush over there and wait in the front office, with my daughter still wailing, and wait for about 40 minutes, because they neglected to tell me it would take that long to finish up the run and come back to the school...

[sissy31696]

last year the bus would come any where from 7:45 until 7:50. Hopefully next week will be better, if not, i will make a call. Our other option is to allow her to ride with the neighbor, because she will be taking her little girl with her because their son is in K4 this year, and she will have to drop him off anyways, since the littler kids cannot ride the busses.

time will work it out!!

[submarinerswife]

Well it is the first week of school. We had a bus 1 hr 10 mins late getting to our school to pick up the kids to take them home.

But you have to also remember that buses are not mandated by the state. So buses in actuality could be cut due to lack of funding etc......

[SoccerMom]

My daughter is in K4 this year, and I so wish she could ride the bus with her big brother, but I guess that would contribute even more to the overcrowding, raise costs, etc. So far this year we've had the same bus driver and he's been close to the same time each morning, so its been working out. Since I have to pick up my daughter at the school, just before my son is released, I drive them both home. He'll be riding home on Mondays, however, because my daughter doesn't have school that day. So, we'll have to wait another week to see how that goes.