Bus stops are located so that elementary students who live .8 mile or more from their school, and secondary students who live more than 2 miles from school are transported by bus.

Stops are identified based on the goals of safety, efficiency, and distance between stops. Generally, stops are located at an intersection, in order for the driver to have a wide area to scan for traffic and students. We also try to eliminate the need for the bus to make backing movements during the route.

Please note:

• School bus drivers do not have the authority to make changes to the route or stop locations.
• Generally, 15-20 students are assigned to one bus stop. This number may be higher in cul-de-sacs, high density housing areas, and secondary school routes.
• Bus stops are placed at locations that meet defined criteria, including being centrally located and within a reasonable walking distance of the student's homes.

We are not able to route the school buses so that all children can board the bus on the door side. We recommend that the children wait on the side of the street where they reside. The bus will stop traffic in all directions to accomodate the children who need to cross the street to board the bus.

Except for special education students, buses are generally not routed down cul-de-sacs, because of the danger to small children and property cause by the turn around/backing movements necessary to navigate a cul-de-sac. Exceptions are made for cul-de-sacs longer than .3 miles for elementary routes, and .6 miles for secondary routes.

With the large number of students and bus stops in our district, it is sometimes necessary to have students walk to stops without sidewalks or on hills or curves.

A higher frequency of stops can make automobile drivers impatient, resulting in cars driving around the bus and creating greater safety problems than the distance a student has to walk to the bus stop. It also makes overall student ride time longer to have more bus stops.

We provide transportation for over 8,500 students per day. In order to be consistent and fair in the placement of stops, we cannot establish bus stop locations based on personal circumstances such as having small children or a daycare in your home, or not being able to see the bus stop from your house, or because your child has a heavy musical instrument. It is your responsibility to get your student(s) safely to the assigned bus stop.

Students may be picked up or dropped off at a location other than their usual bus stop one when requested in writing by a parent or guardian, and approved by the school. The approved written request must be given to the bus driver each time a different pick-up or drop-off point is requested.

For additional information on bus rules and safety, please visit our Safety Pages.

Download Bus Stop Change Request Form »

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