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.
I would need examples of the questions being asked in order to better understand the situation. That being said I rarely ask any child any side of a situation but his or her own. For example, on my bus on Friday, I had let one of my more challenging students sit further back from the front. As such, he subsequently threw something at other kids which made a big problem on the bus. Instead of accusing any one child, I asked each child what happened and their side to the story. This stopped them from being upset over the situation and allowed them to control their side to it.In the end, I got the truth about what happened, correlated by several kids, and not one of them accused the other of doing it.
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Bus drivers have the right to assign seats to kids. That includes everyone from pre-school to high school. The way it works on my bus, the elementary have assigned seats. From pre-k through grade 5, they are assigned a certain seat. After that they have the freedom to pick a seat but must stay seated and follow all the bus rules. Failure to follow the rules, acting out, and being unruly will get an older child to be treated like my younger group. Some districts require assigned seats regardless of age of the child. This is to help first responders when there is a bus wreck. We don't do it to be mean or obnoxious, though if you act out, we may retaliate in response by putting you with a child that is significantly younger than you to show you how to behave. If you have a preferred seat or section or have a certain friend or two you want to sit beside, let the bus driver know. Most drivers will try to accommodate you.
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Each state has their own laws regarding the age of bus drivers. I think here in Georgia it is 21 or 22. Other than that I'm not sure. As far as time is concerned, yes it can be worked during a college schedule. In fact I am in college myself and manage my job and college.
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It is legal and well within the bus driver's right to assign seats on the bus. Different drivers choose to do it by sections or by sides, or even by assigning each child a specific spot on a seat. I have my bus divided by grade level, though i have so many middle schoolers that it is difficult to contain them to just a section of rows. So my bus rules are my elementary (pre-k thru grade 5) cannot go past row 6 which is about the halfway point of my 72 passenger bus. My middle school and high school share the remaining 6 rows. Depending on the number of kids in each school I serve will determine whether I allow them certain privileges and that does include restricting seats.
Unless you are forced to sit 3 to a seat to where 3 high schoolers in a seat would make the ride dangerous and unsafe due to lack of space, then really its up to the bus driver. Are the girls crowded? Are there more girls than boys? If the numbers are that all the boys fit (at 2 to a seat) in the 8 seats available (4 rows of seats) then there really isn't an issue other than the fact you feel it is unfair. Life isn't fair.
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Casting Director
Are the melt-down auditions on American Idol staged?
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Is business school a party compared to law or med school?
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Typically, no. However there have been circumstances where a driver does need to exit the bus. It also depends on the situation. Some bus companies require bus drivers to also act as crossing guards so they have to secure their buses and escort children across a road. Another circumstance where a driver would need to exit the bus while students are on the bus is to either speak privately (at the doorway to the bus) with a parent or an administrator. Finally if the bus driver has to use the bathroom, in my district we are authorized to ask for someone to come watch our bus while we use the facilities.
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The article doesn't seem to want to come up for me, but a quick Google search comes up with a couple stories relating to a bus driver leaving a bus running while stepping off the bus. In my district, we are taught never to get off the bus while it is idling with passengers on board. The only time it is acceptable for us is if we are doing our pre-trip inspection to ensure everything is operational. The reason why we are taught this is for safety. It can be very easy for a passenger to step to the front of the bus and press a couple buttons for fun. Pressing the wrong button or releasing the brake could endanger the other passengers on board. From a safety standpoint, the driver should have been suspended or at least very severely reprimanded. I don't think the offense warrants a loss of a job, but certainly a warning or some action for the driver endangering other passengers. That being said, there are some professions that allow for provisions of the driver stepping off the bus while it is idling, mostly to help a passenger. This can include luggage or any other items the passenger may be traveling with, along with and including walkers, wheelchairs, or other items. On a side note, the article I read on Google was about a driver who stepped off the bus to take a selfie with a Hollywood star. While the actions seem innocent, the driver utilized her cell phone on paid company time AND potentially endangered her passengers by stepping off the bus. Finally, while it is not wrong to ask for an autograph or selfie in general, it may look unprofessional to others, which is probably why she got reported.
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What happens when they get written up? If you are having a problem with overcrowding, you have a few options. The first would be to go to your supervisor. They may be able to rearrange and take some of the students off your bus route in order to alleviate the overcrowding issue. Most any kid is going to have problems sitting three to a seat, especially if they are older kids. A second option is to speak to your supervisor about splitting your route into two runs. I service elementary, middle, and high school students on my bus and due to an overcrowding issue I experienced last year, I opted to do an abbreviated first run in order to drop off approximately 20 students to alleviate the need to have most everyone at 3 to a seat. I still get done at the same time every day, actually about 5 minutes earlier by simply going to two runs. My kids are comfortable and they behave much better because they are not packed in like sardines.
A third option is for you to assign everyone a seat. Anyone not in their assigned seat or standing in their assigned seat will get written up.
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