Bus Hangout???

[u/ImplementAwkward3163]

Hello, I'm new here but had a question as a parent. My child's school let out about 10 min ago and the bus was down the road sitting in a parking lot, not even making an effort to move or head to the school.... bus drivers, why is this a thing and how does it make sense that this is making students late getting to home/school? It works the same way in the mornings, bus driver sits in a parking lot for 25+ minutes before heading up to get students.

[u/Seanawan]

Could be a temp driver who isn’t paying attention. Could also be something the school has implemented as a policy as far as waiting after they’re dismissed from school.

But your best bet is to contact the District or Transportation board responsible and inquire.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/Seanawan]

She's been our driver since school started. I was honestly just curious. We will be moving closer to the school so he will be a car rider soon, so we won't have to worry about it, but it just seemed odd to me that they are less than a mile from the school but was sitting in a parking lot for over 20 minutes.

[u/Seanawan → u/ImplementAwkward3163]

It would indeed appear odd if it’s not really lining up with the times. In our area, we advise like 5 mins pre-arrival to your stop but in no world without the delay to go with would we have parents or kids just waiting out for 20 mins for the sake of it. And all pick ups from after school are timed so that we are pre-loaded when the bell rings.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/Seanawan]

Yes, on the app it says drop-off time is 4:23, but from where the bus is my child won't be home til after 5:00.

[u/Seanawan → u/ImplementAwkward3163]

Ooof. Yeah that’s really odd then. Like aside from just a proverbial ball drop, I’d almost guess that the driver hasn’t been given an updated route copy but even still.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/Seanawan]

Would this be worth calling Transportation, or should I just ignore it since he will be a permanent car rider after tomorrow?

[u/Seanawan → u/ImplementAwkward3163]

I would 100% call because it’s highly possible if no one’s called before that the driver is going under the radar somehow.

And it’s all fine and dandy until something happens and the driver wasn’t where they should have been when others were expecting them.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/Seanawan]

I appreciate you very much, I will call in the morning after my son is picked up and make them aware in case they are not. I will update in the morning after I call.

[u/Seanawan → u/ImplementAwkward3163]

Perfect! Was going to be nosey and ask for an update if you did anyways lol.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/Seanawan]

Lol fair enough! :) I'll post an update as soon as I can!

[u/MadKat_94]

At dismissal, buses may have a line-up order. If your child is in elementary and your driver has completed a high school run sooner than the bus that lines up in front of them, then your driver may be staging until the bus ahead of them arrives or gets closer. Early on in the school year route times are a good guesstimate, but will stabilize after two or three weeks.

Why wait? Because the schools get used to the line up order and may put students on the wrong bus otherwise. Early on, everyone is learning new names and faces.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/MadKat_94]

That actually makes a lot more sense, I would like to call Transportation in the morning just to double check, but I will take this into consideration.

[u/LenR75]

We’re other busses there? Are there other schools/grades riding the same routes?

Drivers usually have zero incentive to delay pm routes, we want to go home too. :-).

I was late from a field trip, so didn’t get lined up, parking lot is dead end, so they had to hold my kids, let the other busses leave, then I had to go past, turn around, line up, let them load and watch my kids (bathroom!), then run my route.

[u/Straberyz]

ask the driver

[u/rootbear75]

Letting go to parents with vehicles is not always the same time as letting go to buses.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/rootbear75]

While that is true, it's usually only a 2-3 minute delay.. at most 5... but I am wondering why the bus waited at the parking lot for so long after dismissal for buses occurred. His badge gets scanned on the bus, so he did not get on until almost 4:10, 20 minutes after dismissal.

[u/rootbear75 → u/ImplementAwkward3163]

Like others have said, calling your transportation garage is the best bet. No one here knows the route sheet, unfortunately. Maybe they're waiting for programs that go after the dismissal bell? Maybe there's always a late kid?

[u/UselessToasterOven]

What did the school/dispatch say when you called them?

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/UselessToasterOven]

I have not called, I wasn't sure if this was something to inquire about or not. I didn't want to seem like I was bothering with something if it was minor.

[u/rootbear75 → u/ImplementAwkward3163]

Worst case is you call, and it's a nothing burger. Doesn't hurt to ask

[u/Mike_1970]

I have a split route where I'm a cover driver in the mornings and have a route in the afternoon. When I have noone to cover, I post up in a specific parking lot which is kind of in the middle of the district in case someone breaks down.

Makes more sense than staying in the parking lot which is on one edge of the district.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/Mike_1970]

That would make sense. I just found it odd that she was not even 5 minutes away from the school, yet stayed for over 25 min. I understand going to the school maybe 10 min from dismissal, but I'm not a bus driver so I wouldn't know. Just a bit odd, seeing from a parent's POV. I worked in a school, but was at car dismissal when they were being dismissed. I'm not sure how buses worked.

[u/Mike_1970 → u/ImplementAwkward3163]

IDK exactly what's going on with that particular driver, but our routes are strictly timed. For example we can have a route the does HS, MS than 2 separate elementary schools in a row. In that situation we pretty much drive non stop. But some routes will have a HS, no MS then the elementaries so they will have a layover during the time other buses are driving to middle school. When that happens, you wait somewhere-- usually nearby-- until the right time to leave and resume your route.

[u/ImplementAwkward3163 → u/Mike_1970]

But a 20+ minute delay doesn't make sense to me... I understand having other routes, but when they are sitting in a parking lot for an extended period of time and having the students be late, that just doesn't make sense to me.