Your child should arrive at the stop at least five minutes before the regular arrival time of the bus. If there is a substitute driver, the times may not be absolutely consistent with the regular times. If the bus is late, ask your child to remain at the stop. Buses break down, roads are blocked, drivers become ill or have emergencies, but there will always be a bus at every stop. If the wait becomes extreme, please call the transportation office at 732-9050, Ext. #2.

How will I know if the bus will operate in inclement weather?

In the event of inclement weather, building power failure or other conditions, EISD may find it necessary to cancel or alter the pick-up or drop-off times. The District will contact local television and radio stations by 6 a.m. if school is to be delayed or closed.

My child's bus is overcrowded. Can some children be placed on another bus?

School bus sizes are stated in terms of passenger capacity for elementary school-aged children. It is assumed that elementary school-aged children will ride three per seat. Middle and high school students are assumed to ride two or three per seat. If the bus has 3 elementary students or 2 to 3 middle/high school students in each seat, it will seem crowded but it will not be over capacity. It is our goal to fully utilize all the space on all the buses in our fleet. Children will be placed on another bus once a bus exceeds capacity. Bus drivers keep up with student counts and notify the transportation office when ridership approaches full capacity.

We live very far from the school and there is no bus stop near for my child. How do I arrange transportation?

EISD provides transportation for all students within the District living two or more miles away from school. Transportation will be provided if there is not a safe walking route to a nearby (within two miles) school. This is known as hazardous area transportation. You may contact the transportation office at 732-9050, Ext. #2.

I drove the shortest distance from my house to the school in my car and I live right at two miles from the school. Is my child eligible to ride the bus?

The transportation director measures all questionable distances with a walking wheel over the shortest route between the property line of the home and property line of the school. Car odometers are not accurate enough to precisely measure the distance. If the path is safe and a distance of less than two miles, your child will not be eligible to ride the bus.

I believe the walking route for my child is not safe. To whom should I speak about that?

The Director of Transportation, who is familiar with the area and the traffic patterns concerning a walking route, will evaluate your concern.

I can't see my child's bus stop from my house. How can I get the bus stop moved closer?

Bus stops are placed at centralized locations that can be safely accessed by a significant number of students to minimize the time length and mileage of the run. Bus stops are usually located at street corners or at mid-block along lengthy and/or narrow overgrown roads. If you have concerns about your child's safety, you are encouraged to accompany your child to the bus stop or arrange a neighborhood buddy to walk with your child. It is the responsibility of the school district to provide the safest transportation possible for your child each day, but it is your responsibility as a parent to have your child at the bus stop on time and ready to board the bus safely. Elementary children may be required to walk up to 300 feet to a bus stop. Middle school students may be required to walk up to 600 feet to a bus stop. High School students may be required to walk up to 900 feet to a bus stop.

My child goes to a daycare provider in an area with bus service. May my child ride the bus?

EISD may provide transportation only on a space available basis to children in daycare situations. It will be the responsibility of the daycare provider to pick up the child(ren) at the nearest regular scheduled stop to the daycare. Curb service will not be available. Approval must be rescinded if the bus becomes overcrowded.

My child is a special needs student. To whom should I speak concerning his transportation?

EISD is responsible for transporting LD, some ED, and some MR, in addition to ESL, early childhood, vocational, and alternatively-placed students. Students requiring lift buses and other special needs students are transported by well trained special needs transportation staff. If you have a question regarding your child’s bus schedule, please call the transportation office at 732-9050, and speak with the Dispatcher.

My child left a coat (glasses, musical instrument, retainer, books) on the bus. How does he/she get it back?

Drivers check their buses after every run. An item left by a child is held by the driver for one day and may be claimed on the bus by the child. Fragile items are often taken off the buses in the evening for their protection, but will be available the next morning. The driver will make an effort to locate the owner. After one day, the item is turned in to the dispatch office for safe keeping. Unclaimed items are donated to charity. You can help by labeling all of your child's school belongings with the child's name and school.

Why are buses sometimes late?

School bus drivers can have the same reasons as motorists for being late. Traffic delays, weather conditions, accidents or driver's illness are just a few reasons. School buses also have mechanical breakdowns or "no starts" that cause delays in picking students up on time. In cases where the regularly assigned bus or driver is unable to pick up students, a separate bus and driver are dispatched to pick up the students. Generally, when a bus starts out late on its first or second run, it continues to be late for its third or fourth run as well.

Why can't all high schools, middle schools and elementary schools start at the same time for each group?

In order to maximize the use of our school bus fleet and to provide a more efficient operation with as few buses as possible, schools are put into one of four distinctly different time schedules. That enables one bus to serve two or more schools each morning and afternoon.

How can I arrange to have my child ride a different bus to a friend’s home after school for one day?

Provide your child with a written note indicating who he/she will be going home with and ask him/her to show it to his homeroom teacher and give it to the bus driver.

What types of school buses are owned and operated by the District?

EISD has several types of school buses:

Transit Style Bus has a flat front, like a Metro bus. It is utilized on bus routes. This bus is used to transport UIL teams to contests as well.
Conventional Style Bus is the traditional style with the long forward hood. These buses range in size from 48-passenger to 78-passenger buses.
VanGuard Style Bus is used primarily to transport students with special needs. These buses range in size from 19-passenger to 35-passenger buses. Several of these buses are equipped with wheelchair lifts. A single wheelchair position requires the same space as two or three bench seats. Therefore, a lift-equipped bus will carry far fewer passengers than its nominal size might indicate. All special needs buses are equipped with air conditioning.

All buses are powered by gasoline and diesel engines and are equipped with automatic transmissions. Additionally, all buses are equipped with two-way radios.

Why are school bus seats spaced so closely together?

The basic purpose in spacing school bus seats so closely is to contain the child in a cushioned compartment with only a minimum amount of space between energy-absorbing surfaces.

After extensive research during the 1970's, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and its agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined that the safest and most practical arrangement for school bus seating would be a "compartmentalization" concept. Accordingly, the new safety regulations established in 1977 included this requirement among many other improvements made that year. Under the compartmentalization concept, seat backs in school buses are made higher, wider and thicker than before. All metal surfaces are covered with foam padding. This structure must then pass rigid test requirements for absorbing energy, such as would be required if a child's body were thrown against the padded back. In addition, the equivalent of a seat back, called a "barrier," is placed in front of the first seat at the front of the bus.

In addition to padding, today's seats also must have a steel inner structure that springs and bends forward to help absorb energy when a child is thrown against it. The steel frame must "give" just enough to absorb the child in the seat ahead. Also, the seat is required to be anchored to the floor so strongly it will not pull loose during this bending action. The floor itself must be so strong that it will not be bent or torn by the pulling action of the seat anchors.

Finally, the requirement is added that seat backs can be no farther apart than a distance that is deemed safe. Clearly, if the backs were too far apart, the child could be thrown too far before being cushioned and/or could be thrown outside the compartment altogether. Today's rules call for a seat back to be no farther than 25" when measured from the modesty panel to the front of the seat back at the center of the seat approximately 4" above the seat cushion. It is very important that the student follow the #1 rule: "Bottom on the seat, facing forward."

Why aren't seat belts required in school buses?

Seat belts are not required in school buses because research by DOT and others determined that compartmentalization was a better solution, as mentioned previously. Some of the key arguments favoring compartmentalization over seat belts are as follows:

Compartmentalization is more manageable. The protective surfaces exist in place without depending on any action by the children or any extra special supervision by the drivers. Seat belts require discipline and supervision to keep them clean, unraveled and in use.
Compartmentalization works equally well for 1, 2 or 3 students per seat. Today's 39" wide standard seats may contain three small children or two large ones, or any combination in between. Arranging seat belts to properly handle any combination is difficult, if not impossible; the best known solution with seat belts is to restrict each seat to two students and two belts, which has the disadvantage of sharply reducing the carrying capacity of the bus fleet.
Compartmentalization works whether students have fully developed abdominal areas or not. Conventional seat belts, which are lap restraints only, are not suitable for small children whose abdominal area and bone structure are not adequately developed to take the force of a lap belt alone. They need the help of chest harnesses also, which adds to the complexity of a proper seat belt solution.
Compartmentalization, once it has done its energy-absorbing job, leaves the student free to escape the bus. Seat belts could leave students strapped in, upside down, perhaps unconscious, in burning or flooding buses.
Compartmentalization is most affordable. Although not a part of the DOT reasoning, this is a factor to be considered. In evaluating the cost of seat belts alone, one should include the cost of retractors and chest restraints also, since those appear needed. Even more important is the probability that a seat belt solution should lead to two students per seat and greater spacing between seats, thereby requiring more buses for the same student load.

For additional information see, The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services position paper on Passenger Crash Protection in School Buses.

Why are 39" seats in school buses rated for three children when at times they only will accommodate two?

The rated capacity of a 39" width passenger seat was devised many years ago by the committee then making recommendations to the National Minimum Standards for School buses. In determining seating capacity of a bus, an allowable average rump width standard was established.

Accordingly, 13" of rump width was suggested when a 3 - 3 seating plan was used. This suggested guideline is still recognized by most states as the accepted approach. It is not a federally mandated requirement.

Do state regulations for school buses supersede federal requirements?

No. State laws do not supersede federal requirements. State regulations for school buses can and usually do add requirements for safety. These requirements are additional to the federal requirements.

I would like my child's extracurricular group (Girl Scouts, birthday party attendees) to ride the bus home. How do I arrange this?

Transportation is not able to accommodate groups, as they are likely to cause overcrowding on buses.

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