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.
Depending on the area in which you live and the desperation of your child to use the bathroom would be the determining factor for whether or not the right decision was made. When possible here, we will make accommodations for a child to use an actual restroom, but sometimes on country routes, there are not bathrooms available readily. If your child was desperate enough to where he could not wait till he got home or risked embarrassment in wetting his pants, the bus driver probably thought it might be easier to just let him off and have him go behind a tree right quick. If you take issue with this, then bring it to the bus drivers attention and talk to the bus supervisors.
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In my district, we are allowed to put children off at two places. 1. that child's regular stop, and 2. at any school within the district up to and including district school board offices and the bus barn itself. As for you spitting gum at somebody, did you consider the ramifications of your actions? First, who is going to clean up the gum, which by now has probably stuck to the seat or to the floor and been walked on? Second, is throwing or spitting something at someone a way to solve a problem? Third, if you are having a problem with somebody, please, feel free to tell the driver so that the driver can make adjustments. That being said, while its NOT illegal, it may be against policy.
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It is a very good possibility that you will be billed with the cost of a replacement seat cover if the existing cover cannot be cleaned. I'm not sure how much those generally run, though a quick search on google revealed that the replacement covers are usually 8 to 15 dollars depending on where the school bus transportation department places their orders. The seat covers are usually ordered to match the interior color of the seats. There may also be an installation or other surcharge for putting the seat cover on the seat as it is a bit of a process in order to ensure that the cover is secure and fits well. That being said, it might be a good idea to discuss with your son the proper way to respect other peoples property. Just like you wouldn't let him draw on the walls at home, he shouldn't draw on the bus seat. I have a soft spot for elementary kids and usually there are cleaners out there that can remove marker stains from the seats. If your son would ride my bus, I would likely ask you if it would be okay if he could clean the seat on which he drew. If the marks still did not come up with a generic cleaner, then I would still praise him for trying to clean up his mess and then get a different cleaner to attempt to clean the marks myself after telling him that sometimes cleaners don't always erase the mistakes we make. Sometimes kids (especially little ones) don't think of their actions before they do it, so I keep that in mind and adjust my approach accordingly.
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Late buses are generally used to get students within reasonable walking distance (1 mile) of their homes. That being said, I don't know the policies of your particular bus service. Maybe you should have your parents check with the bus barn and the school in order to make sure they do have your stop on the list.
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Tattoo Artist
Is it illegal to tattoo a client if he's drunk?
Server / Bartender
How much more do female servers get tipped?
Birthday Party Clown
What's the meanest thing a kid ever said to you during a party?
As i said before, we prefer not.
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First, I would blow my horn to try to get the child's attention as well as the oncoming traffic's attention. Secondly, the child should not move towards the bus until I have cleared all traffic and made sure it is safe for the child to do so. Third, if the person passes me, I will do my best to get their license plate number and their car description written down so that I can turn them into the police for disobeying traffic laws regarding school buses.
Flying school buses - a little far fetched though kind of interesting.
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That depends on your district's policy on the matter. In my district as long as they are school age and registered in the school system, the bus drivers can bring their own children on the buses with them. This is also dependent on special circumstances as determined by the boss. Many drivers have children that are very young but also have children that are school age. Often bosses will make the personal call to allow a driver to bring a child that is not registered to the school system on the bus provided the child can behave properly or is properly seat belted or restrained in a manner such as a car seat that will allow the bus driver to still effectively do his or her job while having their children on board. My district also allows drivers to make certain allowances for friends provided it doesn't inconvenience the children on board the bus as a general rule of thumb.
For example, I was allowed to transport my friends three children. My friend lived a block from my bus route and I was allowed to deviate my route by one block to accommodate my friend as approved by my boss. The inconvenience to my bus children was minimal as it meant I only went down one street further up and the time difference was negligible (a matter of 30 seconds to add an additional stop). Did my boss have to make this accommodation? No, but he allowed it because he did not see a reason to deny a favor that I was doing for a friend.
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