[bdye]

My high school age son says that the driver has them squeeze 3 to a seat on his bus. I can see this working for elementary but not for middle or high school. His last classroom is pretty far from the buses so he usually get to be a third person in a seat and ends up perched on the edge of the seat. Thank goodness he is one of the first stops. He is also last stop in the mornings, so he gets it going and coming. I just wondered if it would do any good to complain to the bus barn. I know it is not the driver's fault.

[mysterious]

Been there, done that last year.

Complaining will do no good....sorry.

[zoocrew]

Not enough money to add more bus routes due to no taxes to cover such. Either drive them or raise taxes to pay for. Sorry to be so blunt but there is no other alternative.

[CrazyD]

My daughters bus was 3 to a seat and also standing in the isles but yet due to the fact that the driver only had one route a day (high school) she was 'forced' to take an overloaded bus. We would see another bus directly in front of her in route to the school with half a load but yet our bus driver had to make another stop at an apartment complex to pick up kids when her bus was already full. When I questioned what I saw, I was informed that it was because that was the only route she had everyday where as the bus driving in front of her may have had let's say an elementary and high school route everyday. You can always bring the issue to the bus barns attention and at least get an understanding of the situation if they say there's nothing they can do about it.

[workingforaliving]

TTheyll start doing bus counts soon. Hopefully there will be SOME balancing.

[bdye]

workingforaliving, on 09 August 2011 - 08:31 PM, said:

TTheyll start doing bus counts soon. Hopefully there will be SOME balancing.

That would be great, because I sure do not want to add to the traffic jam by driving him to school.

[crazy4u]

It usually takes a few weeks and then they do bus counts to see how many are on each bus. If there are too many they usually even it out.

[Far West]

workingforaliving, on 09 August 2011 - 08:31 PM, said:

TTheyll start doing bus counts soon. Hopefully there will be SOME balancing.

Yes.

My son's have had the same problem as the OP ...even to the point where one year there were no "seats" even with all of them 3 to a seat. The driver was yelling at the left over kids to sit so the bus could leave, but there was not a seat. My son said we had to sit on the floor so we could leave. He then said other buses left with half empty buses! This went on for over a week. My child was not the one to have to sit on the floor the next days, but many had to.

I called the bus people after that first day and they said they knew there were some buses with too many and some almost empty. They were trying to get accurate counts so they could balance it out. They took the bus number so they knew which bus to watch - but it was not immediate.

Mornings were not the problem, it was afternoons.

It is ridiculous to put high schoolers 3 to a seat as many are six foot 180+ pounds and they have a backpack to squish into the seat too. But it is what it is. As the year goes there will be fewer on the high school bus as they stay after school for various activities.

I hope it gets resolved for your child's bus quickly.

[bdye]

Far West, on 10 August 2011 - 12:47 AM, said:

Yes.

My son's have had the same problem as the OP ...even to the point where one year there were no "seats" even with all of them 3 to a seat. The driver was yelling at the left over kids to sit so the bus could leave, but there was not a seat. My son said we had to sit on the floor so we could leave. He then said other buses left with half empty buses! This went on for over a week. My child was not the one to have to sit on the floor the next days, but many had to.

I called the bus people after that first day and they said they knew there were some buses with too many and some almost empty. They were trying to get accurate counts so they could balance it out. They took the bus number so they knew which bus to watch - but it was not immediate.

Mornings were not the problem, it was afternoons.

It is ridiculous to put high schoolers 3 to a seat as many are six foot 180+ pounds and they have a backpack to squish into the seat too. But it is what it is. As the year goes there will be fewer on the high school bus as they stay after school for various activities.

I hope it gets resolved for your child's bus quickly.

Thanks for your post.I ended up taking him to school today. I hate to do that and waste gas but its better than having his day start off with the dread of the bus ride.

[Far West]

bdye, on 10 August 2011 - 08:01 AM, said:

Thanks for your post.I ended up taking him to school today. I hate to do that and waste gas but its better than having his day start off with the dread of the bus ride.

I am glad you are taking your son... as you say dreading the start of your day sucks!

Keep in mind, if the counts decrease because the moms are driving for the next few weeks there will be inadequate corrections. Then once they start to ride again there will be no seats. It won't be the bus barn's fault - they will correct for who rides the bus currently. Huge Catch-22.

[LisaC]

I would call the bus barn and let them know that you are concerned. You can vent her all you want, but if you don't tell the bus barn about your concern, it might get overlooked - especially if you start driving him.

[Far West]

LisaC, on 10 August 2011 - 09:03 AM, said:

I would call the bus barn and let them know that you are concerned. You can vent her all you want, but if you don't tell the bus barn about your concern, it might get overlooked - especially if you start driving him.

Make sure you nicely tell them of the concern you have for the children's safety.

Emphasize that currently you are helping out by driving your son while it all gets balance, however after the (pick a date) 24th of this month you will not be able to any longer. Ask them to please include your son in their counts for bus XYZ.

They were quite nice when I spoke with them years ago. I did have to leave a message and they returned my call.

What we do for our kids!!!!

[markdavd]

I imagine the routes are planned using the 'potential' number of students. When planning, they don't know who will drive or have a ride, and who will actually be riding the bus.

If this is the case and knowing that many parents drive the first week, they have to wait until things 'settle' before going through the effort to balance a route.

Call and politely let your concerns be known. It won't hurt and may help speed up the process for your child's bus.

[Spunkywman]

This is exactly what happens. It takes a few weeks for things to get to a normal pace. Such as parents stop driving the kids to and from school, what days have more students in the afternoon or morning, how long its taking to get the kids to school and if they are on time. There are so many things that have to be worked out. Let your concerns be known and know that the drivers, administrators and transportation office is trying to get things sorted out as quickly as possible.

markdavd, on 10 August 2011 - 09:19 AM, said:

I imagine the routes are planned using the 'potential' number of students. When planning, they don't know who will drive or have a ride, and who will actually be riding the bus.

If this is the case and knowing that many parents drive the first week, they have to wait until things 'settle' before going through the effort to balance a route.

Call and politely let your concerns be known. It won't hurt and may help speed up the process for your child's bus.

[Tahoe]

I didn't even read all the posts, just replying to the orginial post.

Come on....really! When I went to school in elementary school (yes in paulding county)I rode the bus with all grades (K-12) and three to a seat. I don't remember my parents complaining about crowding.

Economic times are in dire straits!!! Be a little more positive in what decision the school board is making considering the amount of money available to fund our bus system. Everyone is so quick to charge at the school board because their poor child may be a little uncomfortable. Its really unnerving these days to get on here and read some of the posts that people complain about.

I am just happy to hear that buses are overcrowded. That means that more parents are utilizing the bus system instead of conjesting the school campus.

[RaidersRock]

we had a bus issue with overcrowding 2 years ago. They has assigned seats and the girls my daughter sat next to put their bags in the seat leaving her no room. I did call the bus barn and asked them just to give the driver a message to ask the girls to move their bags. I was very nice (we loved our driver) and she handled it immediately and there was still peace between the girls. I have found that having the right attitude when you make a call to the bus barn can certainly help your cause.

[bdye]

Far West, on 10 August 2011 - 08:31 AM, said:

I am glad you are taking your son... as you say dreading the start of your day sucks!

Keep in mind, if the counts decrease because the moms are driving for the next few weeks there will be inadequate corrections. Then once they start to ride again there will be no seats. It won't be the bus barn's fault - they will correct for who rides the bus currently. Huge Catch-22.

Oh, I didn't even think about that!

[winston1972]

Geesh, be glad you have school busses. I went to a school district that didn't have busses at all and parents survived. I wonder how much our school taxes would go down if we didn't have bussing to contend with....