So annoyed at bus - is this par for the course in MCPS?

[Anonymous]

We just started middle school here. My child with special needs struggles every morning to get ready in time for the bus, and it's been quite stressful (we've tried several ways to mitigate that). What annoys me is that the bus never comes when the driver announces it will. The driver tells my child he will be there at X time the next morning, and it's always either earlier or later by sometimes as much as 15 minutes.

However lately, the bus has arrived 30 minutes late and today it didn't arrive at all, and my husband had to drive my son to school.
I can't imagine what it will be like during the cold days of winter, if my son waits 30 minutes in freezing temperatures!

Is this normal for MCPS? None of us in the family have ever ridden school buses before, so we're in shock right now.

[Anonymous]

The bus driver cannot control traffic or the environment around him. Most SN buses have lots of stops in a wide area. If the child before your stop is late, then it has a domino affect.

I'm not trying to be snarky here, but you are fortunate to have a school bus stop right in front of your house for your child. It's not perfect, and I'm sure it can get annoying but just be aware that sometimes, it may not be in the bus driver's control.

Like you, I grew up with no school bus. We had to walk a mile. So, as annoying as it can be sometimes (we've had incidences in mcps where the bus was super late), I'm still pretty grateful for the *free* buses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The bus driver cannot control traffic or the environment around him. Most SN buses have lots of stops in a wide area. If the child before your stop is late, then it has a domino affect.

I'm not trying to be snarky here, but you are fortunate to have a school bus stop right in front of your house for your child. It's not perfect, and I'm sure it can get annoying but just be aware that sometimes, it may not be in the bus driver's control.

Like you, I grew up with no school bus. We had to walk a mile. So, as annoying as it can be sometimes (we've had incidences in mcps where the bus was super late), I'm still pretty grateful for the *free* buses.

OP here.
Thanks for the reality check, but my son would far rather walk a mile on his own time! It would be less stressful and he would get to school faster. However, the school is double the distance.

[Anonymous]

OP get the bus depot contact information and set up a regular line of communication with them. I've found them to be very helpful. They genuinely are trying to do a good job but as PP pointed out, there are things beyond their control. Our school posts the bus info online but I'm sure if you can't find it the school office will help you.

[Anonymous]

The bus not coming at all is a big issue. You should call the transportation department to lodge a complaint and cc the resource coordinator for the program. I'm assuming the transportation is in the IEP and if they are violating the IEP they are not providing FAPE. Feeling bad for your child, OP. I know how stressful things can be with getting a SN child to school in the first place and the bus not showing up is terrible. It's possible they haven't quite figured out the route or there is a child who has difficulty earlier in your route but if this is the case they need to address this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP get the bus depot contact information and set up a regular line of communication with them. I've found them to be very helpful. They genuinely are trying to do a good job but as PP pointed out, there are things beyond their control. Our school posts the bus info online but I'm sure if you can't find it the school office will help you.

call them. talk to the manager in a nice way. they will try to work with you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bus driver cannot control traffic or the environment around him. Most SN buses have lots of stops in a wide area. If the child before your stop is late, then it has a domino affect.

I'm not trying to be snarky here, but you are fortunate to have a school bus stop right in front of your house for your child. It's not perfect, and I'm sure it can get annoying but just be aware that sometimes, it may not be in the bus driver's control.

Like you, I grew up with no school bus. We had to walk a mile. So, as annoying as it can be sometimes (we've had incidences in mcps where the bus was super late), I'm still pretty grateful for the *free* buses.

OP here.
Thanks for the reality check, but my son would far rather walk a mile on his own time! It would be less stressful and he would get to school faster. However, the school is double the distance.

PP here. I agree with the others that you should call the transportation dept. I've had to upon occasion.

If it gets that annoying, it seems to me that one of you is at home, so why not just drive him to school yourself if it's only 2 miles? Why keep getting frustrated?

[Anonymous]

30 minutes late should be an exception not a regular thing. I agree you should call. I also think they should not be 15 minutes early..and if they are running early they should wait.

[Anonymous]

From experience - The bus is allowed to come 5 minutes before the designated pick-up. If it is any earlier, insist that it wait. If the bus is more than 5 minutes late, call the depot to get an estimated time of arrival. Insist that they contact the driver to find out the current location, don't just accept that they have a sub and are running late. I suggest that you always ask for the supervisor. The people below do not pass your information to the supervisor so it really never gets reported to the supervisor that their is a problem with the route.

I called the whenever we had an issue 2-3 times a week for a couple months and nothing was done until I spoke directly with the supervisor who was unaware that they bus was routinely arriving 10 minutes early or that every time we had a sub the bus was 20 minutes late. The supervisor updated the bus route schedule and changed the driver to a more reliable driver.

[Anonymous]

from above -- get to know the driver and insist with him that he wait if he is early.

[Anonymous]

Probably due to traffic, cancelations, etc. Drive your kid. Problem solved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The bus driver cannot control traffic or the environment around him. Most SN buses have lots of stops in a wide area. If the child before your stop is late, then it has a domino affect.

I'm not trying to be snarky here, but you are fortunate to have a school bus stop right in front of your house for your child. It's not perfect, and I'm sure it can get annoying but just be aware that sometimes, it may not be in the bus driver's control.

Like you, I grew up with no school bus. We had to walk a mile. So, as annoying as it can be sometimes (we've had incidences in mcps where the bus was super late), I'm still pretty grateful for the *free* buses.

OP here.
Thanks for the reality check, but my son would far rather walk a mile on his own time! It would be less stressful and he would get to school faster. However, the school is double the distance.

PP here. I agree with the others that you should call the transportation dept. I've had to upon occasion.

If it gets that annoying, it seems to me that one of you is at home, so why not just drive him to school yourself if it's only 2 miles? Why keep getting frustrated?

OP here.
That's exactly what I want to do from now on! We have other kids to get to other schools, but we'll manage.

My follow-up question is:

Would my son still be allowed to take the afternoon bus home if he withdraws from the morning bus route? That one is always very reliable. Different driver.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I think this happens pretty often. Ask the resource coordinator how to do this. I think you can probably do this through transportation and you wouldn't have to do anything in the IEP as I think you should still preserve your right to use the transportation if they get a better driver, better route or you and DH's schedules change in the future.

[Anonymous]

You may want to post in the SN forum next time for more detailed responses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We just started middle school here. My child with special needs struggles every morning to get ready in time for the bus, and it's been quite stressful (we've tried several ways to mitigate that). What annoys me is that the bus never comes when the driver announces it will. The driver tells my child he will be there at X time the next morning, and it's always either earlier or later by sometimes as much as 15 minutes.

However lately, the bus has arrived 30 minutes late and today it didn't arrive at all, and my husband had to drive my son to school.
I can't imagine what it will be like during the cold days of winter, if my son waits 30 minutes in freezing temperatures!

Is this normal for MCPS? None of us in the family have ever ridden school buses before, so we're in shock right now.

I experienced this growing up in MCPS about 20 years ago with my magnet bus. The bus was late every day for about 4 weeks. We always got in trouble in class, even though we had "late bus" passes. A few times, the bus never showed up at all. Eventually, the bus driver had an accident and failed a drug test. Our new driver was on time.