Anonymous
10/24/2016 12:36
Subject: Re:So annoyed at bus - is this par for the course in MCPS?
I'm sure there are many things going on here. I have no idea what may or may not apply to this situation.
Over the last 12 years of dealing with neighborhood and magnet buses, I have learned that the reason our neighborhood bus comes at the right time for elementary, middle and high school in the morning is that the buses all sit in a parking lot for between 5 and 15 minutes and then start the route through out neighborhood at the exact same time every day so they get to our third stop on the route within 1 min of the projected time every day.
The elementary HGC buses with a bit longer to travel often have only two of the three routes so they to manage to be on time. What we did to get out kids on time for these buses when they were younger was to use Bar-T before/after care so that we got them to Bar-T the same time every day and then Bar-T got them on the bus when ever it happened to arrive. The buses are very responsive when Bar-T calls to say that somehow the bus didn't show up and missed say 5 kids who are now waiting so you don't end up fighting with dispatch. We have neighbors with old but bad horror stories about dispatch. The afternoon buses were MUCH more dependent on traffic.
Lately, with HS magnet buses, there seems to be basically no leeway. The bus comes when it says it will and is off to the next stop within a minute including boarding almost 20 kids. I think this has to do with our stop being relatively near the bus depot and as the OP said, at 7:00 am traffic isn't that bad, yet. One thing to note with HS is that you really can change your bus route on the fly and go to which ever stop is most likely to still be waiting for the bus even if you end up changing routes each day.
Overall, all of these variables make things hard on dispatch. The only time dispatch shouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt is if you have gotten to the point that dispatch is on your speed dial. They know they will lose their jobs if they can't fix transportation problems, so they are trying. A month of problems seems bad but the issues are complex enough so that you should give them a pass for a month. After that, they go on your speed dial and they need to know you are now the squeaky wheel.
Good luck
Over the last 12 years of dealing with neighborhood and magnet buses, I have learned that the reason our neighborhood bus comes at the right time for elementary, middle and high school in the morning is that the buses all sit in a parking lot for between 5 and 15 minutes and then start the route through out neighborhood at the exact same time every day so they get to our third stop on the route within 1 min of the projected time every day.
The elementary HGC buses with a bit longer to travel often have only two of the three routes so they to manage to be on time. What we did to get out kids on time for these buses when they were younger was to use Bar-T before/after care so that we got them to Bar-T the same time every day and then Bar-T got them on the bus when ever it happened to arrive. The buses are very responsive when Bar-T calls to say that somehow the bus didn't show up and missed say 5 kids who are now waiting so you don't end up fighting with dispatch. We have neighbors with old but bad horror stories about dispatch. The afternoon buses were MUCH more dependent on traffic.
Lately, with HS magnet buses, there seems to be basically no leeway. The bus comes when it says it will and is off to the next stop within a minute including boarding almost 20 kids. I think this has to do with our stop being relatively near the bus depot and as the OP said, at 7:00 am traffic isn't that bad, yet. One thing to note with HS is that you really can change your bus route on the fly and go to which ever stop is most likely to still be waiting for the bus even if you end up changing routes each day.
Overall, all of these variables make things hard on dispatch. The only time dispatch shouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt is if you have gotten to the point that dispatch is on your speed dial. They know they will lose their jobs if they can't fix transportation problems, so they are trying. A month of problems seems bad but the issues are complex enough so that you should give them a pass for a month. After that, they go on your speed dial and they need to know you are now the squeaky wheel.
Good luck
Anonymous
10/22/2016 16:43
Subject: So annoyed at bus - is this par for the course in MCPS?
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.
No, she's not "fortunate." Her child has a disability that means that he either can't go to the neighborhood school and/or can't ride the neighborhood bus. Be happy that you are "fortunate" that none of your children has a disability.
OP, keep a log of what happens every morning. I.e: Monday: expected bus at 7:15. Was outside waiting at 7:10. Bus came at 7:45. Tuesday: expected bus at 7:15. Came at 6:55. Refused to wait. After a week, discuss log with supervisor.
Yes, she is fortunate. Good god, don't you realize how fortunate we are here? Yes, I"m sure it's very annoying for OP, but you can't seriously think that every SN kid in this country, let alone in this world has a SN school that stops *right* in front of your house? Believe it or not, other districts don't have nearly as much SN services that MCPS provides, though I'm sure it's not enough, it's still better than what other SN kids get. Get over yourself.
And no, I didn't tell OP to just grin and bear it. I have stated that OP should call the supervisor.
OP here.
Please don't argue! You're both right. I'm not originally from this country, and believe me, I'm incredibly grateful for all these services because my child wouldn't get any of this in my home country! It's partly why I'm having difficulty drawing the line here, and why we tried to obey the bus driver when he kept changing the pick-up times. But then the supervisor called and basically told me it was all our fault, and I started thinking that was a bit rich...
Anonymous
10/22/2016 16:37
Subject: So annoyed at bus - is this par for the course in MCPS?
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.
No, she's not "fortunate." Her child has a disability that means that he either can't go to the neighborhood school and/or can't ride the neighborhood bus. Be happy that you are "fortunate" that none of your children has a disability.
OP, keep a log of what happens every morning. I.e: Monday: expected bus at 7:15. Was outside waiting at 7:10. Bus came at 7:45. Tuesday: expected bus at 7:15. Came at 6:55. Refused to wait. After a week, discuss log with supervisor.
Yes, she is fortunate. Good god, don't you realize how fortunate we are here? Yes, I"m sure it's very annoying for OP, but you can't seriously think that every SN kid in this country, let alone in this world has a SN school that stops *right* in front of your house? Believe it or not, other districts don't have nearly as much SN services that MCPS provides, though I'm sure it's not enough, it's still better than what other SN kids get. Get over yourself.
And no, I didn't tell OP to just grin and bear it. I have stated that OP should call the supervisor.
Anonymous
10/22/2016 15:39
Subject: Re:So annoyed at bus - is this par for the course in MCPS?
13:13 here again. There's probably no point in mentioning this since you've already bailed on the am route but...in all our years of bus transport I've never had a driver try to tell me different times. In fact, they are obligated to abide by the written time. If they arrive early for the pick up or drop off they are bound to wait for the official time before they can decide you are a no-show. This is what the rules are per other drivers I've had.
The pickup location is set at the IEP meeting but I think the it can be altered due to bus size issues after the fact. There's usually a trial run during the summer at some point to verify the route is doable.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that SN routes vary more than routes that serve stops with lots of kids. If three kids are on the bus in the evening, well, your kid is going to be home really quickly. Buses that serve big bus stops always have the same route and stops because there is always at least one kid getting off/on so their schedule is more stable.
The pickup location is set at the IEP meeting but I think the it can be altered due to bus size issues after the fact. There's usually a trial run during the summer at some point to verify the route is doable.
One thing I have noticed over the years is that SN routes vary more than routes that serve stops with lots of kids. If three kids are on the bus in the evening, well, your kid is going to be home really quickly. Buses that serve big bus stops always have the same route and stops because there is always at least one kid getting off/on so their schedule is more stable.