what kind of a "time window" do you have for the school bus arrival?

[binny]

the morning bus is usually pretty good here but the aftrenoon driver isnt so good. She told me that she could be here anywhere in 45 MINUTE time period and that I had to be there to get dd4 or she would take her back to school! This is special needs preschool so I know I have to be there to get her, I would want it any other way but 45 minutes???? come on!! it was 12 degrees yesterday you think MAYBE they could nail that down a bit better???

I wait inside my house and watch out my window but when she doesnt see me run out right away she gets mad. I try to be there as soon as she pulls up but I cant be there for 45 minutes every day!

Anyone else think this is a bit unreasonable?

 

[iamsorcerermickey]

No way--that is not right--especially for a special needs bus----I would call the bus company or the school right away and let them know what is happening. They should be able to give you a reasonable time frame of about 10 minutes.

My concern would be the fact that you stated that she gets "mad" when she she doesn't see you run out right away.

If she get "mad" at you--how is she treating the kids on the bus. IMO she should not be driving a special needs bus.

 

[wovenwonder]

Robin, please call the school. That does NOT sound right to me at all. My sons bus is generally always here within a 5 minute time frame. I begin to worry when it get beyond 5 minutes - I simply could not imagine waiting 45!

 

[tiggerlover]

I would contact the school/bus company right away, that does not sound right at all.

With DS's school/bus he has a bus pass with stated pick up and drop off times on the pass. Parents are required to be at the stop 5 minutes prior to the stated time. If the bus is early it must wait until the stated time before it can depart from the stop. The only time we have a problem is if there is traffic or an accident, otherwise the bus pretty much runs on time. BTW, our morning driver is the same as the afternoon driver.

 

[CajunDixie]

If the bus system is ran by the school you may have to call their central office and speak to the dept. of transportation person. Here our elementary school people cant do a thing about the buses....problems are sent to the central office. The bus driver should be driving the route the same every day unless there are several students that dont ride the bus on a particular day. I know last fall when the kids all still had sports my son's bus would go past 15-20 minutes sooner than it brings him home now because he had less stops and didnt have to go down some of the roads. Possibly she is mad by the time she gets to your stop because other parents have already made her late. All the time I hear our special needs bus call into the office on the scanner because they need to know if a child is or is not riding to school so they know if they have to wait. Same goes when they bring the students home....if the parents arent there to help with wheelchairs or whatever equipment the child needs then the adult that rides the bus has to not only help the students off the bus but take them up to the door of their house.

 

[shortbun]

I'm a school bus driver. I don't know about your son's route
so I can't comment specifically but.....
All special needs students MUST be met. MANY times, we arrive
at a home and there is NO ONE there. We wait, we call, we return, still no one. This happens a lot! It delays us in a very
major way. These are the most frustrating routes to have as
these children SHOULD have the most responsive and co-operative parents or guardians. Often, their caregivers are the
most irresponsible. Hard to understand because you would NEVER forget, or no show or fall asleep in your house when you
were expecting your child. Many do. Don't be so hard on your
bus driver. She has seen it all-I guarantee. AND, be there when
your child gets home ready to receive them. Really-I'm not kidding,
it happens everyday and your driver has no control over it.
Also, children that are special needs often require extra time and
care. Kids get sick on the bus and it has to be cleaned. Teachers
don't get them to the bus on time and it takes forever to load
several little children or kids in chairs. Parents want to talk about
things for a while when they receive their children. Drivers can not plan for any of these delays...... gosh, I haven't even mentioned weather....rain makes us driver slower, accidents hold
us up because you can't get a bus around other vehicles, other
drivers play "beat the bus" and we're always last....have to be
or we'd slam into SO many cars that dart in front of us. Snow,
ice - gosh, there are so many other things.
Pick up times are always more exact. People are always ready
to off load their children. Unless the riders are in High School and
then they are always late.
OK-I'll shut up. Be patient and be there.