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.
What the hell???
Many school districts are already choosing to voluntarily close in an effort to curtail any mass spread of a disease that has a high infection rate. This is known as social distancing. They recognize that putting several children in a confined space (classrooms, buses, and cafeterias) are prime sources for the spread of germs whether intentional or non intentional and given the risk to the immunocompromised being proactive is better than being reactive. My district is shutting down for 3 weeks and they will be disinfecting the schools and buses in an effort to curtail the spread of germs.
The reason for that is that the driver isn't expecting you at a different stop. Now if my kids and I work out a dual stop arrangement if they miss the bus on first pass then that is different. New drivers fresh out of training are told the rules of the district and adhere to them more strictly.A perfect example was last year i had 2 families that used the same babysitter. More often than not on early mornings every 3 weeks or so the babysitter would have all the kids get on at one stop or the other. I knew this and both families so it wasn't a huge deal. The problem comes from kids running to catch the bus and the potential for them getting run over.
If the driver is safely stopped, no.
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Depending on where you live and how the bus system is set up will depend on how the routes start and end in both morning and evening. Some districts have the schools separated on each bus by school/grade level. For example there may be high school routes, middle school routes, and elementary routes that all start and end at different times based on when those schools start and end their day. Alternatively you may live in a county that puts all grade levels on each bus. There are positives and negatives to this. A positive is that if you are a family that has older siblings, the older ones are riding with the younger ones and you don't have to worry as much about childcare when your high schooler gets off with your second grader. Due to the distance from the schools will depend on when each route needs to start. You can guarantee that the one that starts early will end late in the afternoon due to the distance they have to cover with children.
We generally deep clean the buses at least once per year. By that I mean get in every nook and cranny, dig out trash between the seat and walls, scrape gum off the bottom of the seats. Wash the ceiling. In the mean time, we do sweep our buses at minimum once a week. During cold and flu season we spray the seats down with disinfectant spray or wipe them down with lysol wipes and spray or clean the windows.
Pandora. Usually kids stations or holiday appropriate stations.
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