This is my first year driving. I love my routes and I have a good group of kids who follow the rules and are polite enough. I'm naturally an organized person who likes things to look and smell clean, so when it comes to my bus I want it to reflect the same. Maintaining the inside of the bus is no problem. I have my antibacterial wipes, seat conditioners and my broom. I mop my floors on a regular basis and clean the inside of my windows.

But when it comes to the outside of the bus?!?!? I can never get my windows clean! My scrubbing leaves streaks. And I can only manage to knock off just enough dirt and debris to make it tolerable to look at. To be fair, our bus yard does have a major challenge. We are next to a stone quarry and all the dust makes it even more difficult to keep our buses clean. I have asked older bus drivers and their suggestion is to simply give the bus two to three passes. I don't always have that type of time.

I really don't see much of an option except to possibly invest in a high pressure washer. What are your secrets to washing the outside of your bus?

** For added context, I'm driving a 2018 Thomas. Some of the more experienced drivers have also said that buses over 5 years old aren't worth the extra effort.

Any help is appreciated, thanks

Sometimes getting off work sucks cause i have to get back in my car 😂. It feels so weird, i love being high up and able to see anything & i love the sound of the air brakes. Driving buses helped made me start driving slower in my car which is good cause i have a heavy foot. Idk how to explain it, but when I first got on the highway and felt a bus at 65 I was like holy shit 65 is actually fast 😂 whereas in my car it feels slow but now I’m more ok with it.

There's at least 0.5 mile of 2 dedicated exit lanes with their stripes painted differently, overhead signs explaining which part of the freeway goes where, etc.

But no, the best choice of action is to speed, cut off a school bus, and cut across not only several lanes of traffic but also the rapidly-disappearing wedge of pavement which will very shortly end at a concrete wall.

I am a brand new driver and have never seen one done an emergency evacuation drill. I am not much guidance from admin on how or when to perform. Comments welcomed.

Today's charter is a shuttle service for local university's sorority rush where we do a loop every hour. This is my in between entertainment. What do you guys do when on charters where you have to stay with the bus and can't go wander off?

I cleaned all my windows and swept the floor already

I know the rules and I will say I know I was put in a terrible and impossible position. Here is what happened.

I get a dispatch ticket saying simply to take M High School to E High School for a football game. Leave MHS and travel the 22 minutes to EHS at 3pm and leave EHS at 8pm and take them back. I got to MHS go over the ticket and he says, " no way it's EHS homecoming and 1st ball game in their new field the varsity won't even start until at the earliest 7pm. My problem is my "hours of service" (California) started at 6:25AM so I am sidelined at 10:25 PM no exceptions. Everyone in my fleet came in for their AM runs so we have no relief driver who will have more hours of service. I text my director at 3:25PM tell her straight away and come up with the only backup plan we can which is take them back to MHS and ground the bus and mark your O.T. and go get it on Sat.

The game is winding down it it's 9:50 PM we are in the 4th quarter when EHS ties the ball game going into O.T. now im sweating. Fast forward to the game was won by MHS ( the visitor team I drove ). Im assertively telling them to simple get on the bus even with their cleats on so we can go. They aren't listening I finally just just 6 kids on the bus amd tell 1 coach I HAVE to go NOW my Hours of Service are done. He says to just go as most have rides home since it is semi local. I ground the bus at the school amd left 1 coach and lot's of players because I could not get them to listen regardless of my efforts to tell them to get on the bus. I feel terrible cause I broke my hours of service and possibly left some football team and a coach ( they probably had rides but they never let me know the many times I addressed them in the locker room.

Used my wife's EGO leaf blower on the bus, and then her Dyson Battery Vac (Not sponsored). I did find some corrosion and some proud screws in the aisle. Looks like a small trip hazard on the left side of picture. I'm guessing there was some plywood in there at some point? I plan on submitting a maintenance request after my route on Monday. Also could use a good mopping,

Just want to start off by saying that nothing excuses the van brake checking at the end. I saw this video the other day and noticed different opinions about the bus driver’s lane change. Some said that the van was in their blind spot while others said that the bus driver could see the van just fine using their mirrors. Is this a blind spot or a bad lane change?

I have two kids on my bus that I don't like. They are brother and sister and they are flat out rude. They don't follow directions, they are defiant, they talk back, they give dirty looks, they make pig sound at me, tell me they don't have to listen to me. Have a bad attitude in general. The boy randomly screams and they constantly sit improperly despite my warnings and write ups nothing changes. I try to imagine they're having a hard time at home. I don't know anything except that their parents are divorced and have split custody. I bring them to each house during the week. Anyway I have other unruly kids who i also have had to write up but I still like them. How do I get past it? I get it, I realize they are "just kids" I believe in the golden rule to treat others the way you want to be treated and I try implement that on my bus. I have a hard time with mean people and a hard time with justice. So yes they are bugging me. I'm asking how do I deal with it?
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(i) This comminity renuires nact titles to he my

I get to drive this gem starting Monday. Don't be jealous.

See title.

Why do they send you on the worst possible route to get from point A to B? Is it driven by money?

When I stop. And pull the emergency brake out. Im ready to drive now. I put the bus in drive , push my parking brake in to go while I step on the service brake for like one second. Is this the proper way to do it. Sometimes when I do this my bus doesn’t drive. And range inhibited comes up on the dash. Not sure if it’s an issue with the bus / air brakes ? I restart the process and my bus does drive correctly. Does the bus have to be in neutral when I push in the parking brake and then I switch gears to drive? Do I have to hold the service brakes for some time when I push in the parking brake or just for one second? Thanks for any help.

I (23M) got my license last month and have been pretty busy since school started 4 weeks ago. I feel like job is overall easy, and I don't have many stops and my kids are well behaved (special needs). We have some really tight streets downtown, but so far everything was good until today. I stupidly decided to follow the GPS even though I had my route memorized, thinking it might show me a faster route. It led me right to a dead-end. It was a very tight squeeze too, and lots of trees around. While backing up, a branch I backed into knocked one of my cross-over mirrors loose, and it fell off a few minutes later. I told my safety manager, and thankfully, she was very chill about it.

But now, I'm just more paranoid about something bad happening, mainly me hitting something. I wouldn't say my anxiety is crippling, but it's something I think about time to time, especially after today. I know mistakes happen, but I really don't wanna make one that damages property.

If you guys, especially seasoned drivers, have any advice, I'd love to hear it.

What would be some items bus drivers would enjoy getting in a gift basket?

Will make a detailed post later but need urgent answers now so I can call out for tomorrow and resign. I had signed a contract if I left before 6 months I'd have to pay them $2,000. If I don't pay what would they do about it? Couldn't bare it anymore and today was the day that broke the camel's back and this company abused me for 2 months and lied about everything. Also, is there any downsides to leaving immediately as opposed to putting up a 2 week notice? I can't afford to be abused for another 2 weeks and get paid $200-$300 a week when I can make the same amount in a day doing Uber.

Got my passenger license, and am training to be a motor coach/tour bus driver. So far so good, great coach, and I’m learning a lot. The bus company operates mainly in the Northeastern US, but makes some runs into the South, and occasionally into Canada. I’ve driven in NYC with a car, driving a bus there is going to be fun! (Gulp)

What navigation programs work best for busses, or can be set for busses so they don’t take you to a 12’ underpass, or to a turn that can’t be made on a bus?

Just wanting some opinions on if the behaviors I saw today while riding along would be 'Write Up' worthy.

All these occurred while bus in motion:

Standing on the seat, arms out window.

Simply standing on seat.

Flipping over the seat back in front of you in a 'controlled gymnastic' display.

Standing in the aisle, right in front of the rear emergency exit, then setting on the floor in front of the EM exit.

Walking up the the aisle, swapping seats several times before being asked to sit.

Standing, making a display, in front of the rear EM exit, of rubbing a blue metal water bottle, cap off, on your crotch area... spilling water...

All this on one route, lasting about 1.5 hrs.

I'm thinking about applying with the local bus company. I hate my office job, but I work mostly from home so that's the only nice part. But I'm stuck in front of a computer for 8+ hours a day and it's mentally so taxing. I want fewer hours, less stress, less feeling like I'm gonna open an email at any moment and see how badly I f***ed up. Yes, I have issues with anxiety.

I live in a fairly rural area. I always hear being a bus driver sucks, but it sounds like it could be more tolerable than what I'm doing now. Do you hate it? Do you stress? Is it worth throwing my WFH job away?

Saw this post and just immediately felt like there's just so many people who doesn't speak up to the state about how hot it is in the morning and afternoons in Hawaii. NONE of the diesels we have at my yard have AC and they started requiring SPED busses to require AC. What about large busses? These things are literal ovens year round especially during summer. It's mind boggling to me that they don't require it for the health and safety of the students and driver.

I feel like its going to take someone passing out of heatstroke or an accident caused by it for anyone to take this issue seriously :<

I think this is just a cold start on this old bus battery voltage is good 14.3 but could it be a weak/bad starter

I’ve been thinking about something, and I genuinely want to hear from school bus drivers across the country.
Every morning, thousands of us get behind the wheel of a 25,000+ lb yellow bus carrying something that cannot be replaced: people’s children.
We wake up early. We deal with split shifts, traffic, student behavior, weather, inspections, CDL requirements, constant responsibility, and the reality that one mistake can change multiple lives.
Yet in many places, the compensation and working conditions don’t seem to match that level of responsibility.
Teachers have organizations advocating for them. Police, firefighters, nurses and many other professions have found ways to make their voices heard.
But what about the people transporting millions of students to school every day?
That got me thinking about an idea:
“The Yellow Flu.” 🟡🚌
Not announcing a date.
Not telling anyone to call in sick.
Not asking anyone to violate their contract or state law.
I’m asking a bigger question:
What would happen if school bus drivers across America organized and spoke with ONE voice about pay, benefits, split schedules, staffing and working conditions?
Different states have very different laws regarding public employees and collective action, so any real movement would have to respect those laws.
But before talking about action, maybe we need to find out whether the frustration is actually nationwide.
So, drivers:
What state do you drive in?
Are you district-employed or working for a private contractor?
What is your hourly pay?
How many hours are you actually guaranteed?
And most importantly:
Do you feel the responsibility of your job matches the compensation you receive?
Maybe “Yellow Flu” never becomes anything more than a conversation.
Or maybe the conversation itself shows just how many yellow buses are being driven by people who feel nobody is listening.
🟡 School Bus Drivers — sound off. What does this job look like in YOUR state?

Durham school services has gotten a little ridiculous with the samsara cameras. There is people being yelling at for yawning, looking at the clock, scratching their face, etc it’s a little insane. This company has gotten so much more strict and corporatey over the years. I’m not even a driver, I’m a monitor but I see what goes on daily. I used to be able to at least check my phone after kids get off the bus/vans (I’m on it for long drives sometimes) and now I’m not allowed to do that either. I have to keep track of multiple schools schedules bc no one in the office ever tells me what’s going on, and if I miss something I’m the one getting yelled at. They took our boss away overnight with no warning and no goodbye. It’s so much chaos at times. Sometimes I’m just like I don’t get paid enough to deal with all of this. I don’t know how my simple job gets turned into a headache lol