Time limit for bus? Updated

Does anybody know if there is a limit on amount of time a child (3 years old) may spend on the bus one way? My daughter is to start taking the bus to school this week, and they said they will be picking her up at 7:40. School starts at 9:00!!!

The driver said that Erin is his first stop of 9, so he needs to start early. I think that is unacceptable for a 3 year old!

Message edited 9/14/2012 1:30:16 AM.

Re: Time limit for bus?

I feel this question was asked a while ago because 1 1/2 hours is ringing a bell (I remember thinking that was obscene!!!!). I also had it in the back of my head when picking a school for DS.

Message edited 9/9/2012 11:13:52 PM.

Re: Time limit for bus?

DS is one of the earlier stops on a route that has 22 stops. Still, he is not on the bus for more than 1/2 hour. Even that concerns me! At the end of the day they do the route in reverse so he is one of the first ones off.

And in my case it is Kindergarten and I wish it could be less than 1/2 hour!

Message edited 9/9/2012 11:17:42 PM.

Re: Time limit for bus?

I'm not in the school phase yet...but that sounds crazy to me. I couldn't imagine putting my son on a bus to school for an hour and twenty minutes in just almost a year and a half (mine is 14 months now)

Time limit for bus?

For special ed. it is NO more than 1.5 hours door to door (NOT including traffic) exceptions can be made.

so google your place of residence to the school, and it will give you the time.

remember that most of these children need to sit on the bus at the school for 10 min before being allowed inside.

her bus time is completely normal

Re: Time limit for bus?

Re: Time limit for bus?

Time limit for bus?

That is absurd, but legal I'm pretty sure. I would just start driving her. I drive my DD since we are 3 minutes from school and she would be on the bus for 30 minutes.

Re: Time limit for bus?

are the children coming from all over the place or one town? if its a private school, it takes that long unfortunately

maybe drive her?

Re: Time limit for bus?

Wow, that is insane! Is taking her yourself an option?

Re: Time limit for bus?

We were told about 90 minutes. Our bus pick up would have been 7:15 for a 8:30 start. We wouldn't be able to do entire morning routine unless we woke him up super early everyday. I drive him right now and we leave at 8:05 which gives almost an entire hour more. I wouldn't mind in the afternoon because he falls asleep in the car so he would probably do the same on the bus.

Maybe you can be the squeaky wheel and tell them you need the bus route changed because its too much on your DD.

Re: Time limit for bus?

I was just going through DS' school stuff and found a pamphlet from Suffolk County Department of Health Services - Transportation Services = Division of Services for Children with Special Needs:

Routing:
Routes are established before the start of school. Route time is determined not just by distance, but also by the location of all children in the program. Routes are not arranged to accommodate parents' schedules. to keep routes as efficient as possible, the furthest child from the school is picked up first and dropped off last. There are many factors that impact transportation, such as traffic patterns, adverse weather conditions, road construction, and other unforeseen difficulties. There is no law regarding route time and our objective is to ensure a child does not spend unnecessary time on the bus.

Re: Time limit for bus?

My DS gets picked up at 7:50 for a 9:30 start! While I hate it, we have no choice. Nut coming home he is only on the bus for 1 /2 that time.

Re: Time limit for bus?

My son also is on the bus for a long time. He gets picked up at 7:35am (first) of 6 stops. The school is 20 minutes away from where I live. He is on the bus for about an hour. He is also last to be dropped off and he comes home so happy everyday. He LOVES the bus.

Re: Time limit for bus?

I believe it is 1.5 hrs. A friend of ours just had an issue with this last week. She sends her 2 year old son to a spec Ed preschool. The school got out at 3:00 was suppose to be dropped off by 430 and wasn't until 545

She was so upset. Imagine a 2 yr old on a bus that long? My heart broke. She was texting me while she waited and called for answers. She let them have it and now they changed his route.

Message edited 9/10/2012 5:48:09 PM.

Re: Time limit for bus?

Holy cow. That is crazy. Are you able to drive her or pick her up?

Re: Time limit for bus?

UPDATE:
DH has been driving her all week. It is not ideal since she has to be at school at the same time that DD#1 is to be picked up by her bus. DH has rearranged his work schedule for now.

The trip home is much shorter...a little over 30 minutes, so she has been taking the bus home.

The law is ambiguous...they won't lock themselves into anything. It just states that the time on the bus must be reasonable considering the distance, the age of the child, and the needs/condition of the child.

When I called the bus company, the man agreed with me, that it is unreasonable for a 3 year old to be on the bus that long to go 11 miles. He said that they have to run the route for 3 days before they can look at any changes. He said that often, the driver can make changes to the route to make it faster and shorter for the kids. So I told him to run the route, without my DD on the bus and that I'd be in touch later this week or early next week to see what we can do.