The only time I rode school buses while I was in school was for class field trips, and it never overwhelmed me. However, I often sat by my friends on the bus and I usually looked forward to the field trips.

Had I been, say, an incoming kindergartner who didn’t know anyone at the school I was going to be attending and who had never ridden a school bus before, I would probably have a different story to tell. My first day of kindergarten was traumatic. I remember crying a lot and asking my parents — rather hysterically — not to leave. I don’t doubt that for some kids, the prospect of riding a school bus for the first time is just as frightening.   

Fortunately for those kids, the school bus industry is full of folks who are friendly and go the extra mile to make students feel comfortable about riding a school bus. As just one example, last year, SBF spoke with Westerville (Ohio) City Schools Transportation Manager Bob Lynde about his operation’s First Time Riders program, which serves to reduce the amount of fear and anxiety students experience in regard to riding a bus. To read about the program, click here.

Has your operation implemented any programs or practices to help students look forward to riding a school bus? Tell us about them by posting a comment below or sending an e-mail to info@schoolbusfleet.com.     

An additional resource that you may consider utilizing (or suggest to parents) to calm nervous students is the book I’m Your Bus by Marilyn Singer. In rhyming text, the bus lists its daily tasks, which not only include transporting kids to and from school but, also, taking care of students’ belongings that are left on the bus. (For more information about the book, visit www.amazon.com and search for "I'm Your Bus.")  

Moreover, the buses are drawn with welcoming smiles (see photo above), helping to suggest that riding a school bus can be fun.     

Until next time,

Kelly Roher
Senior Editor