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Transportation

About Transportation

Bloomfield Hills Buses - West Bloomfield, Bloomfield, and Oakland County

The mission of the Bloomfield Hills Schools Transportation department is to transport children safely, in mechanically sound vehicles, to and from school and school activities, with compassion, caring, and courtesy in a safe environment.

BHS has 60 buses that are excellently maintained by our mechanics. We have received excellent police inspections for our fleet for the past 27 years!

We strive for everyone who rides the bus to feel safe and secure and enjoy their bus ride. Have a safe and happy school year!

SafeStop Bus Tracking App

Curious about a late bus? The Bloomfield Hills Schools Transportation department is pleased to introduce SafeStop, an app for your smartphone, tablet or computer that offers real time school bus updates.

Please follow these directions to get connected.  If you have any questions about SafeStop, please contact us at 248.341.6292.

Step 1 - Identify Your Child's Local ID Number

The SafeStop app requires that you know your zip code, and what they refer to as the "Student ID" for your child(ren).  In Bloomfield Hills, this number is called the "Local ID" and can be found by:

  • Step One: visit: www.bloomfield.org and log in to My Bloomfield (use the “My Bloomfield” button on the main page)


     
  • Step Two: click on the "Modify my contact info" button.  

     
  • Step Three: For the safety of your private information, the system will ask you to log in again.  
  • Step Four: If you have more than one child, select one of your children's name.  Once their information is displayed, Select "Demographics" from the left side navigation, and you will see the Local ID in the second column of data, at the top.  It will be an 8-digit number.  Repeat Step Four for any additional children if they do not ride the same bus.

STEP 2 - Download the App & Create your Account

  • Search for and install “SafeStop” in the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android).

  • Open the App, click on "CREATE AN ACCOUNT."

  • Enter your zip code, select "Submit," and then select "Bloomfield Hills Schools" from the list provided.  Account creation requires an email address, a password containing 1 capital letter and 1 number, and your name.  Complete those fields and select "Register."
  • Click on the gear on the bottom right, and then select "Manage Account."  Click on "Bloomfield Hills Schools" and then "Add Student ID."  Enter the Local ID number from ParentPortal, and click "Add Student."

 

 

STEP 3 - Navigate the Tool

  • By clicking the bus icon in the lower left corner of the App, the routes will be displayed.  For 30 minutes before and after the scheduled pickup & dropoff times, the bus locator will be displayed on the map.
  • The SafeStop App is meant to help you plan around your busy schedule, NOT to help you arrive at the bus stop at the last second. The SafeStop App relies on a third-party GPS device on board the school bus, which sometimes does not transmit information every 30 seconds. For student safety, please arrive at the bus stop 5 minutes prior to the expected arrival time to ensure you do not miss the bus or slow down the boarding procedure.

2019-2020 Bus Information

Bus route information is available through Parent Portal. Under your student's name, select the "Transportation Info" link on the left side. If do not remember your login credentials, please select the Need Your Login Information? option underneath where you would enter your PIN and Password. This will prompt you to supply your email address and your PIN and Password will be emailed to you.

Please note that due to new students enrolling throughout the year, pickup times are subject to change. Any bus changes throughout the year will be updated online.

Students should be waiting outside at their stop (not indoors) at least 5 minutes prior to pickup time. Ridership fluctuates daily based on after school sports/clubs and therefore the times listed as drop off are a baseline. For afternoon drop offs, families should note a 15-minute window prior to, and after, assigned stop time. Kindergarten and 1st grade students will be dropped off only if an older sibling on the bus or a guardian/authorized adult is at the stop to meet the child. If this is not the case, your child will be taken back to the schools latchkey program.

Kindergarten and First Grade Families

Students Waiting for Bus

Dear Kindergarten and 1st Grade families:

It is our practice not to drop off a kindergarten or 1st grade student at a bus stop in the afternoon without an older sibling on the bus or a guardian/authorized adult at the stop to meet the child.  

We have experienced great delays, as we have routinely found that guardians/authorized adults are not yet at the stop to meet the child when the driver arrives. In many cases, our drivers have tried to wait for an adult to arrive to meet the child getting off the bus before continuing to the next stop. Sometimes, the driver has had the opportunity (based on the particular route) to return to the stop with the child in the hopes that an adult will be present.  

When that is not possible or when an adult is still not present, the student is taken back to the school building and placed in the care of Latchkey staff until a guardian can come pickup the child.

These practices have caused incredible delays in our transportation system for other students and families. It has also increased the amount of time our buses and drivers are on the road, which adds to our overall cost of the program.

Therefore, we've adopted the following practice:

  • If an adult is not present at the bus stop to meet the kindergarten/1st grade child (and no sibling is on the bus to accompany the child off the bus), the driver will take the child to the school’s Latchkey program at the end of the run.
  • Our drivers are no longer authorized to return to a bus stop to see if an adult is present at a later time.
  • Children will need to be picked up from the school’s Latchkey program. Please note that there is a fee for Latchkey which is $15 for each occurrence and must be paid at pickup (payment can be made by cash, check, or credit card).
  • Families will be notified once the child has arrived at Latchkey.
  • Please note that a school bus may arrive up to ten minutes ahead of the published drop-off time if fewer students are on the bus that day.

Latchkey offers a drop-in service that is $50 for five visits. If meeting your child at the stop is a regular challenge, we suggest you purchase the drop-in service and contact the school before your child gets on the bus to make Latchkey arrangements that day. To register for the Latchkey drop-in service, please call 248.341.7950. 

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Sincerely,
Jane Mack

Transportation Team

Main Department
248.341.6290
 
Gordon Montross
gmontross@bloomfield.org  
Dispatcher
248.341.6291
 

Jill Wilbur
JWilbur@bloomfield.org
Dispatcher
248.341.6293

Sandy Lesniak
SLesniak@bloomfield.org
Secretary
248.341.6292

Jane Mack
JMack@bloomfield.org
Manager
248.341.6295

Emergency contact (after hours):
248.941.3842

 

 

Bus Stop Changes

Bus stop change requests can be submitted through  the Request for Relocation of Bus Stop form. Please email this form to JMack@bloomfield.org or fax to 248.341.6298 and we will get back to you soon!

The bus stops for kindergarten students follow the same guidelines, laws, and Board of Education Policy as all other elementary school grades. 

FAQs

What other factors are involved in establishing where the school bus stops?

There are many factors which should be taken into consideration when school administrators establish the placement of school bus stops. The basic legal factors are spelled out in MCL 257.1855, but the primary concern is visibility of the bus to other traffic and the consideration of stopping distances necessary for other motor vehicles in order to accomplish safe loading and unloading of the children. In general, state law requires 400 feet of clear and continuous visibility on a highway or roadway where the speed limit is more than 35 miles per hour, and 200 feet where the speed limit is less than 35 miles per hour. There is no state law which specifies a maximum distance between stops.

What about the safety of my child getting to and from the bus stop? There are no sidewalks where we live and it's not very safe walking on the busy road we live on.

It is the responsibility of the parent or legal guardian to see that a child gets safely to and from the bus stop. The school district provides transportation as a non-mandated service and establishes placement of the bus stops in accordance with the requirements of the law.

Isn't the school district required to transport my child?

School districts are not required by law to transport regular education children. Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) 380.1321 outlines the obligations of the school district IF its board of education elects to provide transportation. Under Article 3 of the Revised School Code, the school district is obligated to provide for the transportation of a special education student if the Individualized Educational Planning Committee (IEPC) has determined that the transportation is a specialized service which is included within and necessary to carry out the student's IEP.

My child is starting kindergarten. Will the bus pick my child up in front of my house?

There are no special laws or regulations for transporting regular education students enrolled in kindergarten. If your district provides transportation, it will be provided in accordance with the requirements of MCL 380.1321, Section 55 of the Pupil Transportation Act, and local district policy with regard to the placement of the bus stop.

Is there a law about how far my child has to walk to the bus stop?

No law specifies the maximum distance a student may walk to the bus stop.

Is there a specified distance that must exist between school bus stops?

The lights on a school bus which are used to notify other traffic of an upcoming stop must, by law, be activated 200 feet from the stop. Thus, bus stops must be at least 200 feet apart.

Is there a law stating that an adult riding on a school bus for monitoring purposes be seated at a specific location on the bus?

There are no laws pertaining to this issue. In most cases when adults are assigned to monitor students that are being transported on a bus, they are near the student or students who possess the greatest amount of supervisory need.

My child spends over two hours a day just riding the bus to and from school. Is there a maximum riding time in the law?

There is no maximum riding time in the law for children in kindergarten through grade twelve. Child care licensing regulations establish a maximum riding time of 60 continuous minutes for the transportation of preschool children.

(Source: Michigan Department of Education)

Congratulations, Transportation Team!