Transportation

About Transportation

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 59 buses that are excellently maintained by our mechanics. We have received excellent police inspections for our fleet for the past 26 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!
 

Our School Bus Tracking App is Here!

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 the directions below to get connected.  If you have any questions about SafeStop, please contact the transportation staff members listed to the right.

2018-19 Bus Information

Bus Information can be found on Parent Portal. Login, find the student you wish to view information for, and click the "Transportation Info" link on the left side. Due to new students enrolling throughout the year, pickup times are subject to change. Any bus changes throughout the year will be updated on the site.

STUDENTS NEED TO BE AT THEIR STOP AT LEAST 5 MINUTES PRIOR TO PICKUP TIME. Please have students outside at their stop (not waiting indoors). This will keep our buses running more efficiently and on schedule. Students should be dressed appropriately for the weather. Please note that our ridership fluctuates daily based on after school sports/clubs and therefore the times listed as drop off are only baseline. For afternoon drop offs, families should expect a 15 minute window prior to and after assigned stop time. KG and 1st grade students will not be dropped off unless someone is there to meet them at their stop. In the case that there is not an adult around when the bus is at the stop to drop the student, your child will be taken back to the schools latchkey program.

Kindergarten and First Grade Families

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 are adopting the following practice, effective immediately:

• 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
 

Bus Stop Evaluation Summer 2018

Dear Bloomfield Hills Schools Families, 

In the summer of 2018 every bus stop was rigorously evaluated to ensure it met the requirements of a legal bus stop, thus ensuring every bus stop met our safety standards. Due to this recent evaluation, many stops have been changed in order to comply with the MI Pupil Transportation Act 187, which has many restrictions regarding visual distances and impairments. 

In transportation, our number one priority is student and driver safety. We recognize the inconvenience these changes may pose you and your child, but the stops are configured first for safety and second for all other factors (including convenience). We have received many bus stop change requests and, while we'd like to help provide the ideal stop for every family, the stop must be assigned based on a number of guidelines. These include:

• Optimal safety, as defined by MI Pupil Transportation Act 187 and district standards
• High School students 1/2 mile (2600 ft) maximum distance to stop (Main street stops only, School Board policy established 2016)
• Middle School students 1/4 mile (1300 ft) maximum distance to stop
• Elementary students 600 ft maximum distance to stop

Due to the above guidelines, we are not able to configure every bus stop to enable an adult to keep visual supervision of a child while they wait for the bus. We also recognize that, in most cases, the route between your home and the bus stop may not have safety paths due to our municipality configurations.  

If transportation services are utilized, getting a child to school safely is a partnership between the family and our transportation team. We greatly appreciate your partnership in getting your child to school safely.

Thank you,

Brian Goby
Director of Physical Plant Services & Transportation

Requesting Bus Stop Changes

Any requests for bus stop changes must be done by completing a Transportation Request Form. This form can be found online at www.bloomfield.org under Departments/Transportation.  The form should be emailed to JMack@bloomfield.org or faxed to 248.3416298. Due to the heavy volume of requests we receive, it may take up to 2 weeks before we can get back with you.  Each request will be evaluated and once a decision has been made we will contact you.

Our bus stops for kindergarten students follow the same guidelines, laws, and Board of Education Policy as all other elementary school grades. For elementary students, the bus stop will be located no more than 600 ft. from the resident address in the student's record.