Transportation

Who can ride WWS buses?

All students in grades K-12 who reside in Westfield Washington School boundaries and who attend their zoned school are eligible for school bus transportation.

Bus Stop Basics

Each student is assigned one bus stop only. The same assigned bus stop must be used for both morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) transportation.

Bus stops are placed in a location that is best for all riders. Door to door service is only provided to Special Education students or specific circumstances related to the unique needs of a student. Apartment and condominium complexes are considered private property; WWS buses primarily travel on public roadways. Also, the roadways through many apartment complexes are too narrow to safely accommodate a large school bus.

Please remember that students should be dressed appropriately for weather conditions, as bus stop waits may occur in varying weather.

Bus Arrival Expectations

• Drivers cannot wait for students who are not at the stop.
• Buses will not return to a stop after leaving it.
• Students must be waiting at the stop 5 minutes before and after the stop time.

Assigned Buses

All students must ride their assigned bus to and from school. Riding another bus is only permitted in emergency situations. In an emergency situation, a parent may contact their child's school to request that their child ride home with another student. Notes must be provided from each student's parents. The principal will check with Transportation to ensure there is enough room on that bus that day before determining whether the request will be granted. The driver and parents will then be notified. The school bus should not be used as transportation for parties or sleepovers. Parents are responsible for transporting students to events of this nature.

Please let your bus driver know of any special health problems your student might have.

Bus Riding as a Privelege

School bus transportation is a privilege and not a right. The bus driver is the sole authority on the bus while students are being transported. It is important that each student cooperate with the bus driver and practice safe bus riding habits at all times.

Parents/Guardians are encouraged to help in the supervision of the bus stops since the school is unable to provide supervision. Students should not arrive at the bus stops extremely early because of the lack of supervision.

Our goal, for students within the Westfield Washington School district, is no more than 25-45 minutes per bus ride.

Route information will be made available in E-Link one calendar week prior to the first day of school. Families should continue checking E-Link, as routes may be refined and updated through the start of school. After school begins, routes may continue to be adjusted, and it can take up to two weeks for transportation services to normalize into a consistent operating pattern.

Each year the WWS Transportation Department evaluates bus stop locations, safety concerns, and ensures that we are compliant with all state and federal laws. This may require shifting bus stops from year to year.

Regular education students are dropped off at the appropriate corner stops. Student Transportation provides curb-to-curb transportation for special needs students and it is the parent’s responsibility to both bring the student to and from the bus.

Each student is assigned one bus stop only. The same assigned bus stop must be used for both morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) transportation.

Here Comes the Bus is an app that allows parents to track their child(ren)'s bus in real time. This service will be available at the start of the school year. Click the links below for download and registration information.

Here Comes the Bus flyer - English
Here Come the Bus flyer - Español

Get the App

Bus stop change requests must be submitted at least 5 business days before the requested date of change.

Bus stop change requests must be within the boundaries of the attending school. Each student is assigned one bus stop only. The same assigned bus stop must be used for both morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) transportation.

All school bus discipline problems should be immediately reported to the Principal of your child’s school. Students who continue to cause problems can be removed from the bus for a period of 1 to 10 days, or permanently, depending on the nature of the disciplinary problems.

In Indiana, riding a school bus is a privilege and not a right. Each local school district has adopted rules of conduct for waiting at the bus stop and for riding the school bus. If your child does not follow the rules, your child could lose his/her privileges for the entire school year.

Behavioral expectations on the school bus are much like those in the classroom. Factoring the mobility of that “classroom” and traffic, added noise and the size of the ”classroom” and there is potential for catastrophe without clear expectations and enforcement. The behavioral expectations on the bus revolve around the individual rights of every person on the bus, including the driver and the collective rights of students and driver as it pertains to safety. Anything that jeopardizes the safety of individuals on the bus is viewed as serious.

When there is an infraction, a referral is turned into the school administrators, who are responsible for contacting the student and parent to solve the lack of compliance with bus expectations. The school administrator is responsible for consequences based on the incident as described by the driver and student.

In necessary circumstances of non-compliance the bus driver reserves the right to issue a one day bus suspension to students who fail to comply.

Student Rules and Responsibilities

1. Riding the school bus is a privilege and is a part of the school day. Accordingly, students should adhere to all rules and procedures outlined in the student handbook while being transported to and from school. Classroom conduct is expected.
2. The driver is in charge at all times while on the bus. All driver directives should be followed promptly.
3. Be at your bus stop 5 minutes prior to the scheduled pickup time.
4. Go to your assigned seat quickly. Stay seated at all times until it is your time to get off the bus and the bus has come to a complete stop. Being seated means facing forward with your feet on the floor. Students will be completely out of the aisle if two or fewer students are in the seat.
5. Keep arms, legs, and objects to yourself and inside the bus.
6. Talk quietly with no inappropriate language or gestures. Quietly means at a level where the driver cannot clearly hear the conversation and the students you are trying to talk to are no more than two seats away.
7. Food, gum, suckers, lozenges and drinks are to be kept in the student’s backpack while on the bus unless permission is granted from the Director of Transportation.
8. Once a student has boarded their bus at the school, they will not be allowed to exit the bus without authorization from school personnel.
9. The use of any type of camera, including cell phones, is prohibited on the bus. This includes regular routes and extracurricular trips. Any camera device used on the bus will be confiscated and disciplinary consequences will follow.

• WWS has 139 school buses that provide transportation to our approximately 10,500+ students in the corporation's 56-square mile district.
• WWS Transportation is located at 17900 Towne Road, Westfield.
• The bus fleet travels more than 958,019 miles each year and is wholly maintained by four WWS mechanics.
• The WWS bus fleet is inspected twice a year by the Indiana State Police.

All school bus drivers that drive a vehicle with a capacity greater than 15 passengers must be certified. Before getting their certification, they must have a valid driver's license, pass a physical examination, and obtain a Commercial Driver's License (CDL). The driver must also complete a three day pre-service school bus driver safety education training course and attend an annual safety meeting to learn any new or modifications to the safety laws. In addition, the drivers must spend 12 hours of on-bus training, pass written tests and a driving test given by a certified BMV examiner.

Our bus fleet is inspected by the Indiana State Police. The semi-annual safety inspection is thorough: several officers spend a full day looking at every vehicle inside, outside and underneath; everything from transmission, suspension and brakes to lights, mirrors, stop arms, and cleanliness.  

Seat assignments are a positive way for the ride to be consistent and safe. It is also our procedure for elementary, middle, and high school students to be assigned to a specific seat. This aids the driver with discipline and learning each student’s names at the beginning of the school year. We trust our drivers to let us know when this procedure is no longer effective.

If you are new to the district or have moved homes within the district, make sure your student's registration in PowerSchool has been updated/your student has been properly registered at their new school. If the registration/transfer has not been completed, please contact your new school to assure that the student has been properly registered. If this has been done and the student is a regular education student, the task is complete.

At peak times, under normal conditions, it may take up to 2 to 3 days from the time transportation receives the request for your child to be placed on a transportation route. Following the first few weeks of school and depending on the specific equipment needs of a special education student, it more typically takes up to 3 to 5 days from the time Transportation receives the request. The parent is expected to be responsible for their child’s transportation during this period.

We ask that all concerns be addressed through the WWS Transportation Office (via the phone number at the top of this page). Our drivers have a schedules they must follow and any lost time will cause them to run late. Our Office Staff is available to address any concerns. Once we become aware of a situation we will consult with your bus driver, administrative team, and our consultant. This will expedite the process and ensure all concerns are handled in a timely manner.

If you see a bus driving in an unsafe manner, and call our assistance number listed at the top of this page. Please take note of the bus number and the route number, if possible, and be prepared to give the exact location of the bus, and the nature of the problem.

What if the bus doesn’t show up on time?

When a bus is delayed by 10 minutes or more, Transportation will communicate the delay to affected families.

Mornings: We recommend students be at the bus stop by at least 5 minutes before their scheduled pickup time, and wait at least 5 minutes beyond the regularly scheduled time before assuming there is a delay. Then, call our Transportation Department at the number at the top of this page. Our dispatchers will contact the driver to find out the bus status. In the case of a mechanical breakdown, a backup bus will be dispatched immediately. Students should remain at the bus stop until the backup bus arrives.

Afternoons: If it is more than 15 minutes past the scheduled drop-off time, you should contact your child’s school to find out if the bus’s departure from school was delayed for any reason. If there was no delay, or you are concerned you may have missed your child’s drop-off, please contact our Transportation Department at the number at the top of this page. Our dispatchers will check with the bus driver to see what is causing the delay.

Why is my child’s bus late?

Weather, traffic, driver substitutions, maintenance difficulties, and unforeseen incidents are responsible for delays in the arrival of school buses in the morning and afternoon.

Drivers check buses before their routes and sometimes find mechanical problems that can cause delays and require driving another bus that day. This can cause the bus to not be punctual.

Pease contact your child’s school immediately to make sure he or she got on the bus after school. If your child did get on the bus as usual, you or the school can contact our Transportation Department at the phone number listed at the top of this page. Our dispatchers will immediately check with the bus driver to see if your child missed his or her stop, or got off at a different stop.

Each driver has a list of students eligible to ride his or her route, and is expected to let students off only at their assigned stops. Please explain to your child that he or she is to get on and off the bus ONLY at the assigned stop.