SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (WTVF) — More than 100 buses in Robertson County hit the road to pick up some 7,000 kids heading to bus stops for the new school year Tuesday morning.
The county still needs up to eight more bus drivers. But instead of doubling up on routes, Robertson County has opted to make single routes longer.
"We spent a lot of time in July working on routing, because we already knew we were going to be short on drivers," said Transportation Dept. Supervisor Josh Hinerman. "So that’s where I think the magic takes place. We asked 'how can we systematically and very strategically utilize what we have, already knowing we don’t have enough people.'"
He said the routes will be more consistent, which will allow families to be able to better plan.
It means drivers will likely pick up different students this year. That's something Hinerman, who drives his own route, knows will be disappointing at first.
"You may be losing some students here," he told his drivers. "But you may get a student that you're the very person they needed," Hinerman said.
The district had to get a special waiver to allow kids to be on the bus up to two hours due to the longer routes. Hinerman says it's not ideal, but it will allow every student who needs a ride to get one.
That's something he says is important, and not just so they can get to class. Bus drivers are the first people to see students and may notice if something isn't right.
"It’s the bookend of the day for so many students. So you see where they live and sometimes it's hard, sometimes you see a kid, we have kids living in little trailers or in cars where we come and pick them up. Drivers can pick them up discreetly before the other students, so the other kids don’t see that," Hinerman said.
Drivers can often be the ones who connect school social workers with students who need extra resources.
And safety is top of mind as students go back to school. Drivers, monitors and transportation staff went through active threat training last year.
As the buildings get "hardened" with additional security, the transportation department focused on their softer targets like buses.
Drivers learned to look for suspicious activity and to avoid suspicious people. They learned to activate the buses lights while driving to alert about an issue. And how to use their on-board tablets as a panic button.
They were even shown driving techniques in case an intruder were to ever get on board.
"I'll be honest, I was not comfortable enough getting in the bus because as they were turning and jerking and stopping it was so violent," Hinerman recalled. "But it was the lesser of two evils because you might throw some folks around on the bus in the process of trying to save the bus, if that makes sense."
Drivers and bus monitors also trained on de-escalation tactics to help calm any stressful situations with a student or parent.
But one of the biggest everyday challenges is other drivers on the road. Hinerman said there are too many drivers who aren't paying attention or are in such a rush that they fly by school buses as they're loading or unloading.
"I think that’s one of our biggest challenges because as a (bus) driver you're really helpless," he said.
As his staff gear up for a new school year, he reminds parents to get their kids to the bus stop 10 minutes early and use the "Here Comes the Bus" app to track the bus in real time.
