School Bus Route Clarification

Published August 18, 2011

As many parents are aware, Williamson County Schools has restructured bus routes this year, reducing the number of stops across the county.  Over the past two years and during our strategic planning meetings with families, we heard concerns that students spent too much time in transit.  The School Board set as one of its goals that we not allow any bus route to leave students in transit for more than one hour.

When these concerns were investigated, we discovered that many stops had informally developed over the years, causing bus routes to take an unreasonably long amount of time.  We therefore set out a plan to establish bus routes no more than a half mile from each other, meaning that a student who happened to live equally distant from a stop would walk no further than a quarter mile, or the equivalent of one lap around a track.  State law considers a stop more than 1.25 miles from a home to be too far to walk, but we believe our quarter mile standard is more appropriate.

Across the county, there are some exceptions to this quarter mile general rule where safety is a concern.  For example, some busy roads may not be appropriate for a student to walk to a stop.

As a result of this standard, many stops in neighborhoods will be further apart than in recent years.  Also, there will be more homes not within sight of a bus stop.  We have always had stops across the county that have not been within sight of every home, but fewer stops means that more homes will fit this description. 

The district has had many questions from families about these bus stop changes, asking for stops in neighborhoods that are closer to their homes.  The district is reviewing these requests to ensure that the stops are safe.  If you believe there is a safety problem with your child’s stop other than just not being within sight of your home, please email johnh@wcs.edu with your address, bus number and particular safety concern.  The district will review each of these concerns, but no stops will be adjusted based on no sight line from the bus stop to the home.