Transportation - Southwestern Central School District

Southwestern Central School District buses travel over 280,000 miles every year. We transport approximately 1,100 students every day. Our commitment to safety is second to none. Our buses are inspected by a DOT inspector biannually. Our transportation staff is a highly trained group of professionals that includes 16 regular route drivers, 3 school bus monitors, 2 mechanics, and a Transportation Supervisor. We encourage you to use our school bus transportation as it is the safest transportation for your children. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “STUDENTS ARE ABOUT 7 TIMES MORE LIKELY TO GET TO SCHOOL SAFELY WHEN TAKING A SCHOOL BUS INSTEAD OF TRAVELING BY CAR.”

Southwestern Central School District Transportation Department (Bus Garage)
191 Bentley Avenue
Lakewood, New York 14750
(716) 763-8391

Transportation Supervisor: John C. Spacht

Asst. Transp. Supervisor: Roger Bingham Jr.

Head Bus Driver: Tammy Peterson

Head Mechanic: Philip Peck

Mechanic: Austin Albanesius

Code of Conduct on the Bus

The bus driver is in charge of the bus.
The bus driver’s instructions are to be obeyed by all riders at all times.
Upon boarding the bus, riders are to go immediately to their seat and remain seated for the duration of the trip.
Upon boarding the bus, the school day officially begins.
The school bus is considered an extension of the classroom, and all rules and regulations enforced in school classrooms are in force for students while riding on school buses.
Student’s actions which have the potential of distracting the driver, or otherwise affecting a safe and orderly environment on the bus, are strictly prohibited and will result in automatic consequences involving loss of riding privileges.
Such actions as the following, but not limited to these behaviors, will result in automatic loss of riding privileges.
- Smoking on the bus
- Use of illegal drugs on the bus
- Use of profanity
- Deliberately causing damage to the vehicle
- Deliberately tampering with the emergency exits
- Throwing objects within, outside or at the bus that directly threatens the safety of students and /or driver
- Being responsible for a physical altercation with other students
- Threatening or harassing other students
- Deliberately obstructing the driver’s vision
- Refusing to be seated in their seats.

Rules for Riding

The Southwestern Central School District supports the bus driver in charge of the bus, and as such, the bus driver’s instructions are to be obeyed by all students at all times. Upon boarding the bus, the school day begins. The school bus is to be considered an extension of the classroom, and all rules and regulations enforced in school classrooms are in force for students while riding on school buses. Student actions which have the potential of distracting the driver, or otherwise affect a safe and orderly environment on the bus are strictly prohibited and will result in consequences involving loss of riding privileges. Building Principals as well as the Superintendent are authorized to investigate charges and suspend riding privileges for those students who exhibit serious disciplinary problems on district school buses. In the event that a student has behaved in a way that warrants the loss of riding privileges, the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the student involved will become responsible for seeing that their student gets to and from school safety.

Ref: School Law 37th edition 52:14

Please help us ensure your child’s safety by following these simple but important procedures:

Provide your child with a backpack or book bag. Loose papers or other items can pose a safety hazard as children get off the bus.
Check your child’s clothing for the presence of long drawstrings or other dangling items. Long drawstrings or other dangling items should be removed from clothing as they could get snagged in the bus door as the child gets off the bus.
Make sure your child arrives at the designated bus stop five minutes early each day. Children who are late for the bus may panic and chase it, or run into the road. Remember that the bus stop is not in the living room looking out the window. Busses will not have time on their route to come back for students that miss the bus.
Insist that your child wait for the bus safely in an orderly fashion, back from the roadway. Behavior problems at the bus stop can create hazardous conditions for children.
When the bus arrives, your child should wait for the bus driver’s signal before boarding. Children should board in single file.
Teach your child to sit quietly on the ride to and from school. Behavior problems could distract the bus driver and result in an accident.

Transportation Requests

We are pleased to have the opportunity to transport your child to and from school. In an effort to create safer and more efficient bus routes this year, we are requiring that you let us know if you will be using bus transportation by ﬁlling out a short questionnaire at https://forms.office.com/r/rEEcu4Jngb, or use this link:

Transportation Request Form

Note: If your child already rides the bus and does not require a change, you do NOT need to ﬁll out this form. Only those who are new to using bus transportation or those who require a change need to complete the form.

If you are unable to ﬁll this form out online, please call the Transportation Center at (716) 763-8391.

Please request transportation as soon as possible so that we only route buses to students that ride the bus. Students not currently riding the bus or who wish to change their bus schedule need to request transportation. Requests will typically take 3 to 5 days to be placed on a route. Same day changes are not possible.

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