Transportation

Riding a school bus is the safest way for your child to travel to and from school. Please spend time with your child discussing school bus safety.

• Wait until the driver says it is safe to board, then get on one at a time.
• When you are getting off the school bus, walk 10 giant steps in front of the bus. Watch the bus driver. When the bus driver signals that it is safe to cross in front of the bus, pause at the edge of the bus and look left-right-left again for traffic. If there is no traffic, continue crossing the street.
• Ask the bus driver for help if you drop something while getting on or off the school bus.
• Keep your loose items inside of your book bag.
• Once on the school bus, go directly to your seat and sit down facing forward. Remain in your seat, facing forward, until it is time to get off the bus.
• Most importantly, remember the bus driver is in charge. They will give directions and all students must obey and follow the directions.
   

Ohio law specifies certain rules for passengers aboard school buses and school vans. These rules are in place to ensure safe operation for both the driver as well as the passengers. All passengers are required to follow these rules as well as applicable sections of Ohio Revised Code, Ohio Administrative Code and Board of Education Policy.

For the protection of our drivers and passengers, all activity on school buses owned by the Bowling Green City School District is recorded by video and by audio.

The following rules are posted inside of each school bus in our district. To ensure the safe operations of our buses, and the safety of our drivers and passengers, it is required that all passengers adhere to these rules.

FOLLOW DIRECTIONS: The bus driver is in charge of the bus. The bus driver will give directions. You are responsible to listen and follow all directions the first time they are given.

SIT PROPERLY: You must remain seated in the same seat for the entire ride, keeping your body out of the aisle, and inside of the bus at all times. Keep your things on your lap.

BE RESPECTFUL: Be respectful of all people and property through your words and actions.

KEEP IT CLEAN: Leave the bus cleaner than you found it. Do not eat or drink on the bus. Do not litter. If you notice vandalism, please let the bus driver know.

BE QUIET: You must be silent at railroad crossings and any time the bus driver asks for silence. At all other times, speak quietly to those sitting next to you.
 

Ohio Law requires public schools to transport public school students in grades K-8 who reside more than 2.0 miles from school. Districts are not required to transport anyone to and/or from alternate bus stop locations. 

While not required by Ohio law, the Bowling Green City School District, will in some circumstances provide transportation to and/or from alternate bus stop locations providing certain criteria has been met.

• Parents/Guardians submit an Alternate Transportation Request Form prior to July 1 each year. Click here to download the form or pick up a form at the child's school office.
• For requests after the start of the school year, the Director of Transportation must receive the form at least two weeks prior to the anticipated change. The change will not take effect unless and until approved by the Director of Transportation.
• The request must not require a bus route to be changed, altered or added.
• The student must be picked up from the same existing bus stop every day of the week.
• The student must be dropped off at the same existing bus stop every day of the week.
• The form is a request. The Transportation Department does not automatically grant requests, as they must be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Forms should be submitted in one of the following ways:

Mail
Bowling Green City Schools
Director of Transportation
13230 Bishop Road 
Bowling Green, OH  43402-9250

FAX
419-354-0587 (Attn: Transportation)

Email
tsnow@bgcs.k12.oh.us
dbennett@bgcs.k12.oh.us
 

Not all super heroes wear capes!

Should you need to reach your child's bus driver or aide by email, please remember that he/she can only check email before or after the bus route is completed.

If you send a bus driver a message, please also "CC" the message to: tsnow@bgcs.k12.oh.us

Weather conditions may cause schools in the Bowling Green School District to delay their starting time in the morning or close for the day. The Transportation Director and Superintendent survey road conditions as early as 4:00am, and the Superintendent makes the decision to delay or close schools usually between 5:00am and 7:00am.

Preschool 2-hour delay schedule:

Morning Preschool: 10:50am - 12:30pm
Afternoon Preschool: 1:20pm - 3:00pm

School District Notifications

• BG Schools Call System will call students' home phones. The Caller ID display = 419-354-0800
• Superintendent's X (formerly Twitter) Feed @TedHaselman
• Transportation Director’s Twitter Feed  @BGBobcatBus

News Media Notifications

WTOL Toledo
Channel 11 (CBS)
https://www.wtol.com/closings

WTVG Toledo
Channel 13 (ABC)
https://www.13abc.com/weather/closings/

WNWO Toledo
Channel 24 (NBC)
https://nbc24.com/

WUPW Toledo
Channel 36 (FOX)
https://fox36.com/

When you enroll your child in the district, the Transportation Office is notified and determines eligibility. Bus route information is provided to the building secretary, and the secretary will notify parents/guardians of the bus stop, time and bus number if a child is eligible for service.

A minimum of 24-hours notice is required. With that said, it can take up to 5 days to establish service for a new bus rider, or when an address changes. A longer time frame can be necessary when a new bus stop has to be created.

Ohio law requires that we assign students in grades K-8 to bus stop locations within one-half mile of their legal residence. Students in grades 9-12 can walk any distance to a school bus stop location. With that said, we make every effort to assign students in every grade to bus stop locations that are as close as possible to their legal residence; however, in some cases, students may be required to walk up to the State's minimum requirement.

While this is not typical, many factors can affect the bus running behind, or even ahead of schedule. Sometimes a mechanical problem delays the bus from leaving the Operations Center. Sometimes traffic or weather conditions will delay the bus once on route. Sometimes the driver needs to pull over and correct a student's poor behavior choices.

Ohio law does not identify a maximum ride time. Accordingly, the Bowling Green City School District works very hard to maintain as short of a ride time as possible. With that said, some students do ride the bus longer than others for logistical reasons.

Generally, concerns should be addressed to the Director of Transportation. Anonymous calls and messages are difficult to investigate. Please contact the Transportation Director and include including your name and as much detail as can be provided:

Toby Snow, Transportation Director 
tsnow@bgcs.k12.oh.us 
419-354-0900 x4070

Debi Bennett, Operations Center Secretary 
dbennett@bgcs.k12.oh.us
419-354-0900 x4075