3.7 Off Peak Busing

I.  Guidelines for Educational Busing

The Division of Transportation Services operates Off-Peak (9:15 AM - 1:45 PM) bus trips for educational purposes when a school does not have the equipment for an educational program or space for a rostered activity.  These trip requests must be approved and may include Shop, Industrial Arts, Home Economics, and MG programs.

A. All requests should be forwarded to Transportation Services from the schools no later than June 1 of the previous year so that school personnel will be available to answer any questions prior to school closing. Life Skills trips must be forwarded to the appropriate Life Skills Case Manager for approval. Additionally, trips will be in place for the beginning of the next school year.

B. AIMS forms are not acceptable as requests for Off-Peak educational service.

C. Requests must include a cover memo signed by the Principal/Administrator indicating that these requests represent the present needs of the school for educational programs.  Requests must be made on school letterhead.

D. The request for Off-Peak Educational Bus Trips should be on school letterhead and include all information necessary to provide the service.

 

1. Contact Person                               7. Destination Address

2. Room Number                                 8. Return Pick-Up Time

3. School                                             9.  Number of Pupils

4. Phone                                              10.  Number of Staff

5. Day/Date                                          11.  Signed/Dated by Principal

6. Pick- up Time& Pick Up Location

 

E. The coordinator of the activity should call the Operations Room at 440 N. Broad St. and confirm trip approvals. 

 
School Buses with pupils on board are prohibited from using limited-access highways (i.e., I-95, Schuylkill Expressway, etc.) without the written approval of the Administration.

Please indicate if there are any special circumstances that may require

special attention or equipment.

If Lift Bus is required please check: Put a check in the box if a lift bus is required and indicate the number of non-ambulatory pupils in the space after Number of Lift Pupils.

Contact Person: The contact person should be available to provide updated trip information (change of destination, pick-up points or time, special needs of pupils, etc.) and billing information.

Telephone Number: Phone number of contact person.

2. On the Request form, there is a section on Billing Information that is to be completed by the school requesting the trip. The school name or division must be filled in as well as each block of the billing (ABC) code. If the trip is to be funded by an organization/person other than the school (e.g. Home & School Association, etc.), complete billing information must be provided.

3. All cultural off-peak bus trip requests must bear a Signature of Approval from the Principal/Administrator. Trips cannot be scheduled unless the approval signature is properly recorded in the corresponding block.

4. If the trip cannot be scheduled, a copy of the Request Form will be returned to the contact person with a stamped disapproval and the reason that the trip cannot be scheduled.

5. When a trip is approved and scheduled, the contact person should call Transportation Services one week prior to trip date to verify the particulars.

Note:  Contractor Bus Companies may be used for cultural trips.

REQUEST FOR SCHOOL DISTRICT OPERATED OFF-PEAK BUS SERVICE (INTRA CITY CULTURAL TRIPS (S-175)

 

D. After Transportation Services assigns the garage(s) for pick-up and return, and assigns trip numbers, a print-out will be sent to each Athletic Director with the times and assigned trip numbers.

E. Coaches should notify their Athletic Director (A.D.) of any changes; the A.D. in turn must notify Transportation Services. Changes should be communicated to Transportation Services a day prior to the activity, but minimally, no later than 11:00 AM on the day of the competition. Transportation Services must also be notified of any cancellations by 11:00 AM on the day of the competition. Schedule adjustments will be made and a corrected print-out re-submitted to the Athletic Directors.

School Buses with pupils on board are prohibited from using limited-access highways (i.e., I-95, Schuylkill Expressway, etc.) without the written approval of the Administration.