Frequently Asked Questions

Please call 425-837-6330 or email Transportation-enews@issaquah.wednet.edu

Students need to be waiting at the bus stop at least 5 minutes before their scheduled bus stop time. Buses are allowed to arrive 5 minutes before the stop time and be considered "on time". Buses will not wait for late students. If the bus has closed its doors and left the bus stop, it cannot stop and let on a student who is running for the bus. Buses can only stop at assigned bus stops.

Unless your student is a ECEAP, ECE, Transitional Kindergarten, or Special Education student who receives door to door transportation, you do not need to notify anyone when your student is not riding the bus.

If you are planning on picking up your younger student from school instead of riding the bus home, please notify their teacher so they put your student in the parent pickup line and NOT on the bus.

For the 2023-2024 school year, we are allowing bus passes for some routes. There are bus routes that are full and are not available for bus passes except for an emergency.

If your student would like to ride a bus route other than their own, please go to your school office for a bus pass. They will let you know if there is space on the route for a bus pass. If there is space available, the office will issue your student a bus pass.

If your student is riding on their own route but needs to get off at a different stop, they need to get a bus pass from the school office to depart the bus at a different location.

Bus passes can be revoked for any reason (route becomes too full, behavior issues of student issued the pass, any other reason transportation needs to make adjustments the route)

If your student is an ECE, ECEAP, Transitional Kindergarten, or Kindergarten student, the person picking up your student from the bus stop needs to be an authorized person on your student's Transportation Release Form.

We cannot add people to the Transportation Release Form. If you need to add a new person to the authorized pick up list for your student, you will need to fill out a new Transportation Release Form. Once it is filled out, you can either give this form to the bus driver or send the form via email to transportation-enews@issaquah.wednet.edu.

Transportation Release Form

Transportation does not have a Lost and Found. If your student left an item on the bus, please have them ask the bus driver if they found the item. The bus driver will keep lost items on the bus for a few days. If the item is not claimed after a few days, the driver will return the item to the school.

Bus Safety Tips

Every year, Issaquah School District’s buses travel over 1 million miles and provide over 2 million student rides to and from schools and school-related activities. Even with this high rate of use, school buses remain the safest motor vehicles on the highway – 70 times safer than passenger cars, light trucks and vans for transporting children ages 5 to 18, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

According to transportation experts, the most dangerous part of the school bus ride is getting on and off the bus. The National Safety Council encourages parents to review “safe ridership” facts with their children.

Students who ride school buses should always follow these simple, yet lifesaving, guidelines:

• arrive at the bus stop five minutes early
• stand at least five giant steps (10 feet) away from the edge of the road
• wait until the door opens and the driver says it’s okay before stepping onto the bus
• be sure the bus driver can see you and you can see the bus driver
• always cross the street in front of the bus
• stop at the edge of the bus and look left-right-left before crossing

During the school bus ride:

• always sit fully in the seat and face forward
• do not distract the driver
• never stand on a moving bus
• obey the driver
• speak in a low voice
• don’t throw things
• never stick anything out the window – arms, legs, head, backpacks, etc.

Motorists should slow down and be alert while in school zones. As a driver, you need to pay attention to where kids are and what they are doing. Be especially careful around school buses. It is illegal in every state to pass a school bus stopped to load or unload children.

• National Bus Safety Report

Safety is important. A network of staff check district roads beginning at 3 a.m. when there is a storm or prediction of one. They check out weather and road conditions and make a decision about school closures or delays. An explanation of what happens during closures or delays is included in the district's Emergency Transportation bulletin. That brochure, mailed each November, goes to all district families and includes critical information about weather-related or other emergency school situations.

No, the buses do not have air conditioning. The buses have fans that can circulate air, but that is all. Students can lower the windows to the black line to allow for air flow. They cannot lower them all the way down as it is a safety hazard and against regulations. Students who sit in the back of the bus may be warmer than those in the front as they are closer to the engine.

Issaquah's 140+ drivers and substitute drivers meet the standards set by Washington law for school bus drivers. Each attends and must pass an authorization training class and exam. The classroom and behind-the-wheel training test their skills and judgment. During classes, drivers rehearse what might happen on a daily basis and practice emergency procedures. Each has a current First Aid card as well as a commercial driver's license. Each driver is at least 21 years old, has passed an FBI and Washington State Patrol criminal check and a pre-employment drug test. Each year our drivers take continual in-service training and attend safety awareness and training sessions.

In August each year, our 160+ buses in the fleet undergo an exhaustive exam by half a dozen Washington State Patrol. The troopers spend two full days testing everything from the brakes to the mirrors. Since 1991 Issaquah’s mechanics have earned a 100% safety rating in the annual summer inspection--a record that may well be the highest in the state. Each winter, the State Patrol performs additional surprise inspections on 25% of the fleet. As we have in the August inspections, Issaquah continues to score well in this measure of attention to student safety.

The costs of buses, fuel, repair, and staff are covered by a combination of state and local taxes. The state uses a standard estimated distance traveled formula plus three separate counting periods during the year to determine how much of our transportation costs they will cover and how much are covered by local maintenance and operations (M&O) levy dollars. The transportation budget for 2016-2017 is approximately $8.3 million. 3.5% of the district’s budget is used for the costs of transporting students between home and school for the regular school day. 74% of this program is now state funded.

• Annual mileage for the bus fleet totals over 2,200,000 miles.
• The buses use over 300,000,000 gallons of fuel
• During an average year, the fleet will need:
  • 750 filters
  • 5199 quarts of oil
• Preventive maintenance is performed on the buses every 1,500-2,000 miles

Our environmentally responsible bus wash, using recycled water, keeps our school buses clean and shiny. Wash water drains into a holding tank where the dirt and heavy particles settle to the bottom. The cleaner water at the top is pumped into sprayers and used again. This method is simple and effective in saving water and controlling pollution. In fact, the Transportation Department won a storm water pollution prevention award from the City of Issaquah for their efforts.

If you enjoy kids, same vacation schedule as your children, weekends off, good pay, and working with an outstanding team of dedicated employees, driving a school bus may be just the job for you! Issaquah School District Transportation Services will provide the training and help you meet the requirements. Interested? Call 425-837-6327 for more information.