• Transportation

Welcome to the BCSD Transportation Department. The BCSD Transportation Department operates a fleet of 63 school buses that carry more than 2,000 students to and from their homes each day! We employ about 50 individuals, which includes school bus operators, attendants, mechanics and office staff.

Drivers transport students in Kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as children who qualify for transportation and are enrolled in the district’s preschool program. Drivers also provide transportation for students who reside in Bedford, Bedford Heights, Oakwood Village and Walton Hills and attend a nonpublic or a community school.

Welcome

Bus safety is a priority for the Bedford City Schools. For this reason and to ensure student safety at the bus stop, we ask that your student(s) be at the assigned bus stop 5-10 minutes before the scheduled pickup time. Children are expected to obey their drivers at all times. Failure to obey drivers or abide by rules may result in disciplinary action or the loss of riding privileges. Ohio Revised Code–Student Management (https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-3301-83-08)

State law requires students to wait at the bus stop before the bus arrives. School bus operators are not able to wait at the bus stop for late students.

School bus operators need to keep to their time schedules as much as possible. Parents that need to speak with a driver should call the Transportation Department to arrange a telephone conference rather than talking to the driver at the bus stop. Also, parents are never permitted to board a school bus without prior authorization.

Children that will be car riders or attend area day care or babysitters must have this on file in the school and Transportation Department offices. Students are NOT permitted to board or exit the bus at any location other than the assigned stop. No exceptions will be permitted. Parents/Guardians must update transportation information in finalforms.

If you signed up for bus transportation and no longer need your child to ride the bus OR if you feel you are missing bus information, please contact our Transportation Department right away at transportation@bedfordschools.org. If your student does not ride the bus consistently, they will be removed from the route and if your needs change you would need to make another request.

Our focus is on our routes and student safety. Please use email instead of calling the office for the quickest response.

transportation@bedfordschools.org

Contact Us

If you have questions, you can reach us at: Transportation 440-439-4234
transportation@bedfordschools.org

If you have a non-emergency question of concern, we recommend calling or emailing us before or after peak bus travel times.

Non-Peak times: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. are the best time to call the Transportation Office

Peak hours: 6:00-9:00 a.m. and 1:00-4:40 p.m. The beginning of the morning and afternoon school bus runs are when we receive the most phone calls.

Stefany Tabor

SUPERVISOR OF TRANSPORTATION

School: 440-439-1500 ext. 4139

Danielle Henderson

TRANSPORTATION SPECIALIST

School: 440-439-1500 ext. 4138

Sha'Ray Green

TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY

School: 440-439-1500 ext. 4137

Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(Cited from the Ohio Department of Education Website)

Q:   I cannot see my child’s bus stop from the house. Are there state laws that set the standards for bus stop location?
A:   No law requires a parent to see the bus stop from home. Students in Ohio may be assigned to a bus stop up to one-half mile from their home and we encourage parents to accompany their child to the bus stop whenever possible. This teaches the child safe habits of walking to and from the bus stop and may give the parent peace of mind. Bus stop locations are determined by each district’s Board of Education.

Q:   Are sidewalks required for my child to get to his / her bus stop?
A:   Many students walk alongside of roadways to reach their bus stop and in some instances no sidewalks exist. While we understand this may be of concern in some situations, the Department of Education does not promulgate bus stop placement. Issues relating to where a child’s bus stop is located and safety concerns along the way to the bus stop must be addressed with the district in which you reside.

Q:   I make my child wait inside of my house until the bus is at the stop. I have heard this is not allowed – is this true?
A:   Ohio law requires children to be waiting at the bus stop prior to its arrival. Bus drivers count the students at the bus stop before they load and as they get on the bus to ensure all children are safely on board. If students are not waiting at the bus stop the bus driver cannot count them and cannot be certain the students are all safely on board. Waiting at the bus stop before the bus arrives further ensures that no one chases after the bus – this is a very dangerous thing to do. Many districts also instruct their buses to not stop at locations where no students are waiting.

Versatrans Bus Route Information (Elink)

The Bedford City School District Transportation Department uses Versatrans to give parents the ability to look up the most accurate bus information for their children throughout the school year. This is a way for families to access their individual bus numbers, schedules, and routes.

Versatrans utilizes the latest routing technology to maintain accurate and up-to-date bus routing information. It will have "real-time" data so when students move in or out of the district, the time change and bus routes are altered. Parents need to realize these are computer-generated estimates and subject to change, as always, allow a bus to run 10 minutes early/behind the actual time of arrival.

**PLEASE CHECK THE BUS INFORMATION THE DAY BEFORE SCHOOL FOR ANY CHANGES***

Versatrans Login Instructions

Click here to log into Versatrans

When logging in, use Student ID # and DOB (8 digits) as the username and password.

After login, parents/guardians simply click "Student" and then "View My Students".

Please contact the Transportation office if you have any questions or concerns at 440-439-4234 or via email transportation@bedfordschools.org

Versatrans MyStop App

BCSD Transportation Department is evaluating the Versatrans MyStop app (soft launch). The Versatrans MyStopTM app allows parents to see in real-time where the bus is located using GPS data from our school buses and gives you an estimated time of arrival (ETA) of the bus to your bus stop. The app is a FREE download, click here Apple App Store or Google Play

TRACK YOUR SCHOOL BUS DIRECTIONS
Step 1: Download the Versatrans MyStop app in the App Store or Google Play
Step 2: Select Bedford City School District
Step 3: Enter a Username and Password

USERNAME: Student ID#

PASSWORD: Date of Birth (MMDDYYYY)

Example: USERNAME: 12345678, PASSWORD: 07212011

BCSD families can also log into their Home Access Center Account (HAC) and view their MyStop credentials to the right of the Stop Description.

Student Transportation Handbook

Payment in Lieu of Transportation Waiver

A payment in lieu of transportation is a monetary compensation provided to families when the school district is unable to offer bus transportation for their child. This payment helps parents arrange alternative transportation to ensure their child can attend school.

If you are eligible for the payment in lieu, the checks will be issued starting in mid July through August.

Payment in Lieu of Transportation Waiver

Lost and Found

School Bus Safety Rules

Elementary Zones

ELEMENTARY ATTENDANCE ZONES
Bedford City Schools have a “sister-school” arrangement in the elementary grades. Students that attend Glendale Primary School are promoted to Carylwood Intermediate School. Those that attend Central Primary School are promoted to Columbus Intermediate School. This arrangement provides continuity of instruction in the development of basic learning skills and helps children to build heathy, sustaining school relationships with peers in a challenging academic environment

Prospective residents interested in determining which school their child will attend can refer to the following lists. These lists indicate which streets encompass the Central/Columbus school zone and which encompass the Glendale/Carylwood school zone. Please contact the Transportation Department at 440-439-4234 if you have any questions.

CARYLWOOD/GLENDALE ZONE

COLUMBUS/CENTRAL ZONE

REQUEST FOR BUS STOP CHANGE

Changes will only be reviewed by the submission of the School Bus Stop Change request form linked below.

For the protection and safety of our students, a request to relocate a student's bus stop will only be accepted from a custodial parent or guardian. Please know, our routes were created with safety as a top priority and in a way to help us be as efficient as possible using corner, cluster, and group stops.

If you'd still like to request a bus stop change, please fill out this form. Each request will be investigated and we will respond to the requester with either an email or phone call with the final decision in 24-48 business hours. While each request will be considered, do not assume that your request will be approved.

Parent Transportation Zone

*** IMPORTANT INFORMATION - PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTICE**

THIS IS CONCERNING FILLING OUT YOUR (T CARD) TRANSPORTATION FORM

RE: PARENT TRANSPORTATION ZONES 2024 – 2025 SCHOOL YEAR

Dear Parent/Guardian:

The Bedford City School District Board of Education (“Board” or “District”) consistently assesses its programs and practices to ensure both efficiency and effectiveness while prioritizing the needs of all of its students. At this time, we do not have enough drivers to provide the same level of service despite our aggressive recruitment efforts.

The Parent Transportation Zones now have a larger radius around each school in which families would be responsible for transporting their students to and from school. Per Board policy and/or guidelines, students living within the following distances of their school should not receive bus transportation. Families will be required to transport their children to and from school to best ensure we are in alignment with Board policy and/or guidelines.

The guidelines are of such:

Grades K -2: 1 mile
Grades 3-5: 1 mile
Grades 6-8: 1.5 miles
Grades 9-12: 2.0 miles

The service level provided still falls well below state minimum requirements of 2 miles for K-8 students. In addition, the state doesn't require HS transportation, but at this time BCSD does transport students that live beyond 2 miles.

All districts throughout the United States have struggled to find drivers after the pandemic. We are doing everything possible to help the drivers currently in the training and hiring pipeline succeed, but fully onboarding bus drivers takes time and there are many potential pitfalls due to the depth of driver safety training. While we are optimistic about more drivers joining our ranks, we also believe it is important for families to be prepared.

Transportation of Pupils: General Requirements

School districts are responsible for transporting all eligible students to the district, community or chartered nonpublic schools where they are enrolled. At a minimum, state law requires students in grades K-8 who reside more than two miles from their school receive transportation. Transportation beyond the state minimum is not required, however, if a district opts to provide additional service levels such as transportation of students in grades 9-12 or those living less than two miles away, then the level of service applies to all students regardless of school of enrollment. Districts may use different modes of transportation, but the mode of transportation is not based on school attended.

Please reference: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3327.01

Change of Address

Families having a permanent change of address must report the new information to their child’s school of attendance. NO CHANGE OF ADDRESSES WILL BE ACCEPTED BY THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT. A new bus will not be assigned until the school notifies the transportation department of the new address.

The transportation department must receive the information at least one week prior to starting bus service to the new address in order to avoid any delays in your child’s transportation.

Change Request Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd_Uw6GNQbNx3Zats5Z2OnL4U-bvIqR5iDQDhBinFpZVs3ohg/viewform?usp=sf_link

New Panel

DON’T LOSE YOUR RIDING PRIVILEGES

Students who do not follow the bus rules cause the bus driver to be distracted, which can lead to accidents. Bus drivers need to keep their eyes focused on the road rather than on the students. Our Assertive Discipline Intervention Program is in place to correct inappropriate behavior and to reward good behavior. Please stress the importance of appropriate behavior on the bus so that your child does not lose bus riding privileges.