San Ramon Valley Unified School District

FAQ's

Q: What are the hours of the Transportation Office?

A: The Transportation Office is open Monday thru Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Q: What about rules and regulations for riding the bus?

A: All students riding the bus are required by safety rules set forth by the state. Please read the Rider Rules under the Services section.

Q: What happens if a student violates the rules?

A: Proper disciplinary procedure shall be followed.

Q: What if I have complaints or concerns regarding bus transportation?

A: Please contact us at the SRVUSD Transportation Office at (925)824-1823.

Q: Why is my child's bus late?

A: There are a number of different reasons for a late bus. Weather, traffic, driver absenteeism, maintenance difficulties, and unforeseen incidents can be responsible for delays in the arrival of school buses in the morning and/or afternoon.

Sometimes the bus routes must be doubled out or run as a second load to or from the school due to the regular driver being absent.
Traffic in the San Ramon Valley area is increasingly complex.
Drivers check buses before their routes and sometimes find mechanical problems that can cause delays and require driving another bus for that day. This can cause the bus to be late.

Q: Do I need to stop for the school bus when the yellow lights are flashing?

A: Flashing yellow lights means that the bus is getting ready to load or unload students. While you do not have to stop when the yellows are flashing, you should watch for the stop paddle to come out. When the stop paddle is out and the red lights are flashing, you must stop for the bus if you are on a two-lane road or if you are traveling the same direction as the bus on a three- or four-lane road. Stop paddle violations will be prosecuted.

Q: Why are school buses painted yellow?

A: In 1939, delegates to the first National Minimum Standards Conference wanted a uniform color so school buses would be recognized by the same color nationwide. A second consideration was cost since manufacturers charged additional for special colors. Plus, delegates concluded that for safety sake, yellow was easier to see in fog, rain and other bad weather conditions.

National School Bus Chrome Yellow was first adopted at that conference. By the way, the conference was held at Teachers College, Columbia University, April 10 - 16, 1939. All 48 states were represented, usually by someone from the state department of education. The group called itself the "National Council of Chief State School Officers," and H.E. Hendrix, State Superintendent of Public Instruction of Arizona, was the first president.

In 1974 the federal government approved Standard 17. In this standard, which has since been revised and is now a highway safety guideline, the federal government suggested that school buses should be painted National School Bus Chrome Yellow. That is when the state's started to use yellow on all new buses. At present there is no federal law that requires school buses to be painted yellow. It is up to each state to do so. Some states, South Carolina for example, paint some of their school buses, in this case activity buses, white though the bulk of the state's fleet is painted school bus yellow.