He Fed A Stink Bug Chips… And The Whole Bus Lost It

We trade quiet winter routes for real talk on safety habits, radio tone, and the small tactics that keep kids safe and drivers sane. From a fan’s mirror-check reminder to a stink bug rescue, we unpack how routines, respect, and teamwork shape every ride.

• tightening mirror checks and immediate student checks
• comparing alarm buttons, tablets and honor-system pitfalls
• radio etiquette, tone awareness and a case for channel two
• lost-and-found systems with magnetic clips and clear timelines
• cleaning routines for high-touch points and driver wellness
• bus rodeo skills for mirrors, backing and precision
• staff presence at curbside and clean dismissal handoffs
• food, trash and setting fair boundaries with consequences

Like us on Facebook and share your stories from the road. Call or text 757-529-1574

“These are our stories from the driver’s seat—our opinions only, not our  employer’s or school district’s. Student safety and privacy always come first, so no names, faces, routes, or ‘you know that kid’ details ever make it on the podcast.

Email us at schoolbusbanter@gmail.com

Call or text us at 757-529-1574

Join our Facebook Group with bus drivers around the world!

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:17

Welcome to School Bus Banter episode seven. Is that a six seven? No.

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Six seven. My kids get me on that every day.

SPEAKER_04 0:29

Joe and Jerry here. We're excited to start recording. This is going to be a uh regular episode. This is not about news or anything like that. And it's been a while since we recorded. We had record recorded a bunch of them early. So I got I've I want to feel like it's been three weeks since we recorded like a regular episode.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Yeah. Yeah, that sounds about right.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

Yeah. So what's been going on? What's what's uh what's going on?

SPEAKER_00 0:55

Ooh, kids have been quiet lately.

SPEAKER_04 0:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

Is this is this like this time of year? Like, well, we got more snow, but kids, yeah, to the point where today I was like, all right, what okay, what's what are you planning? What are you plotting? Is there a meeting back there that I'm not included in? What is going on?

SPEAKER_03 1:18

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:18

Um, yeah, they're quiet. And a middle schooler just said they're busy, lots of band music, um, athletics right now. And my little kids are sick, like there's a lot that are sick. So they haven't, we just had a little break.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

Um, so a lot didn't come back today. And you know, you're how your little kids, I mean, they they give you the details, right? They're like, Oh, yeah, my brother had his head in the toilet, just puke was everywhere, and the dog was licking it up off the floor. Yeah, everything.

SPEAKER_04 1:56

Yes, oh my god, that's uh and they and they always rat out their parents for stuff too, like just nonchalant. Like, my mom ran around with her pants off, you know, Monday. No, just just for no one's ever said that to me, but I mean it's it would be something absurd like that, you know what I mean?

Fan Message And Safety Check Routines

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah, so it's been quiet. Um, you know, I'm like, you guys give me content for this podcast. I mean, they don't know I do this, but um, you give me content for this game, start talking, start having some conversations that I can listen in on for sure and and laugh about.

SPEAKER_04 2:28

Um, so I want to give a shout out to our fan in Ohio. We had not talked about it, I believe, but uh this is a message uh this person set. Good morning. What uh man, I swear we did we talk about this? No, I don't think we did. I don't know. We record like odd times, so I'm just gonna read it because it's awesome. Good morning, Westerville School bus driver here again. After listening to your podcast, I've started to tighten up on my mirror checks and now do my student checks before returning in the afternoons. That's amazing. Like, I have I have a follow-up on the the student checks. We use our zonar devices for our student checks. I wish we had the alarm butt buttons your buses have installed. Well, it's a strict district policy and grounds for immediate termination. It's still an honor system. Keep up the good work, can't wait for the next episode. Um, so that's wild that it's like an honor system. Like, I mean, ours is dummy. I mean, yes, I guess you could walk away, but it's kind of dummy proof. I freaking love it that way. So I don't know what means zonar. Like, do they just tap a button that that says it's empty? That's probably what they're doing.

SPEAKER_00 3:35

No, it sounds like it's just we I mean we have zonar also, so they just can locate where we are. I don't think they have right.

SPEAKER_04 3:43

So they probably have tablets in their car. Like, we can get tablets through zonar, but our district choose not to spend the money on it. So I think they have a tablet probably, and then they tap that bus as empty and then they put the tablets.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Still you're not never, yeah. You tap you're still not getting out of your seat and physically checking.

SPEAKER_04 4:01

Well, that's the thing, it's on the honor system. One thing he talked about doing is check right after a stop. So I started that and be because of you, and then and then that, but the last couple days or a couple days this Monday, the last two times I've driven, I forgot and I just drove back. And I'm like, oh well, if you notice, I'm doing it at uh one of our the lat the stop that you see me at at the end in the morning. Sorry, in the morning, the one school. I don't know if you've noticed that I've been there a little bit longer and and uh doing my students.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

You know, I have kid in the morning, I have fourth grader safeties, they're the last kids off the bus. They sit in the back seat, they control behavior as much as they can, um, basically report to me any names of anybody um goofing around outside the norm. And um, so they're my last two that come in and they they bring in any missing mittens and hats, and here's a leftover, um, I don't know, Lego piece. I find those a lot or Pokemon card. And uh they're my last ones off. So I know that they've checked, physically checked, but I still in my I cannot leave that school without getting up and doing it myself. Because what if there's a kid back there going, don't tell, don't tell that I'm still back here. Yeah, I just I don't I play these scenarios in my head, and I'm like, I'm gonna just wipe out all those, you know, worrisome thoughts in my head and just get up, do the physical check. I don't turn my bus off, I don't hit the button, but I get up and do the physical checks before I get on the way to my next run.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

Yeah, I mean it's it's I think it's you know, it's six one half a dozen of the other, like as far as like where you check it. But I I I think me and this person in Ohio agree with you. We should do it right after we're done.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

And I'm my goal is to I mean it's it's just you can ride home knowing you've done the check, you know.

SPEAKER_04 5:58

Right, you can turn your music up all the way high and not worry you're gonna work a kid in the back.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Some of my music could be questionable when there's no kids on. So I want to make sure you have no kids on.

Tools, Policies, And Honor Systems

SPEAKER_04 6:08

Yeah, of course. All right, before we uh check into the the the bulk of the show, business email, schoolbus, banter at gmail.com, Facebook group. Hey, so I changed a setting on there. Apparently, it was my fault. Uh, so now it is open, it's not open, it's a private group, but now it can be seen. I think the issue was because I had my friend check it, and she was like, no, this is what happens. It's like it's like nothing there. And then so I changed one setting, and now you once you click on that link, it'll take there, and then you can request to join. So uh we got our first um person in there. Uh, that I don't know who it is, so that's very exciting. Maybe it maybe it's this person in Ohio.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

R1 fan.

SPEAKER_04 6:52

Our one fan, yeah. Um, so check that out, and then we actually have a phone number. Uh, we love to get stories from the road that we can play. The phone number is uh this is a Google Voice number, but it comes to my phone and it's totally fine. And you can text too. But it's 757-529-1574, and then the link, uh, the numbers in the description too. So obviously, uh, I'm not gonna pick it up, but um, leave a message, send a text, whatever you want to do. So I don't need any middle fingers from you, Joe, uh, via the text. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 7:27

All five are up.

SPEAKER_04 7:28

Okay, all five.

SPEAKER_00 7:29

No, no middle fingers, all five are up. Um thank you. I just wanted to thank you real quick for putting I l I heard the disclaimer on there, and I that it's so important to for people to know that this is exactly what you said. This is just our our thoughts of the day, our thoughts of what are working for us, ours only. We're gonna talk about maybe other districts and what they do. No, there's no right or wrong, it's just stories. So thank you.

SPEAKER_04 8:00

Yeah, the thing is too, we actually love our district. I love our district. Like, I don't have I mean, yes, do we have some grow uh do we have some pain points? Of course, but it don't matter what district you go to, you're gonna have it. But I I don't know if I'd want to go anywhere else other than if I moved to Florida. Uh I I don't I don't know where I don't think I would have to do. So their buses have air conditioning district, so yeah, they would have to. Yeah, of course. They would have to. Can you imagine the the the early summer and the and the spring? It's gotta be.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Let's hear from some Florida bus drivers. That would be great. And let's hear from the north, the north too, how they're doing. Yeah, like yeah, but right now New York, holy moly, they're getting nailed.

SPEAKER_04 8:47

Oh, I know. I got I got a friend in Jersey and she she went out and measured it. She got 18 inches, and it was like 50 mile, 50 mile an hour winds.

SPEAKER_00 8:58

Wow, they don't have anywhere to put it, like oh yeah, New York City kind of, you know, the Midwest does, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:04

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:05

We got yeah, downtown New York, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:08

So uh all right, stories from the road. Uh what what story you got? What do you what are you talking about? What do you want to what do you want to tell us? I know you said you have so much.

Community, Weather, And Driver Outreach

SPEAKER_00 9:20

No, well, yeah, okay. One topic, and we have come across this. I think we've excuse me, um, had said something earlier in one of our podcasts that just being aware of the radio chatter, so the radios that you share between buses and dispatch. It it's just we had some rough conversations or I want to say rough mean chatter a few days ago. But there's a couple of things. One is I think when you either reply or ask something, all we get is the tone. We don't get video, we don't get context, you know, we don't have body language, it's just it's strictly tone. So if your tone is normally like matter of factly, that's gonna come across bitchy. I mean, just is right, it's it's gonna come across that, but it's for me, um I think what happened was I couldn't hear part of it. And so the part I did hear was uh repeat, and they were getting a little bit more edgy with the conversation. So I was um I was a little taken back. And for one thing, kids can hear it, our kids are listening. My whole first 10 rows are just all about like what's happening on the radio, yeah. And when you have some of that stuff on there, they feel it too, yeah. You know, they know they're just like, wow, they must be really mad. I'm like, no, that's just how they kind of sound, but I don't you're not gonna fix it, it's just I try and come across a little bit lighter, you know, and please and thank you. That's just considerate of there, but I don't know. It's it's one thing that just you have a good day and then something happens on the radio, it can just set you back.

SPEAKER_04 11:12

I think that's probably a common thing through a lot of districts because especially, I mean, I would honestly like to know what size our district compares to like like how many buses we have out and stuff like that, like compared to other schools. Because I mean, you know, I what 35 to 40 we have, and so that's that many people that have radio access. Um, so I I would guess that kind of like chippiness can happen at times. Unfortunately, I feel like since um we upgraded a building that we are having a little bit of trouble with radio traffic as far as like connection, I feel like there's a lot of like cutoff stuff, and you know, and it doesn't mean someone should get frustrated, but it does lead to being like trying to get the message across, and you've said it three times, and so it just naturally kind of comes across.

SPEAKER_00 12:08

And there's some radios that can hear it, and so that driver's like, Oh my gosh, I heard. Did you hear what that dispatch said? No, they that driver probably didn't. They could just be in an area of our district where, yeah, like you said, it's just it's not coming across. So if you have to repeat it three times, I'm sorry. Um, just know that I'm just trying to get, you know, my I think my radio is a little dodgy.

Radio Tone, Etiquette, And Kids Listening

SPEAKER_04 12:31

Well, I I don't think it's our radios, I think it's the placement of on the new building. I think that's the issue. But but um also speaking of radios, I really think we need a second channel so that when there is like there was something today with a child and a parent not being there, like, hey, go to channel two. Like, what once the initial like connection? Go to channel two to finish it out. That doesn't mean I can't go to channel two and and listen and get the T, but it leaves the other channel over for simple things like, oh, like go ahead of me. Um, I gotta stop coming up. Like, okay, cool. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, but do do we have access to that channel? I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 13:14

I don't know. I don't know if that's possible, but it would be nice to have this like go to channel two, please, and like boom.

SPEAKER_00 13:20

Yep, once a bus breaks down and you gotta figure out where those kids gotta go or something, because that does happen, yeah, go to channel two, and then they can, yeah, that's that's something to ask for sure.

SPEAKER_04 13:32

I think I ran it past my supervisor before like a while ago. I think he said there is a pot that there's a way to do it, but um, yeah, I think it would reduce a lot of the BS, and and you know, especially when I feel like on a half day that frigging radio is you can't get in on the you know, you and the half days when the kindergarten parents we still need to seat them at kindergarten age.

SPEAKER_00 13:58

We need to see, you know, a guardian, a brother, sister, somebody out there for that child. And if 10 drivers, because it that half day is a different time, you know, parents forget, and there's nobody out there, you've got 10 drivers looking trying to get in to dispatch for a phone call.

SPEAKER_04 14:13

Yeah, and I think it would be nice, like, because there's two dispatchers, like she's like, go to channel two, and so the other one still is listening to one, so can you know what I mean? You obviously can't have both of them go to two at the same time because you would miss everything else, but um, yeah, I don't know. I I think it would be a good idea. I think it would help out on those uh busy days. So that's what I was saying. I wonder how we compare to other districts. Can you imagine if they had 150 buses out for routes and the radio traffic on that? Like, I mean, Jude us, that'd be insane.

SPEAKER_00 14:46

I wonder what their protocol is.

SPEAKER_04 14:49

Yeah, well, yeah, bottom line 10-4 is good. Like, just say 10-4. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:55

Save the happy birthdays for in the lounge. I mean, the yeah, there was a few today, but what do you yeah?

SPEAKER_04 15:02

I I don't mind like the problem. See, this is the problem. And and you're gonna, if you're listening to this podcast, you're probably gonna hear radio stuff we talk about. Maybe not every episode, but I would say every quarter. We're probably it's probably gonna come up. But like, I don't mind saying, hey, happy birthday. Then then you either say thanks or nothing, and then just move on. It it's the continuing back and forth about the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 15:29

I agree, I agree, yeah. It's it's hard to get in. I don't need phone calls that often, and when I do, the main ones that always need a phone call, they're already, you know, they're already in the case.

SPEAKER_04 15:41

Yeah, I actually got called on the radio today for you were busy today with that, you know, and that's the thing too. My policy personally is if I find anything on the bus, I'm not calling it in. I'm leaving it on my bus. Uh, and and and if they call, great, which they did. Um, twice for some ungodly reason, but it's fine. I'm just saying I try to reduce the traffic because there's no need for it. Like just there, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:13

I do I do the same thing, even if it's a phone, I they're they're gonna find it. Those those parents know where their kids' phones are, they're gonna follow my bus through the whole, you know, the through the whole route because they can do that.

Channel Two Dreams And Dispatch Load

SPEAKER_04 16:26

I I you know, I'm not a shit collector for your kid. I'm just I'm not I'm not worried about the fucking snow pants or any of that stuff. I'm just like I will give it to you in the morning. Or if you do want it, then yeah, they can call me and I will advise them, but I'm not gonna like run around.

SPEAKER_00 16:47

And how long do you leave stuff on your bus for before you turn it into the school?

SPEAKER_04 16:51

Oh, the so oh man, uh this is a good question. So I just so oh god, the process I have is well, I guess I can save this for tips, but I don't I don't bring it into the school, but if if you like drop like a chapstick, or let's say I collected today a I don't know what it's called, but you um I would say you put you put makeup on with it, but it's got it, I would say you would put like blush on with it, like a little powdery thing. I so yeah, I don't say, is this yours? And I throw it in my little thing, and after like three weeks, if no one asks me, I put it in a bag and then I I I pitch it.

SPEAKER_00 17:41

Um so but I don't wait that long, chapsticks get thrown.

SPEAKER_04 17:48

I'll let you a little secret into if you're listening to the podcast. So I'm actually collecting it all, and I'm gonna do a video at the end of the year of all the stuff I've collected for the whole year. So I got almost like a small grocery bag full of stuff, and and it's not like I clean out every week, I bet it's been a month, and finally it was literally this morning. I brought a bag from home, and I was like, all right, I gotta clean this out, it's overflowing, and a lot of it's pencils, markers, um, stupid little knickknacks. But um, sorry, I'm dragging on this, but I do have a girl on my elementary that thinks it's fucking goodwill because she did it today too, but it was empty. She she'll go by when she gets out and she'll like I know you can't see this as an audio listener, but she'll like kind of look at the little shelf area, like anything I and I swear a couple yeah, I swear a couple of times. She's like, Oh, this is mine, and she just but what am I gonna do?

SPEAKER_00 18:51

What am I gonna do? Yeah, it's it's the same. Um, because you know, we I just go to one school for elementary, it's it's nice to be able, I I give them three days a mitten, a hat, three water bottle, whatnot, three days, and then it goes back to the school into the lost and found. But I do have a um glass jar of little stuff, little the tiny pieces that I find, the little erasers, the cute little I have a jar and it's full, it's filled with that.

SPEAKER_04 19:19

So I thought that would be fun to yeah, at the at the end of the year, like look what kids left and didn't claim. Um, I don't get you know, if I get gloves, actually, what I do is I know we're kind of jumping around, but I have bought magnetic clips and I clip I clip their gloves and it sticks because otherwise, if I throw it on my dash, they don't see it. You know what I mean? So this is hanging, so it's almost like I I mean, obviously for the littles, it's a little too high, but it's almost I level them when they walk out, they oh, they're like, oh gosh, those are my gloves, because you know, and it works, that's it works, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:55

Um yeah, because my dashboard can get pretty much. Yeah, so that's why I keep it off there.

SPEAKER_04 20:00

You know what I found last week? Pair of socks. A pair of socks.

SPEAKER_00 20:06

Nice guess you think maybe like for gymnastics.

SPEAKER_04 20:09

I don't know, but guess who's it was the girl that always thinks it's goodwill. So I had to make an announcement though. I don't know. So, anyways, I know we were on mean radio chatter. Uh, what what else stories from the road? You you have bus rodeo?

SPEAKER_00 20:24

I do. Do um do you want me to talk about that right now? I just kind of because I think a lot of districts or bus drivers know about this because it's natural.

SPEAKER_04 20:33

I don't think they do.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Um, I you don't think they do? Yeah, they do. Bus rodeo, it's a competition in your region or districts get together, one school hosts it, and um you take your bus through an obstacle course. Now, you did it, Jerry. And what'd you think?

Lost-And-Found Strategy And Boundaries

SPEAKER_04 20:52

It's difficult. It there's a lot of pressure around it. Uh, I don't know why. I think I'd probably do a little bit better, but I think I did it what two years in the first year I did pretty well, or maybe I did it three years. No, this two years. The second year I did worse, and so I was like, Yeah, I think I'm done. Um it's it's it's different.

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Yeah, you take your bus through um parallel parking, backing up, curb parking. Um I can't even like um what is it, docking?

SPEAKER_04 21:22

Yeah, yep, dock. Alley dock. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

Alley dock. That's it. Alley dock. And closest to the stop line. Uh, you can actually Google uh bus rodeo and I think it'll bring you to the um the state qualifications and and everything that you have to go through. But I just would love to see more drivers, especially in our region, participate because you're a better bus driver at the end of it. Don't you agree?

SPEAKER_04 21:54

Yeah, I would agree. Um, depending on the level of your anxiety, because it it is it is frustrating. There's a couple of them that I really struggle with and I can't figure it out. Um, well, I I got it, but it's just I don't know. It just I don't know if it makes it a uh you a better bus driver, but I think what it does is it puts in perspective. Hmm, what am I trying to say? Like how dangerous your bus can be. Like, because you're you're backing into tight spots, and like you're like, oh shit, I just hit a cone, but like, oh my god, what if that was a kid? I don't know. Just just more, I guess, more aware of your bus.

SPEAKER_00 22:32

Yeah, you're more aware of your your stopping points and where your bus ends and begins and the mirrors, how to use your mirrors. It really teaches you how to use your mirrors. But I I don't know. I would just like to see more participation. It really, after COVID, it just took a nosedive down um to participate. And I really don't know who's gonna be hosting it um this year for our region, but yeah, it'd just be neat to see what other states and school bus drivers know what I'm talking about because it's I think it's a it's a pretty big deal, but it's it's fun. The the um best I ever did was second place for our region and seventh place for state, but again, it's all participation, so you're there's not you know, if if every driver was forced to do it and I got seventh place, that would be awesome. But I did seventh place out of participation, and at that year, I think we only had like 48 participation um during that time. So yeah, I'm still proud of it, but um, it would have been, you know, it would have been cool to just it just we have all the equipment, so we get to practice on our lot, so it that makes it really nice, but um, I want to do better.

Bus Rodeo Pressure And Skills

SPEAKER_04 23:42

Yeah, let us know if you uh if you listen to this, if you've done bus rodeo in your state or your district, we'd love to know. We'd love to hear about it. Um, for me, um, stink bug drama for my story from the road. Um, so like you know, it's that time. Well, it wasn't we had a warm spell, but it's you know, it's getting towards that time of the year for our area where bugs come out and stink bugs, you know, it's it's relatively new to our area. Well, I would say maybe in the last five or six years, I haven't really had to deal with them. So, my first round of kids, there was a uh stink bug on the ceiling, and they're like the girls in the front, they're like freaking out, they're watching it. Like this became a whole thing on the entire trip. Not everybody involved, everyone's involved in the first 10 rows about it, and then they're laughing about it, and then they're like putting their Chromebooks over their head because they're worried it's gonna fall on them. So it was kind of I'm like, you guys are I was just like laughing at them, and I couldn't really see it because it was like moving while they were driving on the road. So, like, and then like it people were yeah, it was hootin' hollering. So they uh they you know I dropped them all off, and then I of course totally forget about it. Like, I don't really give I don't give a crap about the stink bug. Well, first of all, they don't bite, they are gross looking, they're very like yeah, they don't do anything while they stink if you kill them.

SPEAKER_00 25:03

Well, yeah, but uh if you just grab them gently with the Kleenex and push them outside, then yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:09

So I get my get my elementary kids on, and you know, the first 50 seconds on the road, Mr.

SPEAKER_01 25:16

Jerry, Mr.

SPEAKER_04 25:18

Jerry, there's a stink bug, and so I'm like, oh gosh. So I get to my first stop and I just parked, drop the kids, uh, put my parking brake on, walk back there, I grab it, and they're like screaming, and then I like yeeted it out the window, and they're like, Oh my god, did you kill it? I was like, Do you think I real do you do I look like somebody that's gonna kill a bug?

SPEAKER_00 25:46

First they want it off, and then they're concerned about the killing of the bug, right?

SPEAKER_04 25:50

Did you yeah, and then they're like, This is like Mr. Mr. Jerry, how could you kill? I'm like, you guys, I didn't kill it. They're like, Well, you picked it up. I'm like, yeah, it's not gonna bite me, and I just yeeted it out. So that was my drama, and it's like I will kill like a yellow jacket, but if it's a honey bee, I won't kill it. I'm like, I'm not killing that thing, it's fine, it's not gonna sting you.

SPEAKER_00 26:14

The the bees on the bus are of anxiety over that. I mean, that's just you know, they hover around by the trees where we park our buses, and they come in pretty pretty stealthy. But yeah, I will definitely I can pull over three or four times when that happens. But um, have I had a stink bug?

SPEAKER_04 26:37

Yeah, it was just hilarious. I mean, both both well, I mean, these the the upper L is that we call it the upper L for the older kids, or secondary, I don't know. The secondary kids, I have fifth graders on there, so they're a stone throw away. Fifth grade girls, they're a stone throw away from the elementary bus. I mean, we they used to ride till sixth grade, so but yeah, it was just funny. I just it just tickles my heart when they're just freaking out. I didn't like it, just they're not like because you get to be the hero, not literally freaking out, but just like having fun with it, but also being a little scared that it's gonna drop on their face and it might go up their nose. You you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 27:19

In their in their ear and their mouth, yeah. So it's just it's just I I don't have any kids that step up to the plate when that happens. It's all it's all on me. That I I thought maybe like some you know cool fourth or fifth or sixth grade boy would be like, Oh, I'll save everybody, you know, and I'll be I'll be cool. That and they're just like worse than the girls. Like, no, we'll just leave that to Miss Joe. She can do it.

SPEAKER_04 27:43

Yeah, you usually got one hillbilly on there that's like, yeah, uh this is not a problem for me. I'm going to take care of it.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

So nice.

Stink Bug Drama And Bus Heroics

SPEAKER_04 27:53

Um, all right. Tips and tricks. Yeah, I mean, one of them, I'm just gonna jump into mine real quick if you don't mind. Uh mine was the magnet things. Just think of it as like a clip with a magnet on it. I think that's a great idea. It kind of exposes whatever you've exposes. Oh, for your mittens. For your mittens and your hat, um, socks apparently work well for it. I I held that up there.

SPEAKER_00 28:15

It looks like a clothing line.

SPEAKER_04 28:17

Right. And honestly, it would be kind of cool too. Like, if you're a big, and I know I think you are, and I think uh one of our other drivers, um, like if you have like a little art thing going on, it's perfect to like instead of like permanently taping up for a while, if you just want to display it, you can just you know clip it on there and show it up. So, and then um I put I want to ask you, how do you clean your bus? Like, I I've learned so much. I don't okay, podcast over. Um peace out. So I uh I just learned have learned a lot from you and like some of the things that you've said, and so I was just curious, like um, like what is your schedule? Do you have anything?

SPEAKER_00 29:05

I oh those handrails. So I go to Costco and I buy the six, eight pack of Clorox wipes, and I use probably five a day. Oh I clean those handrails every day, like yes, I am there. I know, I don't want to think about it. Think about it. Let's think about it, and you're gonna be cleaning it five times a day. Uh at every stop. So um I am fortunate enough to have a layover, and um, so when I get in my bus in the morning, I do it uh before anybody gets on. And then, you know, I have four schools that I go to in the morning, and at my layover, I do it again, and then I go get my elementary drop them off, and I do it again, and then I do it again when I pull in because of my yeah, it's I I go through five, maybe six um wipes a day. It to me, it's worth it. Uh, I I guess you could spray like antiseptic spray like down on it, but then it just gets scoopy. And I use those handrails, I use them to get in and out. My steps are huge. I don't know if you've been over to my bus before, but my first top step is huge from the ground. Yeah, I sit really high.

SPEAKER_04 30:24

I don't know why that is because like mine are not as wide as your bus, but I notice whose bus did I just maybe it was. There was somebody's recently that I went to go step up. I'm like, oh my god, this is so high.

Cleaning Routines And Germ Control

SPEAKER_00 30:39

Yeah, 10 feet off the ground. It comes up to the um the kindergarten. Sometimes my parents will pick their kindergarteners up and set them on the like second step because that top step is so high. Um, regardless, whatever that is, I use that handrail and I'm not touching those if it's just like spray or something on, or um, nope, I am I wiping them as I come down and then I just throw my wipes away, you know, when I get in the bus lounge. But it's just it's become um, I have it. I'm uh germaphobe, I don't know. I think at the on my bus, I just want to try and keep it as healthy as I can. I want to stay healthy. Um, I still use the flu and co flu and covet spray. Um, I do that. I wipe my steering wheel every morning. It's um I wipe the walk the radios that we use and I clean my indoor window, the driver window, the side window and the front window, probably once a week. It's very dusty down there by where I park.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

Okay. It's very dusty.

SPEAKER_00 31:44

Okay. So there's a lot of dust. So I clean that. Um, but the rest of my the floor, it's swept, but it is salt, yeah. Pure salt right now. It looks terrible. I'm embarrassed if it when the coaches or um para pros or teachers get on and ride, like for athletic events and stuff. My floor is swept, but it's filthy from the salt.

SPEAKER_04 32:08

I think they understand it. I don't think that's that big a deal. I think you got a problem. I think you're a little OCD with stuff. Like, holy shit. Do you know I've never cleaned the inside of the windshield of my bus? Oh, I have what I have I have put 7,000 miles on that thing. I've never cleaned the inside. It is due. I can start seeing it, but I've never cleaned the inside.

SPEAKER_00 32:31

Get yourself the foam spray from your mechanic, get a box of paper towels, everything fits all nice up in my cubby. I've got my Clorox wipes, I've got the spray, the window spray, and the box. It all fits up there by the recorder. And I'm in that all the time. I'm in it so much that I have to have my mirror tightened all the time because I break that mirror seal to pull it down. Yeah, that's that is kind of a pain.

SPEAKER_04 32:57

I keep wrenches in my bus for that mirror.

SPEAKER_00 32:59

Yeah, because yeah, I used to, but my dimensions changed.

SPEAKER_04 33:04

Oh, yeah, yeah. Um, yeah, so I have never cleaned the handrails. And now I'm really grossed out thinking about it because I use them. I more focus on my cleaning of my own hands, like yeah, that too.

SPEAKER_00 33:20

You guys don't have hand sanitizers on them. I do. I still have I have a hand sanitizer.

SPEAKER_04 33:24

Oh, does it still have stuff in it?

SPEAKER_00 33:26

I yep.

SPEAKER_04 33:27

Oh, yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

We have bags for it. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 33:29

Okay, yeah. That'd be nice to have one in there. But yeah, I mean, I guess that I was shocked to see. I learned something about you, but I I I you know, I I clean it, but I don't like I sweep it once a week, I blow it out. Does people use the blower?

SPEAKER_00 33:46

It gets all the that I saw you doing that today. Um, doesn't that get everything else just dusty? Doesn't it just blow it around?

SPEAKER_04 33:54

I mean, so in theory, if you really wanted to do it really good, you would like so I sweep everything up first. I do a full sweep first, and then I blow whatever I can that I missed to the back of the bus, and then I sweep that up and then sweep it out. But to really do it right, I think you would have to like blow it and let it sit for a half hour, let everything settle, sweep again. And I'm not I'm not gonna do that, but I would say it does cause a little extra dust on the dash. But again, I think my my I haven't cleaned the inside of my windshield yet. I mean, may I mean I think it seems clean, but maybe I'm you know, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 34:31

Maybe yeah, it's we're at opposite ends of the parking lot. Maybe that's the difference. It's um so dusty down by the yeah, down by my end. And um I yeah, I I'm cleaning a daily, I'm cleaning those those um touch points high traffic areas. I'm cleaning those all day long. Um, I don't know. I saw a video on uh YouTuber that just said clean your bus, just clean it up, you know, and I do, but it's it is the it's the flute because it's so in our area, it's so heavy right now, the sickness, and I just want to do my part to yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:09

No, I I'm I'm that's great for you. And one thing before we jump into your tip and trick tips and tricks. Uh, I have a weird white powder on the bus. And honestly, it's it gets on all my like my instrument on my dash, and it happens typically on the weekend. So like I wiped it all down last week. Now it did sit a little bit longer because we had a small wit midwinter break. It did sit a little bit longer, but um, yeah, a lot of times I'll come from the weekend, and it's all it's like it's not powdery enough where like you you can take your hand and wipe it away. You actually kind of gotta scrub it a little bit. Um where's it coming from? That's a great question, Joe. I don't know. Look up, huh?

SPEAKER_00 35:55

Is what's up, what's above you? Like what's above it that would it would be falling? Where where are you like it's your panel? Are you talking about your panel?

Schedules, Dust, And Mystery Residue

SPEAKER_04 36:03

Panel, my little cubby on my left hand side that I open up and down. First, I thought it was coming in from the bus cleaning, like when they would spray the buses down, but it's not because I got in today and it was covered again. I'll have to give I'll have to take a picture of it, but maybe ask the other drivers that are driving that new series. Maybe I but like what what is happening with it? Like, am I not smell it?

SPEAKER_00 36:27

Does it smell like no?

SPEAKER_04 36:28

It doesn't smell like anything, but I'm not sticking my nose. Snort it? No. If trust me, if if if it was snortable, I would already have tried it. So all right, so we'll figure that out and report back. Uh what about you?

SPEAKER_00 36:41

Uh so for tips and tricks, I don't have I'm I'm gonna save mine, Jar, for um another episode because I think I'm gonna talk a little bit longer than what you want me to for this episode. So okay.

SPEAKER_04 36:55

So you just wanna go jump and grind our gears?

SPEAKER_00 36:59

Yeah, let's do that.

SPEAKER_04 37:00

Go ahead.

School Staff Presence And Flow

SPEAKER_00 37:01

All right, topic number one. Oh, that was funny. Good. Smoke another um schools with principals or teachers that are outside and at the bus area drop off versus a school that I drove for before where you don't even know the principal. Okay, so let me explain. In the morning, when you pull up, we have a set time that we can release our students. At the school that I currently am at for my K through four, there are no less than 25 teachers in the principal out every single day. Okay, maybe not 25. Uh let's say 10 to 15 in the morning teachers. Yes, in the morning. They are at the parent loop helping the um transfer of kids getting out and getting those cars out of there because we're on a busy road that we cannot have any cars parked, stopped at all on that busy road. The police have been there before, there have been neighbors with picket signs before, where the parents would pull over and wait to pull into the school. They put steel posts so the parents can't pull over there anymore. Ridiculous. Whatever they're just trying to get their kids in, right? So they had to make the parent drop off faster. So to do that, they created like two lanes going in, and we have to share that entrance with um with the parents. So the buses and parents go into the same entrance at the same time, but they'll take a right and make a loop, and we go straight and make a loop. But there are the principal, they have walkie-talkies so they can get a hold. So if the principal's over by the parent loop and I am way down first in line at the bus drop off, and I need somebody to either take a kid off the bus or just help me with anything, they can walkie, you know, they can radio uh someone and on within half a minute, I'll say I got somebody down there at the bus stop. It's just it's so hands on. I've never had a school like this before. It's amazing. And I I see the um gym teachers out there, librarian can be out there, any office staff can be out there. Um, they're all out there helping. And and it's just it's so different than the school that I drove years ago. I pull up and I'm like, I don't even know who the principal is here. You never see it.

SPEAKER_04 39:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:41

And you don't feel a part of you don't feel connected to the next step that the kids, you know, the kids get off their bus and then they're just gone. Like when you see teachers and stuff, you can communicate. The communication goes just right on across the wires, basically, is what I'm trying to say. You're connected versus you don't you see anybody, your kids are just off. And if you have a problem, you gotta either shut your bus off, go inside of the it's it's not convenient. So I just that was my thing. What's your take? Have you driven you've only driven for one school, haven't you?

SPEAKER_04 40:14

No, I've driven for two. Okay, um, yeah, so that so so going to your school, they didn't set that up properly for one, that the way that flow is. So I know they've had problems, and that's a big that's a big elementary. Um, the school I'm at out separates literally each side of the building for parent and bus. Like we have our own area. There is no parent at all. That I mean, once in a blue moon at the beginning of the school year because parents are new and they're trying to figure shit out, you know, which is fine. Uh, we have no cars in our bus drop off. Um, we have maybe one or two teachers out there. Um, that's that's about it. A couple of pair of pros for some of the buses that have uh some special needs kids, but yeah, we don't have much in the afternoon on release. We probably have like maybe 10 out there making sure everyone's out.

SPEAKER_00 41:10

Okay. Um, I don't I mean, they're still good. You see, you know, you see them out there, instructors.

SPEAKER_04 41:14

I've every once in a while the principal's out there, but I don't know them. Um, but it's always good for us, for me, for bus drivers, to have someone that's in charge out there, especially in the afternoon, to give us a thumbs up. I'm noticing a school that I used to drive for that has a new principal. He's not outside, but before the principal was out there, or at least a staff member would give us the thumbs up. Because it's kind of it's kind of sucky to not have like like they know the teachers and what kids and like to drive away and then be like, oh shit. And and I've had that with my the one I'm at now to every once in a while. Like I think last week a kid got left and I had to stop and someone brought him down for me. But yeah, I really do feel like it's important to maybe not have the principal out there, but have a leader out there that says when this person says thumbs up, they're the boss. Yeah, they're the ones that said you're good to go, all the kids are out, have a good day. Um, and I think some of the especially I was just saying I think some of the schools don't have that. Obviously, yours does.

Dismissal Standards And Thumbs Up

SPEAKER_00 42:24

Um it's yeah, we and like you guys have somebody giving you the thumbs up. We have um again, we have somebody inside making sure the classrooms are emptying out as they go, they walkie, or they got they radio, they walkie walkie-talkie. Um they walkie-talkie, yes. They radio us and let us know if a class has been dismissed late. Uh, today there was a like I think a second grade class that uh was still packing up, but we cannot leave until a certain time. We have a a hard hard start. Okay, so we cannot even pull away from the curb until a certain time, and that has really helped the teachers know that okay, the buses are still here. You guys go ahead and pack up because they're not gonna leave until that time, yeah. Um, and that that's changed in the recent couple of years also, but it's it's good for us to know that too, that we're okay to go at that time. It's that time teachers know, all right. We got everybody, it's okay to go. Um, I love that.

SPEAKER_04 43:25

I just wish there was a standard. I mean, I know, like you know, there's other elementaries that only two buses run out of, you know what I mean? It's just smaller, but yeah, I feel like we have nine, I think. Yeah, uh, I don't know how many of nine or somewhere around there, but I think there should be a standard for all like okay, the you know, this missiles at 335, let's say, and buses um AIS. Do you know what AIS means? Did you ever watch everybody loves Raymond? No, okay. Well, AIS is ass and C. Ass and C time is 340. So you know what I mean? So, like, and that's standard throughout the district. Like, this is the time that the buses are rolling out.

SPEAKER_00 44:09

But every elementary gets out different though.

SPEAKER_04 44:11

They do? If you had to, yeah, don't on half days, it's like eleven thirty six is dismissal.

unknown 44:17

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 44:17

Okay, okay, but then riddle me this. At 345, we can pull away from the curb. How come I see another elementary driver that's I don't know, four miles away from me already passing?

SPEAKER_04 44:30

Well, I'm saying there is no standard.

SPEAKER_00 44:34

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:35

I'm saying like so that they leave earlier than we yeah, they leave earlier because at at my at my school, they let them out quite a bit earlier than actual dis dismissal time. Okay. So by the time like I I roll out uh at like 3 43, we're usually rolling out. Okay. So and it's you know, it's what they've decided. So I it's just all I just think it would be easier, especially like for substitute drivers, like they go to this school, and then they go to this school, and then they go to this school, and every everything's different. Like, no, let's all roll out at you know 345. That's just the time.

SPEAKER_00 45:14

Yeah, yeah, it's a nice standard would be good, but I think that some schools they'd be waiting a long time for that 345 because it's sitting there for two more minutes, like you would be two minutes for a bus driver with you know 45 kids at least on their bus. That's that's a long time.

SPEAKER_04 45:32

Well, you just don't let them on.

SPEAKER_00 45:34

Oh, yeah, we have to nope.

SPEAKER_04 45:36

I don't let my I don't let my kids on until 340. They're standing on the curb, they're all just waiting for the bus door to open, and they know as soon as my door opens, they can load.

SPEAKER_00 45:46

No, our kindergartners come out first, they get on, and then everybody else comes on.

SPEAKER_04 45:51

Not uh not me. Well at the kindergarten, everyone stays on there, and then the the the kindergarten safeties stay with them, and as soon as the bus door opens, then they release the kindergartners and then they get on, and then everyone else follows.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

Oh, I'm babysitting for quite a while.

SPEAKER_04 46:06

Oh no, no, no, no. I'm not a babysitter. We're nope, not gonna happen. And if anyone comes to me and be like, I'm I'm not I'm not opening my door till 340.

SPEAKER_00 46:16

So yeah. Oh, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_04 46:19

See, see, we're even in the same district, we're we're we're hearing different things, so that's why we started this podcast because we want to hear that stuff. For me, uh, I know you had another one there, but we should probably think, well, I don't know. Is it the go ahead? You well, you said new driver takes over your out changes the rules. That was a grind your gear.

SPEAKER_00 46:41

So oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:42

Um, but for me, um, I'm experiencing recently, uh, I don't have a lot of grind my gears. I actually had to like sit here and close my eyes and just think about my day and like all right, what's pissing me off? And it's the trash on the bus, but then I wrote, but I'm the problem because I let my kids eat on the bus, my older kids.

SPEAKER_00 47:02

Oh, yeah, you're older kids, yeah.

Trash, Food Policies, And Respect

SPEAKER_04 47:04

And so it's this balance of like, hey, I feel like you're grown up enough for us to have this relationship of like, hey, I respect you that you're gonna be respectful on my bus to eat. I I get it, you're gonna drop a chip and it, you know, it's you're gonna step on it. I I I actually don't even care about that, honestly. Like, that doesn't matter. I can sweep that up so easy, but it's when I go back there and and there's three bags of chips that they just ate it and just threw the bag on the ground. Like that's blatant disrespect for for just humanity in general. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 47:43

Yeah, that don't that no, uh I five there's no eating on on my bus. But you have I mean you have different runs that probably you know a snack or two would be would be good for that one that I'm talking about. But um when they deliberately throw the main part and you have a trash can that they're gonna walk right on by, I know that pisses me off.

SPEAKER_04 48:10

So I do have to have some conversations every once in a while. I have had a problem trasher and it's been a dress and then it came back. Like I I pulled tape because I I wanted to make I wanted to figure out who this was because it was the same item every day, and I don't have assigned seats, so I was I could guess who it was, but I needed to see the tape to to verify. But yeah, it's just number two, assigned seats. Nah, fuck that. I'm not doing it. These these are some of these kids are 18. Like, I'm not gonna give them a I mean, as long as they're acting appropriately, but like if I find out that it's a habitual one, like the same snack every day, yeah, we're gonna have a problem. I'm gonna figure it out.

SPEAKER_00 48:56

I'm writing assigned seats on down for the next time because I got some stuff to say.

SPEAKER_04 49:01

Okay, but yeah, so trash on the bus, I'm the problem. I don't want to be a tyrant. I liked like they they most of the kids that you don't have to be, yeah. I know, but listen, most of the kids well, I'll get fixated on it, right? Because then and then I'll be fussy, I'll be bitching about it all the time. So I think most of the kids understand, okay, Jerry's cool, he doesn't really mess with us, but as long as we're respectful, like we're not gonna hear from him. But if you're not respectful, and part of that is throwing trash, you're gonna hear from me. So yeah, I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 49:34

That's a good one to stand up and say just that, just like, hey, um, Miss Joe, uh, I'm cool. You guys, you guys gotta eat. I get it, you know. But number one, we have a very short ass route. Yeah, we it we're the one of the shortest ones in the district where I literally go past the schools to the first neighborhood, pick up all the kids, and drop them out. It's a short route. You might have to get up a little bit earlier to eat whatever you want to eat. But I have my route sheets have peanut allergies on them every page, so I have to worry about that. And when I see um a paper on, you know, a wrapper and stuff, like a couple of times, it's done. It's they get another speech from me.

SPEAKER_04 50:16

No, I get it with an allergy, but yeah, I mean, there's times where I go weeks where I barely see anything now from my my midday run, I see quite a bit, but but you know, and it's just it's fine, but then I'm just like, guys, come on, like do you have a trash can in the back? No, okay.

SPEAKER_00 50:36

One of our bus drivers did that for their midday run out there, and it helped.

SPEAKER_04 50:40

Did it okay?

SPEAKER_00 50:42

Yep, I might you can ask the mechanic for it, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:46

Yeah, I don't know how I would attach it though. I would have to use like a bungee cord or something, unless it just jams in there.

SPEAKER_00 50:53

Yeah, I think it jams in there, huh? You'd have to take it out for inspections, but yeah, you can have it in there.

Consequences, Backpacks, And Backup

SPEAKER_04 50:59

Sure, sure. Yeah, yeah, so that's kind of where I'm at with that. It's like I said, I'm the problem because I allow it. But and I got so speaking that that, I have a elementary kid that I've been first grader, I've been struggling with it. And man, those I love my kids because they ratted her ass out big time today.

SPEAKER_00 51:17

They're tattletales for sure.

SPEAKER_04 51:18

And I'm so uh what I told her the last time, and she doesn't know, but starting tomorrow, she's giving me her backpack when she gets on the bus in the morning and at night. And okay, will she figure out okay, I gotta put it in here, and then they'll rat her out again, and then it's the next level. Then it's hey, we're gonna we're gonna talk to the principal at the school. Like, I think it's time for a conversation because I I've done everything I could to to to stop it, but you're clearly and and then of course she she they ratted her out. I was like, so and so, you know that we're not supposed to do that. I'm not doing it, and then she threw the rappers on the ground, and she's a good kid, I like her. She's actually one of my favorites.

SPEAKER_00 52:00

I'm like, bro, when your favorite does that, it's so like disappointing.

SPEAKER_04 52:06

I know. I'm like, is this the writing on the wall? Because I you're a first grader. I got you for two more years. Like, are we gonna or three more years? Are we gonna be fighting this between now and when you get an attitude in fourth grade?

SPEAKER_00 52:17

Yeah. So they got too comfortable, maybe. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:23

And it's again, she did it like three weeks ago, too. So then I I gave her the warning. I said, listen, next time backpack's mine, and you will not have a backpack. And I'm just gonna that's gonna be it tomorrow morning.

SPEAKER_00 52:36

No, that's a good idea. I didn't think about that one.

SPEAKER_04 52:38

Yeah, onto their stuff. Well, I had that when I first took over that route, I had some secondary kids that were shooting rubber bands.

SPEAKER_00 52:45

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 52:46

Backpack.

SPEAKER_00 52:47

Wow right up front.

SPEAKER_04 52:48

I had three backpacks there for like a couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_00 52:51

Wow, and I hated it. Did it work? I mean, was it good? It ended up working.

SPEAKER_04 52:56

That child ended up getting suspended for a couple of times because it continued. He would sneak them on. The other one stopped, so they got their backpacks back. And then I mean, I was just new, I was laying down the law, like I'm not tolerating this. Yeah, and thankfully, our one of our dispatchers is really good at communicating with the schools and sending things over, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 53:14

Yeah, when you have backup, yeah, it's good to have backup for sure.

Closeout And Listener Questions

SPEAKER_04 53:19

Yeah, all right. Anything else? We're gonna wrap this biatch up.

SPEAKER_00 53:23

Let's wrap.

SPEAKER_04 53:25

I mean, god it up. I love this. You know, I feel like we had good conversations. You got some good ideas for next episode. Yeah, yeah. Like us on Facebook.

SPEAKER_00 53:36

Sorry, I'm highlighting stuff now, so I remember.

SPEAKER_04 53:38

No, the the people don't care about that.

SPEAKER_00 53:40

What that I'm highlighting?

SPEAKER_04 53:42

Yeah, no one gives a shit. Wow, they just want great content, not what happens behind the scenes.

SPEAKER_00 53:47

Uh, you said people like behind the scenes shit.

SPEAKER_04 53:50

I know you you just called me out on my own stuff.

SPEAKER_00 53:52

So yeah, I did.

SPEAKER_04 53:53

All right, anything else?

SPEAKER_00 53:54

Damn it, Jerry. No, I'm good. I'm I'm good. Thank you. Thank you for doing this. And um, hopefully let's get some let's get some drivers to let us know. Answer some of the questions that we asked earlier. I don't remember.

SPEAKER_04 54:10

Yeah, we asked a lot of questions, so we did, yeah. Freaking respond.

SPEAKER_00 54:13

Okay, thank you. All right, same bus, same kids, different stories.

SPEAKER_04 54:18

Goodbye, goodbye.