General Education In-Zone School Bus Transportation

• Centralized pick-up and delivery points will be established under general guidelines outlined below. There may be, however, unique circumstances in certain areas of the city that will result in a greater distance ratio between home and pick-up point.
  • Bus stops will only be established at the entrance to neighborhoods/multi-neighborhoods, on main thoroughfares, or at centralized locations within those neighborhoods.
  • Bus stops will only be established on roadways maintained by the City of Virginia Beach. School Bus stops will not be created on dead end or cul-de-sacs where the bus will be required to back-up.
  • Bus stops may be located up to .5 miles from a student's residence for Secondary School aged students and .3 miles for Elementary School aged students.
  • Bus stops will only be created for regular everyday riders. Occasional bus riders will be obligated to get to the nearest existing bus stop regardless of the distance to the stop.
  • One bus stop only, will be established for each student to utilize to school and one bus stop from school. Student’s must use the same bus stops every day. Changing bus stops weekly or during the week to be transported to alternate locations including non-school sponsored activities, etc. will not be allowed.
  • Only Students assigned to a school bus and school bus stop will be allowed to utilize that bus and stop.
  • Students residing within their home school's non-transportation zone (commonly referred to as walk zone) will provide their own transportation to and from school.
    Parents or a responsible adult are highly encouraged to accompany their students to and from the bus stop for all grades. Pre-K students who do not have a parent present at the bus stop in the afternoon will be returned to school.
• This transportation delivery system presents several advantages as listed below:
  • The judicious placement of centralized school bus stops allows students to spend less time on school buses.
  • Pick-up and drop-off times can be established with more certainty and regularity.
  • Specific school bus stop and bus assignments helps to maintain a safer environment for students.
  • The neighborhood school bus route system significantly reduces district-wide transportation costs.
     
• Student enrollment at each school and student transportation requests will determine the locations of the bus stops in the neighborhood school bus route system. Identification of bus stop locations and service will be established after the completion of student enrollment and bus routing during the summer break.
  • All school bus routes are revised, and bus stops re-evaluated, for centralized placement each summer due to the enrollment of new students and graduation of others. See above guidelines.
  • Transportation Bus Stops will not be established without proper notification. Allow a minimum of 5 to 10 business days for any bus stop change requests.
  • Student transportation information will be available through each student’s ParentVue account at least one week prior to the start of each school year.

Bus Stop Change Request:
Accurate transportation request information is essential to providing the best transportation services possible to all Virginia Beach City Public School students. Please be sure to notify your student’s school how your student will arrive and depart each day.

• Transportation information changes such as moving, changing a student’s request from driving to riding, etc., must be submitted through each student’s school. Allow 5 – 10 business days for any change requests to be processed.
• Requests to add, move or modify an existing bus stop must be submitted in writing to the Office of Transportation Services via email at VBCPSbusstop@vbschools.com. All requests must include:
  • student full name, student ID, student school, grade, address, and reason for request.
• Requests to add, move, or modify a bus stop for a student who has been assigned to an available bus stop, located within the transportation guidelines, will be reviewed by the transportation team for final disposition. Please allow up to 10 business days for processing.