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.
• Students must be registered for transportation to be assigned to a school bus. Only Students assigned to a school bus and school bus stop will be allowed to utilize that bus and stop.
• Bus service will only be provided to and from a student’s primary residence or daycare provider. Transportation will not be provided to non-school sponsored afterschool activities.
• Split custody – Students will only be assigned to one bus stop based on their registered home address or daycare provider. On days/weeks the student requires transportation to their other parent’s residence, a permission note must be sent to their home school. Students will utilize the closest existing bus stop to their other parent. A second bus stop will not be created to accommodate this service and there must be an available seat on the alternate bus.
• Students residing within their home school's non-transportation zone (NTZ) are not eligible for school bus service and 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:

• Centralized school bus stops allow 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.

• School bus routes and stops are revised for centralized placement each summer.
• 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.

Accurate transportation request/registration 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.

All bus stop change requests must be made in writing using the bus stop change request form. The form, and the criteria that will be used to determine the need for change, can be found at https://dms.vbcps.com/Forms/BusStopChangeRequest

• If you believe you have a valid bus stop change request after reviewing the Change Request Form criteria, please Accept and Agree to the criteria to continue to the Bus Stop Change Request Form. Once the form is submitted, it will be forwarded to the VBCPS Transportation Department. You will receive an email confirming that the form has been received. Please allow 5-10 business days for your request to be reviewed and addressed.

• Requests to add, move, or modify bus stops for students who have already been assigned to an available bus stop, will be reviewed by the transportation team for final disposition. No change requests will be reviewed until after the fourth week of school. Please allow 5 - 10 business days for processing.