TRANSPORTATION SERVICES ORIENTATION INFORMATION
PASCO COUNTY SCHOOL – REOPENING SCHOOLS - 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR
Secondary Information
Bus Sanitation
Each bus will be thoroughly sanitized twice a day and high-touch areas of the bus will
be disinfected between each transported group. Students are required to wear a face
covering while on the bus. Siblings will be directed to sit together and students will be
organized on the bus by their stop. Available space on the bus will be used to the
fullest extent possible to distance students. Please do not send your student to school
if they are not feeling well.
Transportation Eligibility
Florida State Statute outlines student eligibility for school transportation. In general,
students that live within 2 miles of their zoned school are not eligible for basic student
transportation. It would be the family’s responsibility to coordinate how their student
gets to and from school. Transportation as a related service for special education
students is coordinated on a student IEP or 504 documentation.
Be Ready for the Bus
It is important to be standing at the bus stop at least 5 minutes prior to the pick-up time on your bus pass. Please follow these
directions especially if you drive your student to the stop in the morning. Routes will likely run a little late until everyone gets
back in the school routine again. Please be early and be ready. It is important to keep in mind that school bus drivers are not
able to engage in lengthy discussion with parents or guardians at the bus stop as we strive to maintain our bus stop schedule.
Please contact Transportation should you have questions or concerns you would like to discuss.
Ridership Consistency
We certainly understand the excitement of returning to school and families driving their student in the first few days (or more)!
Please consider transitioning your student to the bus as soon as possible. We want our students (and you) to be comfortable
and confident when using District transportation. Ridership will be monitored and those students with bus passes that do not
ride the bus will receive notification of their pass being ended. The deactivation of passes will begin in October for students not
actively riding the bus.
Bus Passes
Transportation relies on information in MyStudent to issue bus passes for students. It is important for you to ensure your
student’s address information is accurate and update as needed, directly with their school. Updated bus passes will be issued
and available in your MyStudent portal within 48 hours. You can print this screen or snap a picture for reference later. Bus
passes for students with an IEP or 504 can take up to 7 days to coordinate transportation. Parent Portal set-up information can
be found here https://tinyurl.com/y6nyn8b8
School Choice
Transportation is not provided for students that have elected to attend a school other than their zoned school. Students
participating in some academic programs (e.g. Cambridge, IB, Magnet) may have alternative transportation options. This
information can be provided by your student’s school or by contacting Transportation.
Single Bus Pass
Transportation eligible students may only be issued one bus pass based on the student’s address of record. This pass is for
consistent transportation; Monday-Friday; morning and afternoon; to the same stop location. The District is unable to
accommodate requests for bus stops to multiple addresses.
Bus Compound Contact Info:
Bus routes each have an alpha-
numeric identifier. The beginning
letter identifies the servicing bus
compound you should call if
needed.
C Routes 727-774-0520
D Routes 813-794-0560
N Routes 727-774-0540
S Routes 727-774-4410
W Routes 727-774-0400
Z Routes 813-794-0501
Two Week Route Consistency
It is District practice to restrict route changes (adding stops, changing stop times) for the first two weeks of school. This allows
students and families to build a consistent back to school routine. While there are situations that require some limited, specific
changes to occur, we will work to minimize the impact as much as possible. Route changes will begin to be processed beginning
the third week of school.
Late Buses
If a bus is running at least 15 minutes late, an automated phone message will be sent to the identified contact for the students
who are assigned to that bus; using the primary phone number listed in my student. If the bus arrives late to the school,
Transportation notifies the school office of their late arrival. Students will not be marked tardy due to their bus arriving late to
school. Messages of this nature will not be sent out during the first two weeks of school.
Maintaining Your Student’s Emergency Contacts
The information recorded in MyStudent will be used to communicate with you or your designated emergency contacts in the
event of an emergency at school or on the bus. It is vital that you check periodically and update this information with the school.
This information can be verified through your MyStudent portal.
General Bus Safety and Information
Buses are equipped with lap belts and students are expected to wear them at all times.
Band Instruments or Large Projects: Students may bring these items on the bus as long as they can be held in their lap or
between their legs. Also, they shall not protrude into the aisle or another student’s space. Large projects cannot contain
materials that could be harmful to other students such as hazardous liquids, glass or other sharp items, etc.
Any item left on a school bus will be collected by their bus driver and held for your student on the next school day. Students
should check with their driver first for any lost items. Items of obvious monetary value are turned in to the bus compound at
the end of the day. We are not able to have a bus return to a stop for items left on the bus. Contact the transportation compound
should assistance be needed.
Transportation Call Center
To assist parents with questions and concerns during the first week of
school, the transportation call center will be open from 6-10AM and from 2-6PM.
Call 813-794-2500, 727-774-2500, or 352-524-2500.
