The School provides a busing service to serve the traveling needs of our day students. Charges are announced shortly before the beginning of the school year. Only students whose parents have subscribed may use the busing service. Students must follow the rules and regulations for bus use. Violations may lead to suspension of the student’s right to use the bus service or logical consequences from the School. Students should remember that when they are on the school bus, they are in school. Their behavior should be the same on the bus as in the classroom.

The following regulations have been approved by the TASIS England Administration and the busing company contracted by TASIS England. It is agreed that:

General Rules & Regulations

1. Drivers will go directly into the drive of the home where possible; otherwise, the children will be dropped off on the side of the road where the home is located. If this is not possible, the driver will supervise the children safely across the road. It should be noted that drives can only be entered if there is a clear front exit, as it is illegal to reverse onto a public way in a public service vehicle.

2. Students are expected to be ready to leave at the designated pick-up times. Drivers have been instructed to depart each stop on time and thus will not wait if students are more than two minutes late arriving. Promptness is essential to ensure that the schedule is adhered to.

3. Drivers will not leave the vehicle, with children in it, unattended on a public way except in the case of an extreme emergency.

4. In case of breakdown, drivers will not ask students to help in any physical way, such as pushing, steering, etc.

5. There is a no-smoking rule for all buses.

6. Drivers are to pick up and drop off students only at pre-arranged points and in the designated sequence. The only exception to these instructions will come from the Busing Coordinator, Mark Davies (mdavies@tasisengland.org). Students should not ask the driver to drop them off at a different place or in a different sequence, because the driver has been instructed not to comply.

7. Students or their parents/guardians must notify First Choice Minibus Service via the School Tracker App to cancel the day’s service or part day’s service if they will not require pick-up or drop-off.

8. Occasionally, parents/guardians subscribing to the busing service may wish their child to ride home on the bus with another student. The Busing Coordinator is willing to arrange this on a space-available basis. Requests should be made 24 hours in advance, in writing, and approval will be confirmed by the Busing Coordinator.

9. Parents who subscribe to the afternoon bus only are reminded that this service is available on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday only. It is not available on Friday.

10. In the event of inclement weather, the driver may need to pick up and drop off students at a local meeting point as designated by the Busing Coordinator. The details regarding the meeting point will be shared as soon as possible once the routes are determined.

11. There may be slight changes to the service times/or students moved onto different routes throughout the year if new families join the School and utilize the bus service.

12. In the event of the driver's illness, families will be notified as early as possible and provided in advance with the name and photograph of the replacement driver.

13. In the event of vehicle failure, families will be notified as early as possible and alternative transportation will be provided by minibus.

14. The school bus service leaves School promptly at 3:30 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. (Monday to Thursday) and at 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The drivers will not wait for latecomers.

15. In the case of an emergency, for example, an accident, the driver will report this immediately to the Busing Coordinator and First Choice Minibus Services. The Busing Coordinator will then assess the situation, and report it to the Head of School Section, Executive Director of Finance and Operations, Head of School, and the TASIS England Health and Well-being Center. The Busing Coordinator will attend the scene and arrange for another school bus to come and collect the students once they have been checked by the ambulance crew if they are required to attend. Alternatively, the students will all visit the TASIS England Health and Well-being Center upon their arrival. The driver will keep the Busing Coordinator and First Choice Minibus Services updated at all stages of an incident.

Student Rules and Regulations

1. Students should remember that when they are on the school bus, they are in school. Their behavior should be the same on the bus as in the classroom.

2. Students must seat themselves promptly upon entering the bus and fasten their seat belts. Students are not allowed to lean out of the windows or to open the doors of the bus until it has reached a full stop.

3. To ensure the safety of all and avoid distracting the bus driver or disturbing fellow passengers, students will:

   • Remain seated and belted for the duration of the journey

   • Enjoy music with the use of headphones

   • Keep noise to a minimum and do not throw objects on the bus

4. To ensure the bus is clean and ready for use by all, students will:

   • Avoid litter by not bringing food, drink, or chewing gum onto the bus

   • Change out of their Sports clothes before taking the bus

5. There is a no-smoking rule for students on the buses.

6. Any student not complying with the above rules or not behaving in a mature and friendly manner with others on the bus will be reported to the Busing Coordinator by the driver and will be disciplined accordingly. Disciplinary action will take the form of a warning, written communication to the parents, and clarifying of expectations by the Busing Coordinator. If the initial warning does not promote compliance, the student’s Head of School Section will be notified and the School’s disciplinary process will be enacted. Any student who violates these rules may be suspended or removed from the busing service.

Drop-off Procedure

1. If the driver arrives at the house or drop-off point to find that there is no parent or guardian at the house of a student under the age of 12, the following will occur:

   • The driver will contact the Busing Coordinator to make him aware of the situation.

   • The driver will not leave the child unattended in the house.

   • The Busing Coordinator will attempt to contact the parent on their mobile phone and will notify the School of the situation.

   • The driver will complete the route and, once they reach the final drop-off, they will contact the Busing Coordinator once again to receive further instructions regarding returning to the house or returning to School. It must be noted that the drivers must be in position at TASIS England for the late bus at 5 p.m.

2. If the driver cannot establish a safe drop-off, the student will be returned to School for collection by the parent.

3. If a kindergarten to fifth grade-aged student has not been picked up by 5:15 p.m. by a parent or guardian or has been returned to School after the late bus has tried to drop the student off at home, parents will incur a charge of £5 for every five minutes late. This charge will automatically be given to the Business Office and parents will be invoiced accordingly.

4. Students signed up for the bus service, except those using the Shuttle Service from Virginia Water train station and the West London bus, will be taken from School to home and not a pick-up point (without necessary risk assessments being completed and approved by the Head of Section/Head of School).

School Tracking Technology

The School’s transport partner, First Choice Minibus Services, utilizes student and vehicle tracking technology to manage the bus service.

1. At the commencement of the school year, those students who use the service will be issued with an RFID tag. Students are expected to use their RFID tag when logging on and off the bus, which enables the School, First Choice Minibus Services, and parents to accurately track students’ journeys to and from school. Replacement RFID tags are available from the Busing Coordinator should a student misplace theirs.

2. Students are expected to use this daily and those not utilizing this technology may be subject to disciplinary action.

3. Parents should download the School Tracker App, to be able to monitor the school bus journey, track their child(ren) boarding and alighting, and manage the cancellation of the bus service for a set day or journey.

Parents requiring further advice on guidance on children left at home alone should review the NSPCC guidance on the NSPCC website.