Routing Information

Specific routing information is mailed to each family at the end of August. For further information regarding your child’s route, please call our office at 785-9486.

The NYS Education Department requires that a board of education be responsible for providing “safe, economical, and efficient pupil transportation.”

Among State Ed’s recommendations for achieving the above are:

• Multiple Tripping of Buses: (minimum of 2 in the morning, and 2 in the afternoon). Most North Colonie public school routes do 3 routes morning and afternoon (JHS/HS, early elementary, late elementary). Many afternoon routes also have late runs attached.

• Cooperative Transportation: School districts are encouraged to work with neighboring districts to share routes, to reduce overall cost. For North Colonie, this would usually apply to non-public routes or out-of-district special needs routes.

Full Utilization of Buses

Routes should be designed to efficiently use buses, and should be fully loaded.

Efficient Location of Bus Stops

“Consideration should be given to the distance the buses must travel between stops. The primary concern when locating any stop must be the safety of the pupils. Secondarily, the efficiency of the route will depend, to some degree, in the frequency of the bus stops. Frequent bus stops add to the time required to complete a route, create more traffic hazards, and may result in a greater potential for bus fatalities.”