Can every student ride the bus?
Mustang Public Schools transports more than 6,000 students safety to and from school each day. There are some neighborhoods, however, that are so close to the school that students can walk safely. Transportation is not provided to the following neighborhoods to the school sites listed:
Prairie View - Silverleaf West and Prairie View Hills
Trails Elementary: Country Estates; Asher Street and Camber Street
Horizon Intermediate: The Heights
Canyon Ridge Intermediate: Brookstone Lakes
Mustang Middle School: The Heights
Mustang High Schools: The Heights and The Meadows
Mustang also does not provide transportation for students who transfer from another district, or who transfer within the district from their home school to a different Mustang School. Transportation is also not provided for pre-kindergarten students.
How far might a student have to walk to a bus stop?
Elementary/intermediate students may have to walk up to a quarter of a mile-with the rare exception of a longer walk due to private roads or neighborhoods that do not have enough room to turn a bus around without backing.
Middle school students may be asked to walk up to 1/2 mile. High school may be asked to walk up to a mile.
I need my child to ride the bus to their grandparents house every day. What do I do?
After Sept. 15, if your child needs to ride a different bus within his/her school’s boundaries, such as to a baby sitter’s house or a grandparent’s house, please download a copy of the Special Bus Riding Privilege Form. You can email the completed form to transportationdept@mustangps.org or your child can bring the completed form to their school’s front office. Please fill out the form at least three days in advance. There may be times when the request cannot be accommodated based on the capacity of a particular route. Only students who are signed up for a regular bus route may use the special bus riding privileges. Transfer students and others who are not signed up to ride a bus cannot use the form.
My child’s bus is extremely full. Will changes be made?
During the first four weeks of school, the student population continues to change as additional students are enrolled in school while others are dropped from the rolls. We evaluate each route on a case-by-case basis, understanding that the population for that bus is likely to change during the first few weeks. If there is a sustained issue of overcrowding on a bus, then changes will be made.
If you have concerns after Sept. 15 regarding the number of students on a particular route, please email us at transportationdept@mustangps.org. Please include the route number and which school the route is servicing. Remember that although a bus may be crowded, it doesn’t necessarily mean the bus is over capacity.
How many bus routes are there?
Mustang Public Schools has 54 bus routes, including special needs routes. There are 42 regular routes. All routes service at least two and some, up to four schools, which means they run their routes two to three times morning and afternoon.
In total, MPS has around 80 buses. These are used not only as replacements when a bus goes in for maintenance or has mechanical issues, but they are also used to take students to activities including athletics, the arts, field trips and more.
Thanks to the voters, MPS will be getting five new route buses and three special needs buses this fall. Our goal is to retire buses as soon as possible after they top 100,000 miles. MPS currently has buses ranging in age from 2000 models to 2018.
I need to ask a general question, but it isn’t an emergency. What’s the best way to contact the department?
If you have a non-emergency question, please email transportationdept@mustangps.org. Include the route, school and a brief description of the question. Transportation staff will respond as soon as possible. While the buses are running routes, please call only if you have an emergency. Buses are running from 6 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
The bus didn’t show up on time for my child; it was late. How long should my child wait at the bus stop?
Your child should arrive at the bus stop at least five minutes before the regular arrival time of the bus. If there is a substitute driver, the times may not be absolutely consistent with the regular times. Ask your child to wait. Buses are subject to the same issues as passenger cars: traffic, blocked roads or mechanical breakdowns. A bus will always be at every stop. If the wait is longer than 15 minutes, please call the transportation department at 405-376-2630.
My child left a personal item on the bus (glasses, coat, lunchbox). How does she get it back?
Drivers check their buses at the end of every day route and hold items left behind for several days. Children may claim their items the next time they’re on the bus. After several days, the driver will make an effort to locate the owner. Items that remain unclaimed are donated to charity. Please label all of your child’s belongings with her or her name and school. When inquiring about lost articles, please send a message to TransportationDept@mustangps.org and include your child’s name, school, bus route number and a description of the item.
Why are bus seats so close together and there are no seatbelts?
Research conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that a “compartmentalization” concept was the safest for transporting children. Buses are made in a way so that seat backs are padded and will absorb impact in the event of an accident. Also, the concept of compartmentalization doesn’t require any action on the part of a child, like buckling a seatbelt.