A Message from Our Team

The primary goal of the Transportation Department at Bakersfield City School District is to

provide the safest, most efficient, professional transportation service for our students and staff.

Our drivers strive to meet this goal daily. Bakersfield City School District operates over 95

buses on daily routes. 60 buses provide a curb-to-curb transportation service for special

education students. Our buses travel over 1.5 million miles annually and transport an

average of 8,000 students daily. In addition to the regular morning and afternoon routes,

the district provides transportation services for various extracurricular activities and sports trips.

Services we Provide

Home-to-school transportation is approximately 20% of BCSD's student population.

Field Trip support for the District's athletic programs.

Maintenance for 150+ district owned school buses and an additional 250+ maintenance, custodial, grounds, food service and other district-owned vehicles.

Becoming a Professional School Bus Driver

Before a person can apply for a special driver's certificate (school bus license) to drive a

school bus, he or she is fingerprinted and must submit to a thorough background

investigation conducted by the California Highway Patrol. The applicant may begin

training before the background check is complete. However, he/she may not take

any test administered by the California Highway Patrol until after the interview and

background is complete and the applicant is cleared. California’s school bus drivers

receive more training than the majority of other bus drivers in the nation. Applicants

for a special driver certificate must successfully complete a minimum of 20 hours

of classroom instruction covering Federal Regulations, California Vehicle Codes,

California Code of Regulations and California Education Codes. They must also

successfully complete a minimum of 20 hours of behind-the-wheel training to become

complete competent and proficient in driving a school bus, as well as daily pre-trip

inspection procedures of the bus. Applicants may not transport students until all

training is complete and the applicant has successfully completed written and

behind-the-wheel tests administered by the California Highway Patrol. Each year,

certified school bus drivers must receive at least 10 hours of any type of training that

is directly related to pupil transportation safety, and in the renewal year (every five years)

the driver must successfully complete at least ten hours of classroom instruction

(in addition to any other training received during the year).

Our Endeavor

Bakersfield City School District certified school bus drivers have a total of over 1000 combined years of school bus driving experience.

Our school bus drivers focus on making positive, appropriate connections with students.

We proudly inform our community that we consistently score high in the California Highway Patrol Terminal and Safety inspections.

We encourage you to browse the remainder of the Transportation Pages.

We appreciate your support!

2022-23 and 2023-24

Proposed Transportation Plan

For consideration at the March 28, 2023 Board of Education Meeting.