Department in Depth: Transportation Department

Gus the Bus is a valuable part of GCS' Transportation Department.

Imagine teaching or sitting at your desk with your back turned to your students or your work. It’s not easy, is it? For our bus drivers, that is exactly what they do every morning and afternoon, and sometimes, even as late as 9 p.m.

The Department

Joining our tireless bus drivers is a group of people who complete the Transportation Department and make it possible for GCS drivers to deliver our students safely and on time:

• Mechanics, who work in three shifts, provide up-keep and preventative repairs on GCS’ 634 buses.
• Zone routing supervisors and specialists are responsible for creating and implementing bus routes.
• Program administrators and data managers work with TIMS, or Transportation Information Management System.
• Night dispatchers, shop and parts foremen, office support and senior administration are vital to the department’s communication.

Overseeing it all is Director of Transportation Jeff Harris, who keeps his staff energized and laughing throughout the school year.

 “We have a great department here at GCS. We work hard, but we know how to have fun," said Harris.

Some of the Transportation Department gathers for a group photo.

Safety First

Children are taught about bus safety when they first enter kindergarten by the famous Gus the Bus, a yellow school bus that was converted into a teaching tool. Sherman Hawks, a bus driver for the past several years, leads the lesson during the first several months each school year. Hawks teaches the four main principles of bus safety: remain seated, talk quietly, keep your hands to yourself and follow directions of the bus driver. He also talks about the proper way to get on and get off the bus and how to cross the street when being picked up or dropped off.

“My main goal every day is to get the children to school safely and get them  home safely,” says Hawks.

Danny Pulliam, a mechanic, works on a GCS bus.

Where You Can Help

Unfortunately, there is one situation out of our hands, and that is when students wait for the bus in the morning.
“Our bus drivers must be pro-active while on the bus with children, but the one safety issue we can’t control is when students are waiting for their pick-up in the morning,” said Harris.

“It would be great to have parents or responsible adults to wait with the kids and ensure they get on the bus safely.”

For the Love of the Children

“Everything I do is for their safety,” says Linda Byers, a bus driver with GCS for the past 21 years.

Byers, who says her bus drives better than her car, reiterates the safety issues to her students every day and reminds them to hold on to the rail when going up and down the stairs.

Summer Time

As the school year winds down and summer begins to kick in, students may be a bit more rambunctious. Teachers should remind their students that the rules in the classroom are the same as on a school bus. While Byers loves seeing her students’ excited faces at the end of the year; her favorite time of year?

Transportation Professionals Appreciation Week

On May 9, the GCS Transportation Department recognized the best of the best at its annual Professional of the Year ceremony and culminated Transportation Professionals Appreciation Week May 4-9. The professionals recognized exemplify the goals of the department with each performance of their assigned duties. The winners were:

• Safety Assistants: Lois Vernon (Special Needs East) and Cynthia Auzine (Special Needs West)
• School Bus Drivers: Patricia Wilson (Special Needs East), Shelby Moore (Special Needs West), Ellis Mebane (Magnet East), Cynthia Junious (Magnet West), Gary Evans (Western), Sylvia Carter (Eastern), Robin Wilson (Northeast), Frances (Jackie) Lasher (Northern), James Brame (Page), Jaime Richardson (Grimsley), Ronald Ridge (Ragsdale), Felicia Gillespie (HP Central), Antonia Cooper (Southern), Deloris York (Southeast), Drexel Thompson (Smith), Shereen Collins (Dudley), LaTrenda Logan (Andrews), Deborah DeBord (Southwest).
• Also receiving awards: Gayle Mayo-Graves (Supervisor), Tennie Shepherd (Technician), Mark King (Route Mechanic), Dean Clodfelter (Shop Mechanic), Larry Lassiter (Safety First Award), Darren Shaw (Rookie Award),  Judy Patterson and Sandra Woodard (Director’s Award) and Dale Pilcher (Superintendent’s Award).

Transportation Department: By the Numbers

634 Buses
40,013 Students Transported
52,334 Miles Traveled Daily
829 Permanent Employees & 170 Substitute Employees
3rd Largest Bus Fleet in North Carolina
26th Largest Bus Fleet of National Top 100 Districts
5:51 a.m. Earliest Pick-up Time

9:00 p.m. Latest Delivery Time