Transportation Services is working to address its driver shortage by offering free training for individuals who wish to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License.
The class for the license, also known as a CDL, is held Monday through Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Northwest Terminal (6351 Pinemont Drive) and is open to anyone interested in becoming an HISD bus driver until the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
Continue readingAlmost 80 bus routes impacting more than 3,750 students across the district have been updated this week and six major bus stops in west, south, and southwest Houston are being reinstated.
The changes are part of Transportation Services continued efforts to review and streamline operations, improve services, increase efficiency, and ensure all students arrive at school each day safely and on time.
“The changes we’re making might seem incremental, but they’re all important,” HISD Transportation Services Interim General Manager John Wilcots IV said. “Each update we make increases our operational efficiency, but more importantly, it helps us provide better service to our students.”
Last August, torrential rains flooded roads, streets, and highways, temporarily transforming them into lakes and rivers as the greater Houston area endured one of the worst disasters in local history.
As many people sought shelter from Hurricane Harvey, HISD Transportation Services team did the opposite — taking school buses out into the storm to rescue evacuating residents.
“This storm impacted our entire community — our students, our staff, our friends, our neighbors,” Transportation Services General Manager Tim Brown said. “It was important to me that we stepped in to help in any way that we could.”
HISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby
Houston Independent School District Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan met with all HISD bus drivers and transportation staff on Friday to deliver a simple message of support: “I hear you.”
Lathan called the meeting so she could directly address employees and reinforce the important role they play in the success of students across the district.
“You truly are the first contact every child in this district has each day on his way to school,” Lathan said. “People think it’s just about the principals and teachers, but it’s about our bus drivers, our food service workers, our custodians. You are essential.”
The meeting marked the first time Lathan has met with the entire Transportation Services department. She was joined by HISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby and Transportation Services General Manager Timothy Brown. Continue reading
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The HISD Transportation department and the Houston Educational Support Personnel Union (HESP) is teaming up to fight against heart disease and encouraging employees to live a healthy lifestyle with their Love Your Heart initiative.
About 200 employees packed Northwest Motor Pool on Friday to celebrate the joint effort between Transportation and HESP to raise awareness on the importance of checking your heart health. HISD Interim Superintendent Ken Huewitt, HESP Union President Wretha Thomas and Board Trustees Harvin Moore and Rhonda Skillern-Jones were all on hand in support of the program, which is currently for Transportation employees with plans to expand into other departments. Continue reading
With the new school year just ahead, the HISD Transportation Department is taking every measure to ensure safe, reliable, and punctual transportation for students.
To reach this goal, HISD Transportation remained busy all summer searching for the best candidates to join its nationally recognized team. The department supports the student’s educational day by providing safe, professional, and efficient transportation to and from school, educational field trips, athletic competitions, and events. Continue reading
Magazine honors school district for bus-tracking tool, safety training, green fleet
The Houston Independent School District’s Transportation Department recently was named a recipient of District Administration magazine’s 2014 Districts of Distinction award.
Districts of Distinction is a new national recognition program created by the publication to honor school districts that are demonstrating education excellence with innovative approaches and ideas that work.
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HISD Transportation Services kicked off the 2014-2015 school year on Friday with its annual back-to-school Safety Expo training program – challenging more than 1,200 bus drivers and attendants to commit to student safety.
With the first day of school quickly approaching, HISD Transportation is ready for a safe and smooth start to the school year.
Before school starts, the department says all parents should receive a postcard in the mail and at least two telephone calls with their children’s bus route information.
A customer call center has also been set up to answer questions. Parents can call 713-613-3040 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. starting Monday, Aug. 18, for assistance with transportation-related issues. The call center will remain open for at least 30 days.
HISD will be hosting a transportation job fair on Saturday, July 12, at Butler Field House (13755 South Main, 77092), adjacent to Butler Stadium, from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.