Category Archives: Transportation

Transportation Services begins bus badge distribution

HISD Transportation Services began distributing personalized badges this week to HISD student bus riders as part of the district’s Student Badge Program.

Badge distribution began Thursday, Oct. 18 and Friday, Oct. 19 for a 22-school pilot group with general distribution across the district set to begin on Monday, Oct. 22.

The 22-school pilot group includes: Elmore, Herod, Lockhart, Parker, and River Oaks elementary schools; Woodson PK-5; Fondren, Pershing and West Briar middle schools; Carnegie Vanguard, Chavez, Lamar, Waltrip, Westbury, and Westside high schools; DeBakey High School for Health Professions, Mandarin Immersion Magnet School; Houston Academy for International Studies, Gregory-Lincoln Educational Center, Baylor College of Medicine Academy at Ryan; Mickey Leland College Preparatory Academy for Young Men; and High School for Law and Justice. Continue reading →

Transportation launching new tool for parents to track their child on HISD school buses

Transportation Services is introducing a new student badge program that will allow parents to track when and where their students board and depart HISD school buses.

Beginning, Oct. 29, students who are eligible for bus transportation service will use a personalized badge that must be scanned when they enter and exit their school bus.

“As we rectify some of the bus issues we have encountered this school year, this badge program will help to ease parents’ tensions,” said John Wilcots IV, interim general manager of Transportation Services. “They will know exactly when their child boards and exits the bus to go to school in the morning and the same at the end of the school day when they go home.” Continue reading →

HISD Transportation Services holding job fair to recruit bus drivers

The Houston Independent School District’s Transportation Services department will host a job fair this month to recruit bus drivers as part of continuing efforts to make sure all routes are fully staffed and drivers are available for both new routes and to provide coverage if employees are absent.

The job fair will be held from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 22 at Sterling High School.

Selected applicants will earn a starting hourly wage of $16.65 and will be provided free CDL training. Other benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, Teacher Retirement System participation and special trip pay options. Continue reading →

Transportation Services taps new leader with strong logistics background to oversee daily operations

A new senior leader has been named to the Houston Independent School District’s Transportation Services department as part of continued efforts to address challenges and improve bus service for students.

German Enamorado will help oversee operations as the department’s new senior operations manager. He will report directly to Transportation Services General Manager Tim Brown. His post is effective immediately.

“My first goal is to review current processes and see what key areas need immediate attention, so we can improve student arrival time,” said Enamorado, whose background is in logistics. “I’m looking forward to hearing from stakeholders to see how our new procedure is impacting kids and determine what we can do to improve it.” Continue reading →

New initiatives to address bus service challenges expected Tuesday

Bus riders across the district could see changes to their scheduled pick-up and drop-off times as part of an ongoing review designed to ensure all students have access to safe and reliable transportation.

In addition to scheduling changes, the Transportation Services department also is expanding the magnet hub program with the addition of two new hub locations, continuing to assign students to routes, and ramping up bus driver recruitment efforts to prevent driver shortages.

“Transportation to and from school is one of the building blocks for academic success,” HISD Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan said. “It’s imperative that we provide safe, reliable and timely service to our students. We will continue making changes until we can ensure we are meeting that goal.” Continue reading →

School buses ready to carry Woodson pre-K students

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When school starts on Monday, five HISD school buses will look just a little a bit different on the inside, after being adapted to fit the district’s youngest students.

HISD’s Transportation Services modified the buses to make them safer to transport pre-kindergarten students to Woodson PK-5 Leadership Academy. The school’s full-day pre-kindergarten program expanded this school year, and nearly 250 pre-K students from the Sunnyside community are enrolled in the program. Continue reading →

HISD school buses served as rescue vehicles during Harvey

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.”

Continue reading →

Looking back, moving forward: Business Operations after Harvey

For Houston Independent School District Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby, it’s hard to believe it’s been a year since Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, dumping an unprecedented 51 inches of water on city.

“I remember being excited about the start of school. We were ready to welcome our students and have a good year,” said Busby, who oversees HISD’s Business Operations division. “And just like that, it came to a screeching halt.”

The damage was considerable. With nearly all schools needing some repair and a few so damaged they would need to be rebuilt, the start of school was postponed by two weeks. Some schools were so damaged that they were delayed further or even relocated to temporary campuses.
Continue reading →

Business Operations employees start school year with in-service trainings

As students get ready for the upcoming school year, Business Operations employees are doing the same, dedicating time for professional development that will better prepare them for the year ahead.

Held across the district throughout August, the in-service sessions provide employees with critical training related to their respective roles as well as the latest state and federal guidelines. They also serve as a welcome back for employees who were off duty during the summer. Continue reading →

Transportation launching new tools to increase route efficiency

As the start of the 2018-2019 school year nears, Transportation Services is introducing a new tool to help parents determine their child’s school bus stop location and route number.

Parents and students can go to the Infofinder I website, enter their address, and then see a map of the bus stop assigned to their student, as well as their route number. Magnet students who use the system will be able to see their designated magnet hub location listed on the map.

Magnet school hub program to allow direct commutes to campuses

Also available through the system is the bus arrival and departure time for each stop. Continue reading →