Driven By Safety: Profile of a School Bus Driver

By Kristina Panos

The Telegraph had the pleasure of interviewing Rosa Murcia, a bus driver for the Raymore-Peculiar School District, and a lead recruiter for First Student school bus services in Belton. 

Surveying the Situation

When it comes to transporting precious cargo, safety is number one. For Murcia, this involves a two-pronged approach: pre-trip and safety checks.

“I check the tires and the way the bus is sitting, making sure everything is where it should be, and nothing is tampered with,” says Murcia.

While the pre-check on the vehicle is functional in nature, the safety checks are all about the kids. Checks are done four times per day to ensure that every student has disembarked.

“After every drop off, we do a student check; super-thorough,” says Murcia. “I go to the back of the bus and I am checking under every single seat. And then we get out and look underneath the bus.”

A Day In the Life

Murcia’s first pickup is at 6:05 am. Her day begins early. 

“My husband helps me get my kids dressed, and then I go to the [bus] lot,” she says. “It’s like a community meeting in the office. Everybody’s saying ‘hi.’”

Then she’s off to conduct the pre-check and pick up her first “tier” of riders — the high school and middle schoolers on her route. After dropping them off, Murcia performs a safety check, looking for stray students. Before long it’s time to pick up the elementary school riders on the same route.

“I’m lucky because my route is in my neighborhood. I get to meet the students that live around me, and really help build my community, and my kids’ community,” says Murcia.

Murcia wrote a song for her riders, which always makes them howl with delight: 

“The time has come

It’s time to grab your backpacks and grab your coats

We’re on our way to school

Bus 19 is so cool!”

No Time for Thumb-Twiddling

So what do bus drivers do while the kids are in school? Those who Murcia works with have other professional driving jobs, like Instacart. A few are college students. One is a firefighter. 

“There’s a large majority of retirees; they just hang out in between,” she says. “They don’t even leave. They literally just hang out for the whole mid-shift.”

Others, like Murcia, use the time to take on life’s many tasks. She returns home around 9 am to start her midday, which usually consists of breakfast, chores and doctor’s appointments. 

After-School Special

Over the past two years, Murcia has expanded her community by engaging not only with the kids and their parents, but the teachers and administration. Each afternoon, the buses arrive at 2 pm to take the kids back home. The 15-minute period before the dismissal bell rings is one of the most enjoyable parts of Murcia’s shift.

“It’s like a little community gathering. Other bus drivers get out, too, and the administrators come outside. We’re all chatting, getting to know each other… to learn about the students and sharing information about our routes.” 

Driving the Future

Those looking for a new career can find great opportunity as a school bus driver, according to Murcia.  It only takes a month of training to be eligible for a Commercial Driver’s License.

“Being able to spend quality time with my kiddos during the day, I think that’s the number one thing that I truly, truly appreciate,” says Murcia. “Not every job has that. I love that. And then, there are the smiling faces on these kids, getting to know them, and feeling that I can make a difference in their lives.”

Murcia has one special request for everyone else on the road: “If you see a bus with its stop arm out, please, please stop.”