Transportation
About Us
A Message from Our Management Team The primary goal of the Transportation Department at Visalia Unified 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.
Visalia Unified School District operates buses on daily routes. Twelve buses provide a curb-to-curb transportation service for
special education students. Our buses travel over 950,000 miles annually and transport an average of 5,000 students daily.
In addition to the regular morning and afternoon routes, the district provides transportation services.
for various extra-curricular activities and sports trips.
Services we Provide
Home-to-school transportation is approximately 20% of VUSD's student population.Field Trip support for classes and the
District's athletic programs before, after and in between morning and afternoon routes.Maintenance for 100 District owned
school buses and an additional 205 maintenance, custodial, grounds, food service and other District owned vehicles.
Mid Valley Transportation, offering field trips and contract maintenance support to smaller school districts in our area.
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's 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 completely
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 ten 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
Visalia Unified School District certified school bus drivers have a total of over 750 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 safety inspections.
We encourage you to browse the remainder of the Transportation Pages. There is some useful information in our Transportation
safety Plan pertaining to the bus rules, seat belt laws, foggy day procedures and student escorting laws. We appreciate your support!