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SAU 70 Transportation
Announcements
Route Updates September 13, 2021
Please be advised the following routes H1, H2, H4, H6, H10, and N5 have been updated and posted below. The consolidated route changes for H10 and N5 will go into effect on Monday, September 20, 2021. All other changes will be effective Tuesday, September 14, 2021. Please be advised the Lyme Students pickup time at the Lyme School is now 6:55 am.
September 12th Update
Sent Via Email – September 12, 2021
Transportation Update for SAU 70 Families,
It sure has been a busy start to the new school year. In mid-August as we prepared to kick off the 2021-2022 education programs, we sent out a transportation survey in an effort to help inform our routing needs for bussing. By August 18th, it was apparent that we were about to experience an extraordinary amount of transportation requests in both Hanover and Norwich. It was not realistic to base our routes on last year’s data as the ridership during a pandemic was very limited, so we resurrected the prior year’s routes and have now collected more current data from the school registration forms and daily requests. As we do every year, we have been reviewing the routes for additions, deletions and timing changes. Keep in mind afternoon times are approximate as we never know from one day to the next how many students will be riding home due to after school activities.
Many of the buses this year are nearing capacity and our ability to expand service with more vehicles is limited by the ongoing driver shortages and low unemployment rates in the Upper Valley area. Every year we try to accommodate parental requests for more personalized bus stops as close to the student’s homes as possible. The volume of additional riders this year (more than 700 requests), number of stops on some of the routes and increased local traffic is making it impossible to arrive at all of the schools prior to their 8 am start times, which is impacting student learning. The routes which are most concerning are Hanover 1, Hanover 10 and Norwich 5. These routes have been updated with some significant changes including stop consolidations. The updates will be posted to the SAU70 website on Monday, September 13th and changes for the morning runs will go into effect on Monday, September 20th. After consulting with the NH guidelines and checking distances to new proposed shared stops, we decided on stop consolidations instead of backing up the start times. This is more equitable than making the first students on board extend their ride by 15 minutes. Many of our locations/routes already require students to make their way to stops at the end of their roads. The afternoon runs will remain unchanged.
For those families who have stops on Lyme Road or connecting to Lyme Road, we are not able to allow your students to get off at early stops and cross both lanes of a state highway that is posted at 50 miles per hour (NH Route 10). They must stay on the bus until we have their stop on the exit door side of the bus.
We hope in the future we will be able to resume the more personalized pickups which will require the addition of more drivers. If you know of anyone who would like an early morning job with an aggressive rate of pay driving the most amazing students from home to school, please have them contact Student Transportation of Vermont at 802-698-8528. They have training programs available.
As always we thank you for your help and cooperation in these important matters and difficult decisions.
Regards,
Jamie Teague, Business Administrator - SAU70
Mike Gaudette, Manager - Student Transportation of VT
Hanover Bus Routes
All times listed are approximate and may vary by 5 minutes depending on ridership. Time may be adjusted after the first 2 weeks of school, stops removed and/or added and all changes will be updated and posted on the website. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Mike Gaudette at Student Transportation of Vermont at (802)-698-8528 or via email at mgaudette@ridesta.com.
Norwich Bus Routes
Norwich Bus Routes
N1 l N4 l N5 l N6
All of the buses in the morning will continue to transport students over to the Hanover Schools from their stops and will allow additional walking students to Board the buses in the morning the same as last year.
In the afternoon, the students at RMS will Board 2 buses (N1 & N4) then go over to MCS to meet and transition to their normal route buses to ride home. The HHS students will board N5 in the afternoon and ride back over to MCS to transition to their normal route buses as well.
Afternoon pick up times at the schools are noted on the route sheets.
All times listed are approximate and may vary by 5 minutes depending on ridership. Time may be adjusted after the first 2 weeks of school, stops removed and/or added and all changes will be updated and posted on the website. If you have questions or concerns, please contact Mike Gaudette at Student Transportation of Vermont at (802)-698-8528 or via email at mgaudette@ridesta.com.Have questions?
Behavior Issues
Other issues
Please contact Mike for driver issues, late or early bus, missed stop, etc..
Student Transportation of Vermont
1796 Route 14, White River Jct., VT
Mike Gaudette
802-698-8528
mgaudette@ridesta.com
If there is an emergency with a Hanover, Norwich or Dresden bus, please contact:
Jamie Teague
Business Administrator
Days: 603-643-6050 x 2008
Afterhours: 603-313-7098
Forms
Drop Off Permission Form K-2
Return the form to the Front Office of your school
New Rider Request Form - for new riders during the year.
If you completed the August Transportation Needs Service Request, please do not complete the form above.
District Transportation Policy
Hanover
Policy EEA, Effective May 20, 2009
Student Transportation: Bus Routes and Stops
The SAU staff under the direction of the Superintendent shall establish bus routes and stops. These routes and stops will be developed in conjunction with the transportation contractor and the school administration. Routes will be over the most direct roads practicable and safe for bus travel to serve those entitled to transportation service statute or district policy. Routes will be designed to employ the full carrying capacity of each bus trip and to minimize the time student spend in transit.
Authorized bus stops shall be located at convenient intervals in safe locations. Bus stop locations must be sited so that pupils can be safely loaded or unloaded, cross highways and await arrival of buses based upon road conditions, terrain, and visibility. The number of each stops on each trip shall be limited to facilitate shorter riding times for students. Changes in designated bus stops may be made only by the Superintendent of Schools.
The Superintendent or designee will provide transportation only to sites located within district boundaries.
Ray School students may, upon written permission of their parents and with the consent of the principal, be transported to places other than their own residence provided that the capacity of the bus is not exceeded, the bus is not required to make additional stops, the request is submitted and approved in advance in accordance with guidelines in the Ray School Student Handbook.
Students and parents must adhere to the transportation guidelines and regulations included in the Ray School Handbook.
Hanover School Board
RSA 189:6
Norwich
Policy EEA, Effective June 3, 2009
Student Transportation: Bus Routes and Stops
The SAU staff under the direction of the Superintendent shall establish bus routes and stops. These routes and stops will be developed in conjunction with the transportation contractor and the school administration. Routes will be over the most direct roads practicable for bus travel. Routes will be designed to employ the full carrying capacity of each bus trip and to minimize the time students spend in transit. Children who live less then three-quarters (3/4) of a mile from the elementary school will be transported at the parents' request, if, in the opinion of the Superintendent of Schools, the children are required to walk over a hazardous route or their age of health preclude walking.
Authorized bus stops shall be located at convenient intervals in safe locations. Bus stop locations must be sited so that pupils can be safely loaded or unloaded, cross highways and await arrival of buses based on road conditions, terrain and visibility. The number of bus stops on each trip shall be limited to facilitate shorter riding times for students. Changes in designated bus stops may be made only by the Superintendent of Schools.
Marion Cross School students may, upon written permission of their parents and with the consent of the school principal, be transported to places other than their own residence provided that the capacity of the bus is not exceeded, the bus is not required to make additional stops, and the request is submitted in advance in accordance with guidelines in the Marion Cross School Parent Handbook.
Norwich School Board
Sending Town Bus Routes
Lyme
Morning:
Effective Monday, August 30th, the Lyme bus H11 (Student Transportation of VT/S-8) will be picking students up at 6:55 AM at the Lyme School.
It is estimated that their arrival at Hanover High School will be 7:30 AM.
After school:
Pick up at 3:10 PM (edited 9/14) at HHS with an estimated drop off time at Lyme School of 3:45 PM (H11 M, Tu, Th, Fri).
Pick up at 2:15 PM (edited 9/15) on Wednesdays - times will be approximate due to scheduling.