Transportation & Operations Departments

The primary goal of the Transportation Department at Tulare City School District is to provide the safest, most efficient and professional transportation service to our students and staff. Our drivers strive to meet this goal daily.

Tulare City School District operates 19 buses on daily routes. Six buses provide curb-to-curb transportation service for special education students. Our buses travel over 130,000 miles annually and transport an average of 3,500 students daily. In addition to the regular morning and afternoon routes, the district provides transportation services for various extra-curricular activities and sports trips.

Becoming a Professional School Bus Driver

Before a person can apply for a special driver 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 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

Tulare City School District employs 30 certified school bus drivers with a total of over 250 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 on the California Highway Patrol safety inspections. 

We encourage you to browse the remainder of the Transportation Page on the side bar. 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!