District Transportation

According to school district guidelines, in order to be considered an eligible bus rider:

• Elementary students must live more than 1 mile from their designated neighborhood school.
• Secondary (middle and high school) students must live more than 1.5 miles from their designated neighborhood school.

No, parent/guardians must provide transportation for approved transfer students to and from school, regardless of documented disability.

• Transfer students may, however, apply for a Temporary Rider Permit (available on the District Forms page).
  • Permits are granted on a space-available basis and may be withdrawn if bus ridership changes.
  • Permits are valid only in the school year granted.
  • Students must be able to walk to an existing bus stop safely - they will not be allowed to cross 3- or 4-lane roads alone to arrive at the bus stop. No new stops will be created for temporary riders.
  • Students must have the same transportation schedule and bus stop location each day of the week.

Students who are not otherwise eligible to ride the bus may apply for a Temporary Rider Permit (available on the District Forms page) for transport to day care or another location. 

• The student may not get off at a different stop on their assigned route.
• Students may not ride home on a route that is different from the one to which they were assigned.

• Students may not get off at a different stop on their assigned route or ride home on a route that is different from the one to which they were assigned. (See above.)
• Students who are not assigned to the bus may not ride home with another student.

Kinders taking the bus will not be dropped off at their bus stop after school unless they are greeted by an authorized adult or accompanied by an authorized older sibling in 3rd grade or older. 

Springfield's Safe Routes to School program provides helpful information to students who walk or bike to school. Check with your child's school for walking maps with recommended routes, or to see if they have volunteer-led "walking school buses" that allow students to travel safely to school in larger numbers. 

Riding the school bus is a privilege that can be denied if bus regulations are not followed. It is definitely helpful for students to be aware of the "rules of the road" and that they need to follow the instructions of the school bus driver.

• School bus regulations can be found on pages 29-40 of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.  

If your child fails to return home at his/her expected time, contact the school first. Please keep in mind there may be many reasons for a bus to be late on its route. A bus could be late if there is a substitute driver, if there are mechanical problems, traffic tie-ups, inclement weather, or poor road conditions.

The district maintains a discipline and appeals procedure to insure students follow the student conduct and safety rules while using the transportation system. In most cases, at least one warning slip will be issued prior to the suspension of transportation. Suspension may be appealed in writing to the School Principal.

We ask that you first contact the Transportation Department.  The staff at the Transportation Department will relay your message to the driver and they will get back to you as soon as they get an opportunity. If you are unable to resolve your concern, please discuss the situation with the Transportation Supervisor.

Yes, you will need to register your student for transportation services each year that your child attends school and is in a bus eligible zone for the school they attend.

You can register your student for transportation services, if eligible, through our registration links below.

Kindergarten Grades 1-12

Kinder Grados 1 Al 12

Yes, existing students currently not riding the bus as well as new students arriving at the district will need to register for transportation services in order to receive a bus pass for the current school year.

The district has partnered with a company called Zonar to provide passive RFID cards or badges (referred to as a ZPass badge) as the district standard bus pass.  These cards will be scanned as students enter and exit the bus recording the card number, location, and time. This information can be accessed by select district staff as well as parents using the Stopfinder App.

No, parents of students with transportation in their IEP or IFSP will be registered for transportation services through the IEP/IFSP process.  

No, the only information that is stored on the electronic bus pass is a randomly generated number that is only meaningful to the bus pass system.  A lost or stolen electronic bus pass does not put sensitive student information at risk.

There is no cost for families to participate in the electronic bus pass program, receive their bus pass, or to download the Stopfinder App. 

In the event of a lost badge, the student or parent will need to immediately contact the Transportation Office at (541) 744-6373 to request a replacement badge.  The first replacement badge will be free, however additional replacement badges may result in a $5 replacement fee. Students who lose their bus pass will be required to get a temporary pass each day from the school office until they receive a replacement bus pass.

Students will be allowed to ride to their school.  In order to board the bus in the afternoon, they will need to get a temporary bus pass at the school office.

No, the SPS bus pass is only for use on District buses.

Stopfinder will require an invite and registration from Transportation Services prior to accessing your student's transportation schedule. Please watch for a Stopfinder invitation, which will be sent to your primary email address on file in ParentVue.

Stopfinder can be downloaded for free from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Yes, all District bus riders will need to have a District-issued bus pass to ride a District school bus.

No, while participation in the electronic tracking portion of the program is highly encouraged by the district, participation is not mandatory.  Parents, as well as students 14 and older, may opt out of the RFID electronic tracking capabilities of the Bus Pass Program. To opt out of electronic tracking, you will need to complete the RFID Electronic Tracking Opt Out Form available on the Springfield Public Schools Website.   It is important to note that even if you elect to opt out of the RFID electronic tracking portion of the program, your student will still need to use their bus pass to get on the school bus. 

All bus riders will be issued an electronic bus pass that will allow them to ride a district school bus.  By opting out of the electronic tracking portion of the program, the bus pass will be deactivated, removing the ability to scan the card when the student gets on and off the bus.  Rather than scanning, the student will need to display their bus pass to the driver in order to board the bus.

Bus passes are only valid for one school year.  We are asking parents to discard their bus passes at the end of the school year.  At the beginning of the next school year, parents will be asked to register their student(s) for transportation services and new bus passes will be issued.

RFID (radio frequency identification) is a form of wireless communication that incorporates the use of electromagnetic or electrostatic coupling in the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum to uniquely identify an object.  Passive RFID, the type of RFID used by the Zonar ZPass program that the District uses for electronic bus passes, does not have a local power source or a built-in battery. It is powered by electromagnetic energy transmitted from the RFID reader located on the school bus. The power from the reader induces a current that allows the card to be read.