The Avery County Schools Transportation Department provides transportation to and from school for approximately 1000 students each day with a combined mileage of over 319,000.  We maintain and service over 70 pieces of equipment including school buses, activity buses, driver education vehicles, wreckers, fuel trucks, and maintenance vehicles. Our bus drivers and transportation employees are committed to providing safe, efficient, and orderly transportation for all eligible students in Avery County.  If you have any questions or concerns regarding pupil transportation in Avery County, please talk with your school's principal, or call the Transportation Department, (828) 733-6006, ext. 1512 or 1510.

BRIAN KING | TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR/SCHOOL BUS GARAGE SUPERVISOR
Phone: 828-387-0645

Joannie Benfield | Transportation Cost Clerk/TIMS
Mike Simerly | Service Technician
Tyler Ford | Service Technician
Charles Ballard | Fuel Technician

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION APPROVES BUS SAFETY POLICY REVISIONS

In the 2014-15 academic year alone, five North Carolina students were injured by motorists passing stopped school buses. That is one reason why the N.C. State Board of Education has revised its bus safety policy to require a standard hand signal bus drivers will use to tell students when a street is safe to cross.

Drawing from national procedures as well as school bus safety standards and practices from across the country, the revised policy will require drivers to use a standard hand signal that tells students a roadway is safe to cross.
     
The hand signal has three steps:

1. First, the driver holds up his or her palm facing the student until it is safe to cross.

2. Second, the driver gives a “thumbs up” to the students.

3. For the third step, the driver points with his or her index finger the direction in which the child should proceed across the street.

Click here for complete DRIVER road crossing instructions.
Click here for complete STUDENT road crossing instructions.
     
For full details, including training videos, visit the link below:

Updated North Carolina School Bus Safety Procedures

There is a new addition to the available materials for training drivers and students: An instructional video on school bus evacuations has been posted on YouTube.

This video was the combined effort of Chris Runge, students, and others at WInston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools as well as Margery McGill of Johnston County Schools and Bob Peters from DPI. Special thanks to all those involved in the effort.

This school bus evacuation video provides guidelines and procedures related to the evacuation of a school bus.

Check back later for up-to-date training information.