Barney the Bus

For many years, North Kansas City Schools has presented a School Bus Safety program in the fall for the district’s 22 elementary schools. NKC Schools' Transportation Department has a very robust student transportation program with almost 13,500 students riding school buses on any given school day. The safe transport of (our) students to/from school is the top priority. To this end, one of the district’s annual efforts among our 9,200+ elementary students is our “Barney the Bus” safety program.

The “Barney the Bus” safety program is sponsored and presented by the staff at Transportation Services.  It is split into two segments, one for Kindergarten to 2^nd grade using a remote-controlled, 4-foot long bus with audio feedback features to help keep our younger students' attention.  The other is tailored for 3^rd to 5^th grade students utilizing “Iron Man” as the primary spokesperson, showing a PowerPoint presentation about bus safety.

Both presentations represent the 10 basic rules of bus safety outlined below and posted on each bus:

1. Get to the bus stop at least 5 minutes early.
2. Wait for the driver to signal before crossing the street.
3. Always go to your assigned seat and sit in it.
4. Sit with your back on the back of the seat, your bottom on the bottom of the seat.
5. Keep the bus aisle clear.
6. Always listen to the driver the first time.
7. Talk in your classroom voice.
8. No food or drink on the bus.
9. Nothing out the window.
10. Stay out of the danger zone.