Cleveland School bus Depot

School Transportation

The school bus driver is often times the first person in the morning and the last person in the evening a student sees other than their parents. It is the intention of the Cleveland City School’s Transportation Department to have that be a positive experience for every child every day.

The Board of Education for Cleveland City Schools chose to implement transportation from the inception of the city school system even though it is an expensive service to provide. School bus transportation is provided for the purpose of making sure that students who need transportation to receive an education are provided for. In the State of Tennessee transportation to school is considered a privilege and not a right. Safety is the first priority on our school buses and the students must behave in a manner that does not distract the driver’s attention from the road. On the school bus the bus driver must be obeyed at all times even if the student disagrees or feels the driver is being unfair. If a student ever feels they are having a difficult time with a bus driver please contact us at the Transportation Department or your child’s principle but the school bus is not the place we can allow for students to protest the bus driver.

In the event a student is repeatedly too distracting for the school bus driver to operate the vehicle safely, we will be forced to deny the student the opportunity to use school system transportation. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of our students are well behaved and transportation services are available to them without question. Please look for the link on this page to the “Student Conduct Guide for Riding the School Bus” (formally known as the Student Bus Contract) and read it with your child so they understand the type of behavior expected of them when they ride the school bus.

The Cleveland City School’s Transportation Department is financially supported by tax dollars and no student ever pays to ride a school bus. Because we are a tax-based service we must operate within our means to provide transportation to students in every part of the city. Door to door bus stops and customized bus stops are services we cannot feasibly provide as it would take resources away from the operation of our schools and negatively impact your child’s education. We must also follow state and federal guide lines, regulations, and laws which affect our funding and dictate the proximity of our bus stops as well as the amount of time each student may be in transit. Our department also uses resources from school system transportation authorities and educational organizations to establish the policies and procedures we adhere too. While the way we set our bus stops may not always be agreeable to everybody, and it may appear to be simple to make changes, please be assured we do the best we can with the available resources, time restrictions and governing regulations that we must comply with. What appears to be “simple changes” very rarely are. It is our goal to take the students to school that need transportation to receive an education but we must do so within the parameters that are in place.

We carry up to 2700 students to and from our nine schools each day. It is our mission to provide the students of Cleveland City Schools with a secure environment while aboard our school buses. We are here to serve the parents and students of Cleveland City Schools, please call or email us if you have any questions or concerns about transportation. (423) 472-9576,

Commonly asked Questions and Answers

Q - How do I find my child’s school bus stop?

A - On this website are listings of the schools and the bus routes. If you know the school your child is attending then you can look through the different routes to locate a stop nearest your residence. You can also call the school office or the transportation office and we will locate the bus stop closest to your residence.