Transportation

Students should be at their assigned bus stop ten (10) minutes prior to the scheduled time.  If the student is not at the bus stop when the bus arrives, the driver will not wait. Please note that waiting inside the house is not considered being physically at the bus stop.

The drivers have the right to assign seats to students.  Because of the crowded nature of the buses, drivers may choose to assign seats to assist with efficiency of loading and unloading the buses as well and student behavior on the buses.

Bus information is shared with families no later than August 21 via Skyward Family Access. Questions about a bus assignment should be emailed to transportation@gvsd.org. 

All requests for a permanent route or stop change must be made at least five (5) working days in advance of the beginning date of the proposed change. Guidelines govern requests for stop changes. Please email transportation@gvsd.org to request a change to your student's bus stop.

Changes to a student's bussing may not be made in the Pickup Patrol app. All requests must be made via email, as noted above.

Requests for child care busing must be submitted via email to  transportation@gvsd.org or to the GVSD Transportation Department at 301 Lindenwood Drive, Suite 210, Malvern, PA 19355. Once the child care change has been made, please send a note or a copy of the reply email to your child's school to make them aware of the change. 

Digital video recorders with a microphone and camera are used on all Krapf buses in the Great Valley School District to aid in the safe transportation of students.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation mandates in 67 PA Code 171.58, that the interior of a school bus must be free of objects which could cause injury.  Objects must be secured and the emergency exits open and free of blockage.  The following must be adhered to at all times:

• Large musical instruments or school project items are not permitted on the bus unless they can be held on the pupil’s lap.
• Items may not be placed under the seats as they could become projectiles upon impact.
• Nothing may be carried on the bus that will endanger others, i.e. glass objects, hockey sticks, skis, sledding equipment, skateboards, large metal objects, etc.
• Animals are not permitted on the bus.
• Nothing can be placed in the driver’s compartment, doorway or aisle. In case of an accident, students must be able to exit from the windows and doors.

Buses sometimes run late, especially the first two weeks of school.  BusStatus allows families to see the status of their child's bus in real time and can be accessed online or via a mobile app. If the bus is not showing as late and more than 15 minutes has passed since the scheduled time, please call the bus/van contractor.

Krapf Bus Company maintains a lost and found at their bus garage located at 2058 Charlestown Road, adjacent to Charlestown Elementary School. To contact the Krapf Company regarding a lost item, please call 610-917-8660.

If you have moved, please ensure that you register your address change with your child's school in order to receive the correct busing information for your new address.

If you reside with the Great Valley School District and your children attend non-public schools, please complete our Busing Request Form. Note that families who do not require busing as asked to still complete this form. 

Many of our non-public schools utilize a transfer system for bus transportation. Please contact the transportation office for information regarding non-public transfer times and locations.

Students are not permitted to ride a bus to which they are not regularly assigned (for example, to go home with a friend). Passes to ride another bus are issued only for emergencies and may be obtained by emailing transportation@gvsd.org. We appreciate at least 24 hours notice, whenever possible. If the request is made sooner than 24 hours in advance, please also contact your child's home school in addition to sending an email.

The decision not to open the district schools means that all transportation for public and non-public students is suspended. For information about school closings, please click here. 

• If GVSD is closed, there will not be transportation provided to any school.
• If GVSD is on two-hour delay, all busing will follow the two-hour delay. Example: if regular pick up time is 7 a.m., the two-hour delay pick up will be at 9 a.m.
• If GVSD has an early dismissal caused by weather, students will be bused home at the dismissal time determined by the district.

If your student does not attend GVSD public schools, the busing for non-public school will follow the Great Valley schedule above, even if the non-public school decides to follow a different schedule. Parents/guardians who decide to honor the non-public schedule will be responsible for transporting their student.