Communications Plan

MESSAGING TO FAMILIES ABOUT BUS ROUTE IMPACTS

As part of our effort to further streamline communication regarding impacts to bus service, the following notification plan will be utilized to alert families to bus route impacts:

 

  • Email and text messages will be sent to families of students who are registered to ride a bus only. After a bus route impact is entered by a contractor, all contacts at the impacted school who are registered to ride a bus at that school will receive an email and a text message. This does not necessarily mean that the message applies to that specific student. Families should check with their student’s school to ensure the contact information on file is accurate.
  • Messages will be delivered according to the following schedule (times are approximate because the system is automated):
  • 7:30 p.m. (on the evening prior, listing impacts for the next day)
  • 6:00 a.m.
  • 6:45 a.m.
  • 7:30 a.m.
  • 8:15 a.m. (middle school and high school only)
  • 12:30 p.m. (afternoon bus runs only)
  • The email messages will include the school name, bus number, and how the bus service is impacted (no service, delayed service, etc.). The text message will make families aware that a bus at their student’s school is impacted by a service disruption and refer families to email or www.aacps.org/buses.
  • Because the notification system will filter out families of walkers and car riders, families will receive multiple emails for each student who is affected. For example, if a family has two students at the same school, there will be two emails, but only one text message.
  • Morning messages will build on each other and subsequent messages will be sent only when there is an additional bus impact at a given school. As an example, if there is a “no service” bus at School A that gets transmitted in a 6 a.m. message and there is a second bus route impact entered by the contractor at 6:20 a.m., families of registered bus riders at School A will receive a message at 6:45 a.m. that will list both route impacts. This will allow families to be aware of instances when a new bus impact occurs at a school that is already on the impacted list. In the example above, if there are no additional bus route impacts at School A, families of registered bus riders will only receive the 6 a.m. notification.

The list of impacts on this page will continue to be updated as impacts are entered by contractors. The page refreshes every three minutes. An initial listing will also continue to be posted on the AACPS Facebook page (www.facebook.com/aacps) each morning.

 

Additional messaging enhancements are being worked on at this time and will be communicated as they are completed.

 

If you have questions about specific buses, please call the Transportation Office at 410-923-7890 or email transportation@aacps.org. 

A full listing of 2022-2023 hours for all schools can be found here.

An upgraded tool to help families determine the schools of attendance for their students and whether those students are eligible for bus transportation is available here.