La. school districts prepare for hot bus rides

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – A lot of students will soon return to school across Louisiana, and those who utilize school buses are preparing for hot rides.

A school bus ride can sometimes run for hours, so in this extremely hot weather, school officials say their main concern is to keep students safe.

Livingston Parish and East Baton Rouge officials are urging their students to stay hydrated during those rides by utilizing water bottles.

“The heat has been tremendously overwhelming right now for not only students but our teachers, our parents, and everyone,” said Candace Bailey, transportation supervisor for the City of Baker School System.

While folks over in Baker do not allow their students to keep water bottles on buses, officials hope their school bus tracking app will help parents get kids off buses quicker. “Bus Where” is an app made for parents and students that allows them to track a bus’ location in real-time.

“They can actually go on the app and determine within a 5-minute window so this should help decrease exposure to heat for our students,” Bailey said.

Officials with the City of Baker School System say all their school buses have air conditioning. Drivers ask students to keep bus windows up, so the air is recycled, and no one gets overheated.

Click here to report a typo.

Copyright 2023 WAFB. All rights reserved.