REQUEST TRANSPORTATION 

Trip Guidelines – 2012 – 2013
 

Overview

Here are some key points to remember about scheduling field trips using PGCPS school buses:

• Trips may not be approved due to limited bus availability on the following dates due to mandatory bus inspections:
• October 31 through November 30, 2012
• March 5 through Apr 2, 2013
• The final date for trips this school year is May 10, 2013. 

• The final date for all CBI/CRI, Job Sampling and Work-Study buses is May 17, 2013. 

• Buses will be provided for all after-school activities between the dates of    September 17, 2012 through May 17, 2013. Requests for extensions for High School Assessment programs only, to May 10, 2013, should be sent to the Director of Transportation for review.

• Board of Education Policy Number 2513.2 prohibits the scheduling of tests, meetings, workshops, trips or other special activities, such as the taking of student pictures or athletic events during or after the regular school day, on days of religious observance as indicated on the official school calendar.
• Trips must not start prior to 9:30 a.m. and buses must return to the school by 1:15 p.m. 
• Trip requests must be received in the Transportation Department ten (10) business days prior to trip.
• WHEN CANCELLING A TRIP, THE SCHOOL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR NOTIFYING TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT 24 HOURS IN ADVANCE by email at Field.Trips@pgcps.org. Failure to do so will result in a minimum one-hour charge billed to the school on school days and three-hour minimum on non-school days. In case of inclement weather, the trip must be cancelled prior to the bus arriving at the school. Cancellations of weekend trips must be made by noon on Friday before the trip is to take place. 
• Number of passengers may not exceed 49 seating capacity. No standees are permitted.
• Zoo trips may only be taken on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.
• The Department of Transportation is requesting all schools that plan trips to the zoo ensure that their buses are back by 1:15 p.m.  In order to reach this goal, students must return to their buses no later than 12:30 p.m.  PGCPS afternoon dismissal buses waiting for contracted commercial carrier trip buses will not be held at schools longer than 10 minutes.
• Trips shall be for educational purposes only.  Buses shall not be used for   picnics, social activities, or to transport spectators.  Non-instructional and non-educational trips must be submitted to the Regional Assistant Superintendent’s office for approval prior to submittal to the Transportation Department, i.e., skating, bowling, swimming, restaurants, etc. All trips going out of Prince George’s County must have regional approval. Keep in mind that the school should submit requests.  The region office does not request transportation.  Please adhere to the regional approval process for the safety, security and identification of our students.
• Trips will be billed at a rate of $70.35 per hour with a minimum of one hour. This includes Howard B. Owens Science Center and William Schmidt Center trips.
• All requests and confirmation will be done through email at Field.Trips@pgcps.org.
• The cost will be automatically taken from the School Operating Resource (SOR) account by Oracle. The school will be responsible to reimburse this account if payment is from other sources.

Camp Schimdt 

Once the schools have confirmed their trips, Camp Schmidt will submit a bus schedule to Transportation. Transportation will automatically arrange two regular buses. Each will hold 30 students plus luggage.  Any deviation from this must be sent via email to field.trips@pgcps.org.  Average time of trips is 6.5 hours per bus.  Camp Schmidt will be billed directly for these trips.
 

HBO Science Center 

Howard B. Owens Science Center will issue a calendar. Please review and confirm trips and class size with the Center. Once the schools have confirmed their trips, the Science Center will submit a schedule to Transportation. Transportation will automatically arrange the necessary amount of regular buses, unless instructed otherwise. Any deviation from the schedule must be sent via email to field.trips@pgcps.org. The Science Center is billed directly for these trips.

THE SCHOOL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR NOTIFYING THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND HOWARD B. OWENS SCIENCE CENTER BEFORE CANCELLING.  Notification must be made 24 hours prior to the trip.  If the trip is not cancelled within the time limit, the school will be billed for the minimum one hour.

Activity Buses 

Requests or changes are to be submitted via email to field.trips@pgcps.org. Activity buses are being billed at $70.35 per hour.  Pick up times are after 5 p.m. Allow 10 business days for processing. Please be sure to include the following in your request:

• Name of school
• Oracle account number
• Start and end date (last day buses are available is May 3, 2013)
• Days of week
• Time buses are needed
• Number of buses requested
• Student names, addresses and student ID numbers should be attached on an Excel spreadsheet.

Athletics 

Transportation for an entire season will be submitted at one time from the Athletic Supervisor. This includes transportation for cheerleaders, band, ROTC, or any additional buses needed. If transportation is needed outside of the initial schedule submitted, transportation would only be granted if the request is made more than 24 hours prior to the event and an “athletic bus” is available. All other requests will have to adhere to the trip guidelines. Although there is only one bus per school each day, requests for more may be granted. Additional buses will be available after 4:30 p.m. and billed at $84.00 per hour. Playoff and championship schedules should be submitted as soon as possible via email. All playoff games over the 50-mile radius should be submitted to the Regional Assistant Superintendent and Director of Transportation in advance for approval. Additional buses will be billed to the school’s SOR account unless another account number is submitted.

 Commercial Carriers 

The Transportation Department has secured Consolidated Safety Services, Inc. to approve and monitor private commercial carrier companies that transport PGCPS students. The Transportation Department will be notified as to what companies have been approved. A list of these carriers will be accessible through the Purchasing Department link on the PGCPS intraweb. If you are planning to schedule a trip with a company that is not on the approved list, please refer them to Pupil Safety Division at, 703-877-3303.