Transportation services
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About the Transportation Department
- The district's transportation department provides safe, reliable, and efficient transportation services by utilizing approximately 380 school bus vehicles every day.
- Anoka-Hennepin is Minnesota's largest school district, serving more than 40,000 students.
- Our vehicles travel more than six million miles annually.
- We service more than 8,000 individual bus stops traveling to and from more than 60 school sites.
- School buses are statistically the safest way for students to get to and from school.
- To find your student's bus information, log in to A-HConnect and follow these step-by-step directions. Or contact the transportation department with other questions.
Contacting the Transportation Department or service providers
The Anoka-Hennepin transportation department hotline, 763-506-1125, is answered from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. on school days and from 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on non-school days.
In-person office hours are daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Educational Service Center.
Non-urgent questions or concerns can be emailed to transportation@ahschools.us.
If you are looking to connect with one of our bus companies:
First Student - Anoka (Routes 300s, 400s, 600s) 763-421-3199
First Student - Champlin (Routes 100s) 763-421-5785
Kottke's Bus (Routes 1-99, 500, 700s) 763-755-3100
Northstar Bus (Routes 200s) 763-425-2542
Voigt's Bus (Routes 800s) 763-762-3323If you are looking to connect with one of our van companies:
Frontier Transportation Services (FTS) 651-493-1916
Halo Transportation (HALO) 763-432-6806
Metropolitan Transportation Network (MTN) 763-571-1541 (Press 1)
Northline Transportation (NLT) 651-797-3448
Safe Tree Transportation (STT) 763-316-6432
T-Plus (TPL) 612-888-8080Jobs
Anoka-Hennepin Schools is seeking school bus paraprofessionals and traffic control for the 2024-25 school year. Apply online at ahschools.us/jobs or call 763-506-1125 with questions.
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Real-time bus information through FirstView app
Anoka-Hennepin families can check where their bus is — live — through a transportation app, called FirstView. The app monitors regular school bus routes in real-time. Best of all, it’s free for parents/guardians and students to use.
While Anoka-Hennepin buses have a tremendous on-time performance record, there are inclement weather and traffic delays that do occur. This app provides families the necessary information to know when their bus will arrive. Families can also see the anticipated length of any delay, an estimated arrival time and if a substitute is driving the route. Email, push and/or text notifications can inform families of such information instantly.
FirstView can be downloaded from app stores (iTunes app store; Android Google Play store). On-screen directions walk first time users through the easy setup process:- On the app's login page, scroll to the very bottom and click on "Login with SSO"
- Verify the state is set to "Minnesota" and the district is "Anoka-Hennepin" from the dropdown menus, and click Continue.
- Log in with your parent/guardian username and password once directed to A-HConnect (if you’ve forgotten your parent/guardian username or password, please call 763-506-HELP).
The app will then automatically populate your student’s information. It’s that easy!
FAQ surrounding FirstView app
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Who is able to access the FirstView bus app?
Parents/guardians of district students that reside within Anoka-Hennepin boundaries (that ride regular school bus routes) will be able to download and access the FirstView bus app. At this time, students are not able to access the FirstView app. Parents/guardians can set-up notifications through the app to send to three email addresses (daycare providers, grandparents, students, etc.).
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What is not considered a regular bus route?
Students that do not live within the Anoka-Hennepin School District boundaries: for example, students that are part of the Northwest Suburban Integration School District (NWSISD) and do not live within the Anoka-Hennepin boundaries are not on a regular bus route. Read more on bus routes and boundaries information. Activity busses, preschool busses, non-public schools that do not have Anoka-Hennepin student id's, and district students that take other means of transportation to and from school (cabs, taxis, transportation through daycare provider), are not considered regular bus routes.
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What if the app indicates an estimated time of arrival (ETA), and my student misses the bus?
According to the Anoka-Hennepin Student Transportation Policy, students should be at their bus stop at least five minutes prior to their regular bus routes scheuduled time. The FirstView bus app is an addtitional tool and resource to enhance communication with parents/guardians regarding their student's regular bus routes arrival and any additional transportation messages from the district.
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How do I access the FirstView app?
Simply download FirstView from your device’s app store. On-screen directions walk first time users through the easy setup process. Choose Minnesota and then Anoka-Hennepin from the dropdown menus. After doing so, the app will direct you to A-HConnect. Log in with your parent/guardian username and password (if you’ve forgotten your parent/guardian username or password, please call 763-506-HELP), the app will then automatically populate your student’s information.
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I have a technical question about how to use the FirstView app - who do I contact?
For technical assistance, click on the help menu within the FirstView app. Within the help menu is the option to contact support for assitance. There is also an option to provide feedback directly to Firstview through the F.A.Q. option under the help menu (exclamation point icon found on every section within the app).
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I have a question related to my student(s) regular bus route - who do I contact?
Any questions regarding your student(s) regular bus route should be directed to the transportation department at 763-506-1125. Their office hours are from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
FAQ surrounding school bus operations
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Why do some children have to cross the street to board the school bus?
We are not able to route buses so that all children can board the bus on the door side. We recommend that children wait on the side of the street that they reside. The bus will stop traffic in all directions to accommodate students that need to cross the street to board the bus.
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We live on a cul-de-sec. Will the bus come down our street?
Except to transport special education students, buses generally are not routed down cul-de-sacs because of the danger to small children and property caused by the bus turning around and / or backing up in a small area.
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Our neighborhood has no sidewalks and has hills and curves. Can we have an additional bus stop so our children do not have to walk to the existing stop?
With the large number of streets and bus stops in our school district, it is necessary for some students to walk on roads that have hills, curves and / or no sidewalks.
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I cannot see the bus stop from my house.
The school district provides transportation for over 37,000 students to and from school each day. We are not able to position bus stops so that all parents are able to see the stop from their home.
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My child carries a large musical instrument and / or a heavy backpack; or he / she is the only student using the bus stop, the stop needs to be closer to our home.
Generally, bus stops are centrally located for all students. Bus stops are not changed to accommodate one or more students because that may displace other students further from their home. Even though other students are not all riding the bus we must keep bus stops as they have been published. A central bus stop is necessary because other students may begin riding the bus or new families may move into the neighborhood. It is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that their child arrives safely at the bus stop.
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The bus drives right past my house. Why can't it stop at my house?
The higher frequency of stops can make the motoring public "impatient." This results in people driving around the bus which can cause greater safety concerns than the distance a student walks to the bus stop does. It also delays the bus by increasing the number of stops, making overall student ride time longer.
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I own a daycare and need the stop at my house because the State requires me to see the students at all times. Why can't the bus stop be located at my house?
As noted above, bus stops are centrally located and at intersections. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the daycare provider to get the students to the bus stop.
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I have young children at home and / or I leave home because of work.
In order to be consistent and fair in placement of bus stops, the school district is not able to establish stops based on personal circumstances.
Forms
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Bus stop change request form
Fill out the bus stop change request form.
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Daycare request form
It's impossible to locate a bus stop within sight of every home or child care provider. As a general policy, we locate bus stops at corner intersections where motorists expect that the bus will stop. For safety reasons, we avoid making house stops, mid-block stops and driving into cul-de-sacs. It's the responsibility of the parent/guardian or child care provider to ensure their student arrives and departs safely to/from the bus stop.
All students in child care, including non-transported students, are required to have an alternate stop transportation request form on file with the school district’s transportation department. This information is used to assign your student to their bus and bus stop. It's also used for notification in case of an emergency school closing and state reports. Students cannot be transported to or from child care sites that are located outside the attendance boundary of the school they attend.
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Shared custody form
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Out of attendance area request form
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Transportation Opt-out form
The Anoka-Hennepin transportation department coordinates routes for thousands of students in cooperation with First Student, Kottkes and Northstar Bus Service. Knowing with increased accuracy who is planning to ride the bus to and from school leads to higher efficiency and effective use of district resources.
The option to opt-out of transportation services is currently available for students enrolled in Anoka-Hennepin high schools, the Northwest Suburban Integration School District and private school students.
The transportation opt-out form can be completed online.
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Additional forms and information
Find additional forms and information on the transportation document center.