By 6:45 AM, Unit 407 was full—60 kids ranging from squealing elementary chatter to the dead-eyed silence of high school freshmen. They came from apartments, from ranch-style homes, from a temporary shelter near Grissom Road. All of them, for this 25-minute window, were simply "Northside riders."
Not a loud roar, but a deep, diesel-powered vibration that rolled across the sprawling Northside Independent School District—from the Hill Country edges near Helotes to the steady blocks of Leon Valley. It was the sound of 475 buses waking up. northside isd transportation
Carlos tapped the small "Student Locator" tablet mounted near his dashboard. It was new this year—a real-time map showing exactly which students were cleared to board. Before this, it was paper lists and memory. Now, it was data. But Carlos still trusted his eyes more. He knew which kids needed the front seat because they got carsick. He knew which stop had the anxious kindergartner who needed a high-five. By 6:45 AM, Unit 407 was full—60 kids