After a long day of school, sweaty and exhausted students pile into the crowded aisles of a big, yellow school bus. But for several students that ride home is another chance to see friends.

“It’s almost impossible not to make relationships with the people we’ve ride on the bus with since elementary school,” freshman Priya Johnson said. “I’ve known a lot them ever since third grade and we’ve all become really close because I see them every day on the bus to and from school.”

LISD bus driver Andrea Ramos, who drives Bus 318, has met hundreds of students over the years, working for the district.

“I’ve been driving buses for a long time and I’ll tell you that it’s some hard work,” Ramos said. “I’m responsible for sometimes up to 60 kids on a 10,000 pound bus. First thing in the morning and right during rush hour every day after school gets out. The elementary kids are the hardest to drive around. They are extremely loud and fascinated that they can ride somewhere without a seat belt.”

The school bus is a place where students can connect with their peers that live around them. Freshman Emily Spitler met her three best friends on a school bus six years ago.

“I saw them every day and we also we also talked on the bus and hung out a lot since we lived so close. We were bound to become best friends,” Spitler said.

The bus ride to school has also served as a way to meet people for students who don’t live in the neighborhood. Freshman Ashna Patel has lived in the motel her parents have owned her whole life and the kids on the bus are the closest thing she has to neighbors.

“My parents are always working at the motel so they can’t drive me to school. The bus comes all the way to my motel to bring me to and from school every day,” Patel said. “I was extremely lucky to get to go on the bus with some of my best friends. Hanging out with them on the bus is by far the best part of my day.”