Buses
School buses are provided by a third-party bus company and coordinated by the school. See below.
Each school bus has an experienced bus supervisor who accompanies the students in the morning and afternoon where primary students are riding on the bus. According to EDB’s guidelines, the bus supervisor main duty is to take care of primary students only. Each student riding the school bus must accept and abide by the Rules of Respect of the school.
For bus registration and information, please CLICK HERE
Kwoon Chung Motors Co. Ltd. (KCM) will be providing school bus services for students residing outside of Discovery Bay. For enquiries, please email KCM (discovery@kcm.com.hk).
Primary Dismissal Procedures
After the last lesson of each day, teachers in Years 1 through 6 will walk students to the designated areas for dismissal. Students who return home on the school bus are taken to a separate area where bus supervisors and staff members check attendance.
Bus Absense and other Information
For any registered bus riders (students) not taking the morning/whole day buses, you must notify us through ESF App (shown below) before 6.30am on the day.
For any registered bus riders (students) not taking the afternoon buses, you must notify us through ESF App (shown below) by noon on the day.
For general enquiries/service feedback/registration/payment issues, please email to: discovery@kcm.com.hk
For other service escalation, please email to: buses@dc.edu.hk (Please do not send to this email, if you are not taking buses. Please use the ESF App to notify us)
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the arrangements for the Year 1 students on the first few days of the year? No school bus will be provided for Year 1 students. It is strongly recommend that parents arrange to collect their children directly from school on those days to ensure a smooth transition into a new school. Where will the school bus drop off and pick up from at Discovery College? The school buses will drop off at Siena Club and the students will be escorted by Bus Supervisors and Discovery College staff for a short walk through Siena park. Why does my child's bus not leave directly after school?
Students must all be accounted for by Discovery College staff checking the Bus Lists before students are permitted to leave the school premises. This generally takes 5 minutes however some children take longer to come from their class to the bus waiting area, so we allow 10 minutes from the end of school to departure from the school campus.
Due to limited spaces for buses to wait outside Siena Club and some bus-sharing routes, some students may have to wait at the school for a short while. The school will end at 3.10 and buses begin leaving at 3.20. This allows students to safely get from classrooms to the bus waiting area and then be escorted through Siena Park to the buses.
Where some students must wait at the school, they will be supervised in the play areas of the school and should not be waiting longer than 20 minutes at the most before they leave the school to catch their bus.
Why is the bus fee not comparable to public transport?
Discovery College strives to keep the bus fee as low as possible for students travelling to and from school.
The bus fee is not necessarily linked directly to the distance travelled but must also include fixed overhead costs that we pay to the bus service providers such as vehicle hire, fuel costs, and employment of bus supervisors to accompany children during the bus journey.
It is not possible to draw fair comparisons between the bus service provided with public transport and parents/guardians must make decisions on transportation arrangements taking into account all factors and not only cost issues.
What happens if the bus service does not have a route in the area where a student lives?
Where a student lives in an area that is not on the bus route due to insufficient demand in that area, request can be made for such students to KCM directly via email discovery@kcm.com.hk. They will try to find and offer alternative routes that are close to where the student lives.
How a student gets to and from a specific location on a bus route must be arranged by parents/guardians. Discovery College PTA and the bus service provider cannot be held liable for any missed connection.
Can we have different pick-up and drop-off locations for the bus service?
Should a parent/guardian in very exceptional circumstances request a student to disembark at a different location on the same route from which they are picked up on either a regular basis or once in a while, they can submit a request in writing in advance to KCM at discovery@kcm.com.hk, but we can not guarantee that any such request will be met and therefore parents should check on this before making a decision as to whether to use the school buses or not.
Can a student take a bus that has extra capacity only when it is raining and pay a per-trip bus fee? No, the bus service provider and/or Bus Supervisor are not permitted to accept payment directly from any parent/guardian or student. Will parents/guardians/helpers be permitted to use the school bus service? Parents/guardians/helpers will not be permitted to use the school bus service. What if I want to use the bus service but there are no places available? Unfortunately, capacity on the school buses is limited as the residents and management of Discovery Bay wish to limit the number of buses within the Discovery Bay Community. Please email discovery@kcm.com.hk order to join the waiting list for the bus route that you wish to join and you will be contacted as soon as a place becomes available. What if I move during the academic year and I need to change the bus route?
You are required to provide notice of at least one (1) calendar month to KCM in writing to discovery@kcm.com.hk.
Changing to a new bus route will be dependent primarily upon the availability of spaces on the vehicle servicing the bus route and students currently using the bus service on that route are given priority.
Should the fees for a bus route vary and a student is able to be reallocated, the new fee will be enforced effectively from the next payment period. Fees paid will NOT be refundable.
What if I want to stop using the bus service during the academic year? You are required to provide notice at least one (1) calendar month to KCM in writing at discovery@kcm.com.hk. Bus Service Supervision and Safety Concerns
Does the school bus service have a Bus Supervisor on each vehicle?
Yes, A Bus Supervisor is present on every vehicle.
The Bus Supervisors will report any misbehaviour to Discovery College.
Parents/guardians must ensure that each student is aware of the code of conduct while using the bus service and is aware of the consequences that Discovery College will take in the event of misbehaviour including the suspension of the student from using the school buses services. The Rules of Respect must be signed and returned before student/s will be allowed to use the bus service.
The Bus Supervisor will report any safety concerns or incidents where safety is compromised. Such reports will be published with necessary follow-up action also reported.
Does the school bus have seatbelts?
Yes. Each vehicle used for the school bus service from outside Discovery Bay to the school will be fully equipped with seat belts.
Parents/guardians must ensure that each student is aware of the code of conduct while using the bus service, which includes using seatbelts, and is aware of the consequences that Discovery College will take in the event that a student refuses to wear a seatbelt. The Rules of Respect must be signed and returned before student/s will be allowed to use the bus service.