Holy f-n sh-t. Whatever happened to chivalry?
I mean, she has already demonstrated that she's interested enough to ride the f-n bus to see you. What's the problem with dropping her off? Have you ever ridden the bus? it freaking sucks, especially at night.
No, it's not "nice", it is just considerate. You're not taking her to buy her groceries or shopping, aren't you? You're just saving her --what, let's see, 30 mins in car must be like 1 to 1:30 hours by bus-- just to see you.
But really, why are you picking places 30 minutes away from her home? you're not picking special/popular/upscale/expensive date places just to impress her, aren't you? There should be simple coffeehouses / eateries / bars near every neighborhood. Simple logistics. If the place is 5-10 mins away you could even pick her up and drop her off without being "nice" at all and build intimacy. Were you really planning on kissing her and then dropping her off at the bus stop? if that isn't awkward, I don't know what is.
In my experience, the best makeout sessions are to be had before dropping the girl off. It can only get better from there (yes, getting invited inside IS NATURAL after getting her all wet from a great makeout session). It's not going to happen like: -"Ok, so here we are, see you later" -"Oh, wanna come inside?", unless she's a straight hore. You build intimacy gradually. Argh!!!
If you're not making out and/or heavily touching by now, which is the third date, you are definitely f-n up in a major way; I don't care how many times you say "she's not like that".