Yellow Bus Service Sees Modest Gains At Start Of School

Two days into the new school year, parents are reporting problems with buses, but not as many as last year.  

At the start of school last year, bus service was a disaster. Some buses were hours late, some didn’t show up at all. Students reportedly had to give drivers directions. The problems disproportionately affected students with disabilities because so many of them rely on bus service.

Randi Levine is policy director for Advocates for Children, which operates a parent hotline. “Overall, it seems like things went more smoothly this year than last year,” she said. “But we did hear from parents whose buses didn’t show up, whose children couldn’t get on the bus because their IEP-mandated bus paraprofessionals weren’t in place … and who experienced long wait times for assistance.”

While the problems weren’t as widespread as last year, she said they’re still serious. “For each child who had to miss their first day of school, the continuing challenges with bus service have a major impact,” she said.
 
On the first day back at school, education department officials said they received 11,593 calls, less than the 12, 671 calls they got on the first day last year. Miranda Barbot, a spokesperson for the department, said only a small fraction of those calls — 1,424 — were actually complaints. "We successfully bused 149,000 students and 92 percent of routes arrived on time," she said.

Following last year's problems, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza promised a shakeup of the yellow bus system. He put a new leader in charge of the Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) who restructured the department and increased staffing at the call center. Families were sent routes two weeks in advance to register concerns or make corrections, and bus drivers were required to make more dry runs before school started. All buses were also outfitted with GPS.
 
But a third of students who take the bus have disabilities. And advocates for those students say they still heard from many parents who complained of no-show buses and absent paraprofessionals.

"Yesterday, many parents still did not know what time their child was picked up, dropped off, or exactly where their child was at any given time," said Lori Podvesker, a policy director at INCLUDEnyc, a non-profit helping young people with disabilities and their families. She said many parents took the day off to make sure their children got to school safely.

Barbot said the education department is working with families to address their concerns, and plans to roll out a partnership with the ride-sharing app Via later this year that will allow parents to track their children's buses in real time.