money. The system believes these continuity payments are necessary and appropriate to maintain the student transportation system.” NSTA President John Benish, who is also the chief op-


erating officer for Cook-Illinois Corporation in Chicago, said the driver situation worsened the longer schools remained closed. “A lot of people went on unemploy- ment and that helped, but a lot of people got burned,” he said. “We rode it out, but it was difficult because it was so unexpected.” NSTA and the likes of the United Motorcoach Asso-


ciation and the American Bus Association had hoped monetary relief was on the way with the Coronavirus Emergency Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Act that made its way into the $989 billion Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, signed into effect in late December. But instead of the original $8 billion requested, school bus contractors and affiliate commercial bus companies must divvy up $2 billion with the passenger vessel industry. As of mid-March, the operators were still awaiting details on the application program being administered by the U.S. Treasury Department. Even with President Joe Biden’s


suggestion that normalcy will return by the summer, most contractors are scrambling to continue operating in the face of plummeting revenues. They are implementing internal cost-cutting measures while working with school districts and lawmakers to gain some type of immediate financial relief and future safeguards against situations that might wreak similar havoc. Funding formulas and contractual provisions are of paramount importance going forward, experts said, adding that settling for the status quo while waiting for something positive to happen is out of the question. State and national transportation associations have taken efforts to seek assistance for their members, even while their members struggle to pay dues back to the organizations. “No one predicted this pandemic, but it gives us the


You got to be engaging with school districts and other stakeholders to plan and take a deep dive into your own organizations.” What they have found, however, is that some school


districts will not pay for services not rendered and that many lawmakers lack the awareness to fully under- stand the vital role private school bus contractors play in a key subplot to what has become a nationwide education drama. Contractors have been hit particularly hard in New York.


State Sen. Mike Martucci, a former president of the New York School Bus Contractors Association, conceded that there is limited understanding of the importance of private contractors among lawmakers there, but said he hopes his unique perspective and the efforts of industry representatives will change this. “Private bus contractors play a key role


79%


of readers are not currently partnering with school bus


contractors. (Out of 101


responses to a magazine survey.)


in New York’s education system,” said Martucci, who was elected to a first term in November. “Private bus companies transport more than half of New York’s 2.3 million children to and from school each day. The pandemic has signifi- cantly impacted the private school transportation industry and I believe the State of New York will have to take steps to protect and preserve the industry and the essential service it provides.” Martucci added that a key issue is guaranteed contracts, because the pandemic has shown that a contract with a school district may not be en- forceable during a state of emergency. “That means a company [could] lose all


revenue for that year,” he explained. “I’m sure there will be some discussion about whether or not there should be some daily guarantee even if it is not at the full rate. It’s very difficult to keep people employed when you are only able to tell them you need them on short notice.” Martucci said any relief efforts being considered by


opportunity to stand back and review the student trans- portation funding formulas,” said Curt Macysyn, NSTA’s executive director, suggesting that private contractors now represent up to 40 percent of the student trans- portation industry. “We said early on that standing pat was not an option here, so wherever you’re at or what- ever you’re doing, you’ve got to be moving forward.


lawmakers would be impacted by the amount of fed- eral aid that is approved. His suggestions for recovery include guaranteed service levels in contracts, com- pensation for non-student transportation services (delivering meals and laptops), and funding for personal protective equipment and vehicle accommodations for health and safety. “I do think there should be some movement toward


looking at bus contracts with school districts and the im- pact of the pandemic, remote learning, and other things that strongly impact the ability of a bus company to have predictability in terms of revenue,” he said.


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