portation contract with Howard County to operate 250 new buses and 230 routes. Zum provided comments via a blog on the challenges, including delayed routes, that took place the first two weeks of school. These are only two examples of the several transpor-
tation-related challenges that are making waves and headlines nationwide. According to a recent STN reader survey, the top five challenges amid this year’s school start up were: Staff Shortages, Parent/student behavior, Increase of students requesting transportation services, Routing, and the increased cost of operating school bus- es. STN is diving into the top challenges in this article: staff shortages and how school districts are employing creative ways to continue to transport students safely.
Staff Shortages Chesapeake’s Smith noted that school on Sept. 5. The
district has 468 routes, transporting 31,000 students more than 25,000 miles per day. However, she said this is the busiest startup she’s experienced, due in part to the shortage of bus assistants and securing enough wheel- chair-equipped buses for her routes. To start the school
year, transportation was short approximately 80 drivers, 10 bus assistants, two mechanics and one parts clerk. “We are combining runs, having drivers with shorter
runs double back, splitting runs, and utilizing private carriers to ensure our students get to and from school daily,” she said. Meanwhile, LeRoy Welch, the director of transpor-
tation for Corona-Norco Unified School District in California, shared a similar story. His district started on Aug. 8, and while it maintains scheduling and routing in-house, the contractor partner maintains the fleet, drivers and runs the routes as directed by the district. He shared that the contractor was short 10 percent of its drivers at the end of August. Plus, he said routes were running significantly late every single day. “Our contractor says they continue to have multiple
people sign up for classes and certifications, howev- er, they do not stay and complete the process,” Welch shared. “A lot are weeded out from the get-go. Com- pounding that issue is the time it takes to complete all the coursework and pass all of the tests [to obtain a CDL]. From start to finish it takes about four months, and that
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www.stnonline.com 21
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