As more school districts consider alternative transportation partners to transport students during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, knowing the right questions to ask remains paramount.


Written By Taylor Hannon taylor@stnonline.com


T 24 School Transportation News • SEPTEMBER 2020


he entire student transportation industry is built on trust. Par- ents have to trust that school districts will pick up their children when they send them to the bus stop. Transportation direc- tors have to trust their school bus drivers’ abilities to transport


students safely. And school bus drivers have to trust that the students will behave, for the most part, to ensure a safe, smooth ride. But the expectations of trust this school year have skyrocketed. School


bus drivers, transportation directors, students and parents have to trust one another on the premise that no one is boarding with COVID-19 symptoms. That same level of trust carries over to alternative transporta- tion companies and contractors, as they’re held to the same standards as school bus operations when it come to additional cleaning procedures, social distancing and personal protective equipment. Besides the ongoing school bus driver shortage, transportation direc-


tors are now faced with fear and anxiety from older drivers who may not return back to work, social distancing guidelines that reduce school bus capacity, and the number of children that could possibly be dis- placed from their homes due to their parent’s unemployment. Alternative


PHOTO CURTESY OF FIRST STUDENT


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62