Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

'The reality is, there is not a quick fix' for the bus driver shortage, CPS Superintendent says

Close up yellow school bus front
Austin Pacheco
/
Unsplash

The Cincinnati School Board is looking for answers to address the issue of retaining enough bus drivers to transport students to school.

Board member Mary Wineberg said she's been getting a lot of emails from parents with concerns about delays and driver mistakes.

"Children arriving late to school, being picked up from school late, not being taken to the correct stops or being asked to get off at incorrect stops," Wineberg said.

Issues with transportation have been persistent within CPS, and many of those same problems have carried over into the current school year.

Superintendent Iranetta Wright agreed with Wineberg about the importance of the issue but noted that a problem this big will take a long time to properly address.

"The reality is, there is not a quick fix," Wright said. "While we want the issue to be fixed immediately, there is not a wand I can raise and fix it immediately."

She says delays and mistakes along bus routes could be due to new and inexperienced drivers.

"It is generally a backup driver that does not know the route, does not know the student, and when the students get off there's really not a way to say specifically 'Yes, this child should get off here or no they should not.' "

Cincinnati Public Schools utilizes school buses, vans, and Metro buses to get students from all over the city to their proper schools. Wright says driver shortages within Metro and contractors used by the school have created a problem with no easy solutions.

"First Student, for example, in the last two weeks hired seven drivers and seven drivers resigned," Wright said. "So as quickly as they're hiring individuals, individuals are also leaving."

Wright suggested offering incentives to current bus drivers to convince them to stay on the job. That and other topics will be discussed at a meeting with some Cincinnati Council Members on November 10.

Zack Carreon is Education reporter for WVXU, covering local school districts and higher education in the Tri-State area.