NEW YORK—Buses arriving hours late and other issues provoked criticism and sharp inquiries by elected officials and parents Wednesday.
The issues come from a complex system of interwoven school bus routes serving more than 160,000 students and more than 3,500 schools through approximately 16,800 bus runs every day. The system, run by the Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) of the city’s Department of Education, is the largest transportation operation in North America, and globally second only to London’s bus system.
The system is further complicated by different programs for special education students and other students, different requirements for different sets of grades, and the way the education system is set up in New York City—students can apply and go to schools across the city, even if it’s far away from their homes.
In one case, a special education pre-kindergarten student arrived at home more than two hours after he left school. The child’s father had reached the bus attendant on the phone, but she told him she didn’t know where the bus was or when his son would be arriving.
Some parents and most elected officials describe this kind of experience as emblematic, not an anomaly.
“The overall concern is that there are systematic problems with contract school bus service that [the] Department of Education leaves unaddressed year after year,” said Councilman Robert Jackson, chair of the City Council’s Education Committee, at the hearing.
Alleged problems include lack of oversight and lack of timely responses to complaints from parents.
