School bus delays plague Ambridge Area School District, parents say

AMBRIDGE, Pa. (KDKA) — The first few days of school are off to a rough start in the Ambridge Area School District.

On Monday, KDKA-TV received numerous phone calls from frustrated parents. School has been in session for three days, but parents say problems with transportation are endangering their kids.

Christine Withrow says her 13-year-old son's school bus came on time to the bus stop for two days last week. But on Monday, something changed, and she was far from alone.

"And 117 a.m. and p.m. will be one hour late until further notice," an automated call told parents on Sunday night.

Parents of students on three buses were all told their buses would be delayed, including Withrow.

"It's affecting my child's education because he is now going to miss multiple class periods and he is going to fall behind," Withrow said.

"We had to wake our son up at 5:15 a.m. to send him to a friend's house to get on at another bus stop," she added. "He was brought to that bus stop, and that bus never showed up, and that bus was not on the list."

She said they waited for a half-hour. Other parents experienced similar delays on Monday morning.

"I was angry," Withrow said.

Private company ABC Transit provides transportation for students in the district. Parent Jessica Gill said she was never given a bus schedule for her daughter and that she frantically started making calls to try and find her after waiting about 30 minutes in the afternoon.

"I was very scared," Gill said.

"She never got home until 3:33 p.m.," Gill added.

"What time does the school let out," KDKA-TV's Ricky Sayer asked.

"Two-thirty p.m. ... It took an hour for a 4-year-old to get home," Gill said.

KDKA-TV's calls to the superintendent's office on Monday were not returned.

"We just can't get answers from anyone," Withrow said. "All we want is answers."

Her son's bus was supposed to leave school at 2:20 p.m. on Monday. She got a text at 4 p.m. saying his bus was delayed and had not left the school. The call did not provide an estimated time of arrival.

"The district and the bus company need to get their act together to keep our students safe and parents less worried," Gill said.

KDKA-TV attempted to get a comment from ABC Transit on Monday. When we entered their office we could overhear an employee speaking with a manager, saying that a KDKA-TV reporter was speaking to parents.

The ABC Transit manager was William Metz, who also serves as the vice president of the Ambridge Area School Board. However, he at first denied that to be accurate.

KDKA-TV first asked the Metz if he had any comment. He declined.

Second, KDKA-TV asked the manager if he was William Metz. Metz said that he isn't the same guy.

Only when a KDKA-TV reporter showed Metz his photo on the district's website did he admit to being Metz, the school board vice president.

Pressed for further comment, Metz declined, saying his role within the school board and at the bus company are two "different worlds."