Concerns over SLPS bus shortage before school year starts

ST. LOUIS – With the start of the school year on Monday, families and students already have plenty to manage. Transportation has become an even bigger concern, months after the primary bus vendor terminated its contract with St. Louis Public Schools.

“Oftentimes, the school district has complained about attendance, and we know attendance affects scores and achievement, but they can’t get the kids to school to achieve,” Chester Asher, founder of Coalition with STL Kids, said. “So, it has a direct impact on achievement when they can’t get to school.”

School officials have disbursed gas cards and plan for a combination of buses, shuttles, and taxis to be utilized for student transportation. On Saturday, one of those new vendors, Xtra Care Services, announced it could not provide six buses as planned, so the families of roughly 1,000 SLPS students must change their transportation plans. Other vendors were also adapting their plans on Friday and Wednesday of last week.

The late-stage modifications to the school district are cause for concern among parents.

“A lot of parents, you know, they don’t have reliable transportation, so I’m anxious to see how that’s going to play out,” Ronnie Bates said. “And even the ones that does, their schedule’s pretty cramped.”

Hundreds of high schoolers will be taking MetroBus to travel to and from their classes. SLPS purchased Student Semester Passes and is distributing the transit passes for high school students who need transportation to and from school. Some parents are understanding and grateful for this.

FOX 2 reached out to SLPS and has not received any new information as of Sunday night. Before school begins, make sure to have a communication plan with your children and know how they are getting to and from school.

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