Many families with students who use yellow-bus service to get to and from Seattle Public Schools know it’s been a frustrating fall. The district says its contractor’s been short of drivers and that’s led to late service – for example, one week ago today, the district sent parents an update showing some routes were running up to two hours late. The parent who sent us that list noted that it’s not just a problem for families, but also for schools, as staffers have to be assigned to care for students awaiting their late buses. This afternoon, the district has just sent an update on the situation:

To improve reliable student transportation service for its students, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has negotiated a supplemental contract to add 15 general education school buses to the fleet.

The additional buses are operated by Durham Bus Service. They will be put into service on Monday, Oct. 29. The buses are in addition to the current fleet operated by First Student. SPS contracts with First Student to provide yellow school bus service. SPS students and families have experienced transportation challenges this fall due to a lack of qualified drivers. Getting students safely to and from school in a predictable, timely manner is top of mind for SPS Superintendent Denise Juneau. “I am frustrated that the start of school hasn’t been smooth for all of our students and families. Our students deserve timely, predictable transportation to and from school,” she stated.

To help mitigate the problems, SPS initially sought as many bus drivers and buses as possible with the supplemental bus contract. Durham was able to supply 15.

Families and schools are being notified today.

The addition of Durham bus service should be seamless, with the same route stops, pick-up and arrival times that were scheduled with First Student.

In preparation for the change, Durham bus drivers have performed practice runs at least three times to ensure familiarity of the routes.

In addition, the following actions have been taken to improve bus service:

• The SPS transportation department continues to prioritize yellow bus service to Title I schools and for special education students.

• SPS has subcontracted with a special education transportation contractor to expand services.

• Additional ORCA cards have been provided to secondary students when requested by schools or families.

• The transportation department convened a Transportation Task Force that includes transportation and school professionals, parents and community members. Final recommendations from the Task Force to the Superintendent will be shared next week.

Background:

Seattle Public Schools contracts with First Student to provide student transportation. In February
2018, First Student and its drivers came to an agreement after an eight-day strike. This agreement
was supposed to ensure sufficient bus drivers. Although First Student had sufficient drivers at the
end of last school year, many drivers did not return this school year, and bus routes have been
inconsistent since the start of school.

Seattle Public Schools is a microcosm of our city. Finding great employees in a city with low
unemployment and competitive wages has been a challenge for First Student. First Student has
found filling the 411 positions they require to serve SPS challenging, and they have been 15 to
35 positions short since the start of school. When this happens, First Student “doubles up” on
routes to make sure every route is run daily, but this means that some routes are significantly
delayed. In September 2018, First Student agreed to provide a salary increase to all drivers.

Share This