Transportation problems continue to plague Prince George’s County Public Schools, and frustrated parents have been raising concerns with bus pick-ups and drop-offs just two days into the school year.
In one case, the mother of a special needs student said her daughter waited hours on Tuesday morning, only to realize the school bus never went to pick her up.
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WATCH HEREThe mother, who did not want to reveal her identity for fear of retribution against her daughter, said she was stunned when she “got a call that her bus did not show up.”
She had left her daughter at a daycare before school, where the bus was supposed to pick her up. Instead, her mother had to stop working and take matters into her own hands.
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“I had to pick her up at 10:48 a.m. because the bus had not shown up. Her school starts at 9 o’clock,” she said.
On Monday, she dropped her daughter off at Hyattsville Middle School herself. But the plan for the rest of the year was for her to take the bus.
“We’ve done everything we’re supposed to do. But we haven’t received any communication to say, ‘Hey, this is what’s going on with the bus today.’ Not a text message, not an email or anything. We’re just kind of left in the dark,” she said.
And that mother isn’t alone when it comes to her concerns.
On Monday, Telemundo 44’s Darío López-Capera reported on an incident where a pre-k student mistakenly got off at the wrong bus stop. López-Capera had to call the boy’s mother to come pick up the child.
The school system’s policy states that drivers are supposed to return young students back to school if they are not picked up at a bus stop by a parent, sibling or caretaker.
In a statement, Prince George's County Public Schools said it is “committed to safe, on-time arrivals and departures of our students amid a national bus driver shortage. We are currently at an 83% fill rate for bus drivers. Even with our very best efforts, delays should be expected. We are asking for patience during the first few weeks of school as drivers become acclimated to routes and increased traffic within the county. The school system will be making daily adjustments along with the doubling of runs to address and fill gaps. We will do our best to minimize wait times and communicate delays at the school level when possible. Parents can use the StopFinder app to track the location of the child’s bus. We are also working on an email and text message notification system.”
The mother who spoke to News4 on Tuesday said she understands there can be transportation hiccups at the start of the year, but what happened to her daughter is unacceptable.
“While I understand there may be some deficits in staffing, there need to be contingency plans in place, and that’s their responsibility,” she said.
As for what this mother will do tomorrow, she said she really doesn’t have a choice. She has to rely on the bus to take her daughter to school, and she’s hopeful the issue gets resolved.
