MCPS parents frustrated with busing issues as district faces driver shortage

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (7News) — Kids were cold and crying, parents were late for work, unclear if buses were coming and no notifications -- These are just some of the complaints this week in Montgomery County.

The same week Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) announced the purchase of a fleet of electric buses, but many parents are asking who is going to drive them. The public school webpage that gives a list of all the school bus routes shows dozens of “uncovered” routes each week. Some parents say they are not getting calls or emails and the webpage they say doesn’t always update correctly...

MCPS parents frustrated with busing issues as district faces driver shortage | WJLA

Breaking: MCPS Missing Drivers for *** 46 Bus Routes Today ***. #COVIDisAirborne

Bus Routes, Bell Times, and Bus Depots by School: Department of Transportation - Montgomery County Public Schools (montgomeryschoolsmd.org)

@mcps Still Can't Find Bus Drivers for Summer Programs, Including Special Education Schools

 IMPORTANT MESSAGE: 7/18/2022 at 8:02 AM -- Refresh page to update message

The following bus routes will not be served on July 18 due to staffing challenges, S2422, 2502, 2216, 2307, 4304, 4415, 4237, 4605 and 4406. Visit the Department of Transportation website for up to date information

The following summer program bus routes do not have coverage for the morning of July 18. This list is up to date as of  8:00 a.m.

 

Route #	AM Schools	PM Schools
S2422	Northwest HS & Darnestown ES	Northwest HS & Darnestown ES
S2502	Poolesville HS & Maryvale ES	Poolesville HS & Maryvale ES
S2216	Clarksburg HS & Little Bennet ES	Clarksburg HS & Little Bennet ES
S2307	Jones Lane ES & Marshall ES	Jones Lane ES & Marshall ES
S4304		Rica  &  Matsunaga ES
S4415	Longview	Longview
S4237	Seneca Valley HS   &  Watkins Mill ES	Seneca Valley HS   &  Watkins Mill ES
S4605	Katherine Thomas	Beall ES   &   Katherine Thomas
S4406	Longview	Longview

@mcps Can't Find Bus Drivers for 13 Schools for Summer Programs?

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: 7/11/2022 at 7:00 AM

The following bus routes will not be served on July 11 due to staffing challenges, S2107, S2220, S2402, S2422, S2426. Visit the Department of Transportation website for up to date information

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/transportation/

Bus Routes not covered for Jan 10, 2022, announcement from MCPS

Here is the list of bus routes from MCPS. To read the entire announcement go here.

Routes Not Covered-Jan 10 (2) by freestategal on Scribd

In nearby Montgomery County, parents who let their 6-year-old and 10-year-old children walk a mile home alone from local parks was investigated by Child Protective Services for neglect.

5-Year-Old Shouldn't Be Expected to Walk Mile to School, Maryland Father Says

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/5-Year-Old-Shouldnt-Be-Expected-to-Walk-Mile-to-School-Maryland-Father-Says-391091281.html?_osource=SocialFlowFB_DCBrand

WJLA: Question: Should middle-schoolers be forced to walk up to 1.5 miles to school?

http://wjla.com/news/local/parents-calling-for-changes-in-their-childrens-walk-to-school-in-montgomery-county

approximately 300 routes were below 50 percent of MCPS’ bus capacity

From the 2016 Maryland State Office of Legislative Services audit of MCPS:

State Auditors, some parents want assigned buses, but MCPS says NO

Gazette: Mix-up has students dropped off at wrong bus stop

...That’s when she looked up Saul Road to see a group of about 20 children crossing the road.
It turned out that the bus driver had dropped the children off at the wrong stop, which was about a half mile away. It fell to Itzkowitz and the two grandmothers to shepherd the children home.
Mix-ups like these are all too likely, say some parents of Montgomery County Public School students, when buses are driven by substitutes who do not know the routes, the children or where the stops are.
Parents want to see some sort of a system in place — such as assigned buses or adult bus monitors — that would minimize these incidents. They also want a way to communicate with the school system when these problems arise.
In 2009, Maryland’s Office of Legislative Audits suggested the county assign students to specific buses so that students can be tracked, an approach used in school systems across the country.
“Not assigning a student to a specific bus route creates a safety concern since MCPS may not readily be able to determine the location of a particular student,” according to a 2009 audit. The office recommended the school system adopt the assigned bus system.
The school system responded that it had considered the idea but deemed it too labor intensive...

 http://www.gazette.net/article/20131009/NEWS/131009089/0/gazette&template=gazette

WJ High School Parent: Start School Later!

Watch the video first, then read the Audit:

Superintendent Joshua Starr may not be familiar with what the State of Maryland Audit said about MCPS transportation routing procedures.  The 2009 State Audit (see page 45) found ways that the MCPS bus service could be improved.  The MCPS response?  "We do not agree."


Maryland State Audit Recommendation 14 (see page 8)
MCPS should enhance existing policies to address all appropriate factors that impact bus routing.  MCPS should also use the automated routing software in conjunction with other relevant information to help improve the efficiency of bus routes. In this regard, MCPS should consider changing its policy by requiring students to ride a specific bus route.

MCPS Response 
MCPS agrees and is committed to addressing all factors that will improve the efficiency of bus routes. The Department of Transportation utilizes an annual process of reviewing all routes. This process requires depot supervisors and routers to analyze all regular education bus routes for safety and efficiency. All factors contributing to safety and route efficiency are considered, including student load, mileage, ride time, and stop locations. Information is obtained from a variety of sources, including the computer assisted routing program, MapNet. As these factors are considered, recommendations for safety and efficiency improvements are formulated.
Following this process at the depot level, the depot and routing staff are required to present review results to a panel consisting of the director, assistant director, and bus operations manager. When recommended route improvements are approved by the department director, a timeline for implementation is established. A study is under way to determine if this process would be effective in reviewing special education bus routes.

We do not agree with the recommendation that students should be required to ride a specific bus route. The Department of Transportation has previously considered assigning students to specific routes and stops, but has rejected this idea. Accurately assigning students to specific stops would require maintaining data on the pick-up and drop-off address. MCPS has experience doing this with special education students, where students are assigned to specific stops. This is
a very labor intensive process. In addition, changes to initial student information are received for 50 percent of the students on an annual basis. In regular education, it is much more efficient to publish stop locations and allow students to use the stop that works best for them. In addition, assigning students to a specific stop is not possible since we do not know about day care arrangements or other places students may be before or after school. One variable that is not
known until school starts is how many eligible bus riders will use some other form of transportation to get to and from school. Many parents drive students to school. Because this number is hard to predict, it sometimes leads to over- or under-loaded buses. Adjustments are made shortly after the school year starts. Allowing families to choose a bus stop accommodates family needs and provides greater customer service.

Gazette: School system holds off on cutting stops

No students to lose bus service at Germantown school

After being told they had to walk or find a ride to school next year, some Kingsview Middle School students will still have a bus to board...

TOWN COURIER: Busted on the Bus

Busted on the Bus

January 11, 2011

By Krista Brick

A busload of Lakelands Park Middle School (LPMS) students got a round trip ride recently when their bus driver returned them to school for misbehaving.

Bus 2325 was taking kids home after school on Nov. 29 when students on the bus started to act up, according to Tom Watkins, Montgomery County Director of Transportation. He said students were toying with the emergency window levers, tripping the emergency buzzing sound they make when opened.

Unable to get the students to stop, the driver made a u-turn and took them back to school...

Cleaner School Buses on the Way, Thanks Environmental Defense Fund!

As part of the settlement regarding construction of the Inter-County Connector (ICC), MCPS will be required to retrofit our school buses to reduce dangerous air pollution caused by diesel fuel. According to the Washington Post, in an article written by Katherine Shaver, the Environmental Defense Fund agreed to the settlement which includes the air pollution reduction requirements, as well as adding Beltway air monitors to measure the dangerous particulate matter that we and our children breathe in daily here in Montgomery County. Yes, folks, lots of traffic is more than aggravation, it is spews out dangerous, life-threatening particulate matter into our air.


What is particulate matter? According to the EPA,

"Fine particulate matter is a health concern because very fine particles can reach the deepest regions of the lungs. Health effects include asthma, difficult or painful breathing, and chronic bronchitis, especially in children and the elderly. Fine particulate matter associated with diesel exhaust is also thought to cause lung cancer and is therefore listed as a mobile source air toxic. Fine particulate matter can travel long distances on air currents and is also a major cause of haze, which reduces visibility, affecting cities and scenic areas throughout the United States."

This dangerous particulate matter accumulates inside school buses. It is aggravated by bus idling.

According to the Environmental Defense Fund,

"Diesel pollution from the tailpipe and the engine concentrates inside the bus. Pollution enters through the door and seeps into the cabin through tiny openings when the bus is in motion. Idling exacerbates the problem: It causes a build-up of pollution that is let into the bus when the doors open. Children can receive an extra dose of pollution every time they ride, a real cause for concern, because even short-term exposure to high levels of particulate pollution can have harmful health effects."

So thank you to those who worked on the ICC issue and to the Environmental Defense Fund.

According to the Washington Post article,

“When the ICC opens beginning in stages this spring, motorists will drive past Drew Elementary School’s playing fields in Silver Spring and Magruder High School in Rockville.”

According to Todd Watkins, the MCPS transportation director, who was interviewed for the same article, ‘pollution filters on buses can have a significant impact in a large county such as Montgomery, where 1,270 school buses log a total of 100,000 miles – about four trips around the equator – each school day.’

Now that the Environmental Defense Fund has done its work, it’s your turn. Speak up at your school and ask your councilmember, when will all the school buses be retrofitted, and more importantly, when will we and our children breathe clean air? Here’s what you can do:

• Ask MCPS to require clean buses
• Help set up no-idling zones outside your school
• Be a good role model: Do not leave your car idling

The Town Courier: MCPS Checks Lakelands Bus Routes

MCPS Checks Lakelands Bus Routes

October 12, 2010

By Krista Brick

Montgomery County school officials may check to make sure students are eligible to ride school buses after some concern about crowded buses.

Parents with kids getting picked up at two stops in Lakelands got letters recently reminding them that only students outside the designated walk area may catch a ride to Rachel Carson Elementary School...

 ,,,“The trigger was the bus outside of the Lakelands. If there were a large number of non-eligible transported students, we could then shift our resources using this bus to help out the other bus serving outside the Lakelands and the possibility of combining both into one bus,” he said.

In evaluating the stops, Punturiero said he wanted to get an accurate count of who was riding the bus but should actually have been walking to school.

“We sent out a general letter that stated if you live within the walk boundary, you are a walker. That created an uproar in the community,” Punturiero said.

After getting complaints from parents, Punturiero personally visited the bus stops on two occasions. Each time he said the buses had an adequate number of seats to accommodate the students...