Washtenaw Intermediate School District busing service is improving, officials say
Area school officials say they're seeing improvements in the transportation consolidation between the Ann Arbor, Willow Run and Ypsilanti school districts as the new system enters its third week.
Brian Marcel, the Washtenaw Intermediate School District’s assistant superintendent for business services, said the second week of bus services operated much more smoothly than the first week, which was marked by delays and frustration.
Students board a school bus in Ann Arbor in this file photo.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
“We’re streamlining the routes — shortening those that are running long and eliminating scheduled bus stops at which no children are present to be picked up," Marcel said in a statement. “And we’ll continue to make adjustments as needed.”
The WISD took over busing services for the three districts at the beginning of the school year. The first week saw problems in each district as students were being picked up late or not at all at some bus stops.
Many of the problems occurred in Ypsilanti. District spokeswoman Emma Jackson said phone calls to the district have diminished, and improvements should continue to be seen.
“It is improving, the time factor is improving,” she said. “Some drivers completed training and were on the job for the first time last week, which led to a few hiccups, with new people on the routes, there will be a few delays, but by the end of the week it was better.”
Comments
Andy Poli
Thu, Sep 23, 2010 : 5:22 p.m.
Our experience is not so good. My daughter is fifteen minutes late every day - improving though from 30 minutes at the beginning of the year. I would normally assume that this was due to construction or some other uncontrollable event - but not according to the bus driver. Yesterday, my daughter told me that the bus driver threatened the kids to be quiet or else they would be late again. So, clearly its the kids fault. I'm not feeling the level of caring that I felt from previous bus drivers.
jns131
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 8:34 a.m.
From what I am hearing morale is extremely low and the current drivers are working more hours then expected. Plus they are being shipped from Ypsi to Ann Arbor to Willow Run. So for some? They have no clue where they are going to be on any given day. This is not for me. I like knowing where I am every single day. Glad I am not working for WISD. Good luck with this bus thing. Mine takes a public bus home 3 days a week. Much faster this way too.
Macabre Sunset
Tue, Sep 21, 2010 : 12:23 a.m.
Isn't it performing better because so many parents are driving their kids to school?
L'chaim
Mon, Sep 20, 2010 : 2:09 p.m.
The survey question is not aptly phrased. Improvements since the school year began implies the question "is it better than it was last year" not just last week. Since it's designed to be exactly the same, but less costly, we don't really expect it deliver better service than it did last year. The first two weeks saw quality of service way down compared to average service in years past, even compared to the same time period in years past ("the first two weeks"). Of course, that could have been expected given the following factors: 1)UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT, 2) HUGE INCREASE IN INEXPERIENCED DRIVERS and 3) TALENT DRAIN FROM LOSING RETIRED DRIVERS AND OTHERS WHO EITHER DID NOT APPLY TO WORK AT WISD OR WERE NOT REHIRED. I also think it's important to judge "the busing system" on more than a service delivery basis. How have working conditions affected the drivers and monitors? What is their experience like? How does this affect student experience? Is the new management responsive to the needs of drivers and monitors? Improvement now has as much to do with developing new cadre experience as it does with "streamlining routes and making other adjustments."