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‘Buses will be delayed’ texts coming from York County school bus drivers

Posted at 2:52 PM, May 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-15 15:15:48-04

YORK COUNTY, Va. - School buses late going to and coming from school in York County has been a huge problem and parents say it is getting old.

Texting has been a recent form of communication bus drivers are using with parents who are waiting.

"Normally if our bus is supposed to come at 8:23 and then five minutes goes by and then ten minutes go by, then we start wondering if the text is going to come from the transportation department," says one York County mother.

Parents say the usual text they'll receive from their child's bus driver will have the bus route number and a specific time of how far they're away from the stop.

But some frustrated parents who have to go to work or plan for someone to pick up their child say that simple text can disrupt their whole day.

Some parents believe the school bus driver shortage is coming from the lack of money the drivers are getting paid.

"I don't think they're getting paid enough. They do a really important service and I trust them with my kids. They make sure everyone gets to school safely. So, I think that's something the school board needs to look at is raising the rates," said one parent.

York County Schools sent News 3 the following statement in response to the issue:

The school division is actively working to address the transportation delays experienced this year. While new routing software has reduced the number of overall bus routes, the division continues to face staffing shortages. Communication is another challenge we are addressing, with additional staff being trained on both the new app notification system and our existing phone call systems.