A bell rings, and morning announcements play. Students gather in their classes, ready to start another day of learning. However, many students stay stuck on their buses, late to class as their bus was late to their stop. Academic Director Kaylin Brett and AISD transportation worked quickly to find a solution to the late arrival of buses in the morning and afternoon.
As the beginning of the school year kicked off, administrators realized a recurring problem of the buses being late and overcrowded during the first week of school.
“The first week of school always has bus delays due to a variety of reasons,” Bret said, “Traffic is always heavier once school starts, and since high school is the last to start and release in the district, many buses are delayed due to their elementary and middle school routes.”
The past two weeks, buses have been settling into a more routine schedule and AISD transportation is changing the routes for certain buses to help create a more balanced load and alleviate some of the crowding.
“It’s always uncomfortable to be on an overcrowded bus, but more importantly, it is not safe,” Bret said, “I am happy transportation acted quickly to alleviate the overcrowded buses.”
The improvements being made are helpful and necessary, but aren’t being received by all students in the same manner.
“We have another stop being moved to our bus, so it’s more crowded than it was the first week,” sophomore Clover Campbell said, “And with people’s backpacks, sports bags, and instruments, it’s just not very practical.”
Meanwhile, the majority of the students whose stops are being moved on, have a positive outlook on the changes being made and are grateful to the staff for their quick response.
“The chaos of the first week was definitely reflected in the buses,” sophomore Mira Drake said, “Hopefully it will help now that my stop is being moved to a different bus.”
