Parents bemoan bus glitches on first day of school

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This article was published 04/09/2024 (735 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Pembina Trails School Division is grappling with glitches as it rolls out a new app to keep parents in-the-know about busing schedules and avoid a repeat of recent transit troubles.

“The bare minimum is for them to be able to guarantee that our children, especially children in the catchment (who live) far from their school, are able to get to school to get their education,” said Nadia Orellana, a mother in Bridgwater Trails who made last-minute arrangements to get her daughter to Grade 5 as classes kicked off Wednesday.

Senior administration announced over the summer that MyRide K-12 was becoming “the primary communication tool” between its transportation department and families registered for busing.

Pembina Trails indicated in an Aug. 15 bulletin that schedule information for eligible riders would be available on the free app on or before Aug. 30.

Orellana remained without an itinerary Wednesday, despite refreshing the app over and over again.

A notification on her profile apologized for ongoing delays in routing and schedule information.

“Why can they not get the priorities straight before the first day of school?” said Jana Silva, a mother of two in Pembina Trails.

Silva received inaccurate and incomplete transportation information, and this is not the first year she’s experienced busing issues ahead of back-to-school season. “Enough is enough already,” she said.

In September 2021, a slew of problems including lengthy waits at stops and children being mistakenly left off lists led a former superintendent to record a video apology at a bus compound.

At the time, the chief executive officer said Pembina Trails would be undertaking a review of what happened and improving its scheduling, routing and communication in response.

Superintendent Shelley Amos said new software was acquired to assist the transportation unit in response to growing enrolment and it, along with the new app, are expected to improve service.

Amos was not available for an interview Wednesday but released a statement.

“Most families have received their information; however, the implementation of this new software has resulted in some unforeseen challenges, which has created complications in communicating bus routes and schedules,” she said in statement, adding less than 10 per cent of the eligible ridership has been impacted.

Amos acknowledged the technical challenges have caused uncertainty and delayed information and apologized for the inconvenience.

Orellana said she’s been dismayed by the disorganization and limited communication about it.

Last year, she received a phone call to confirm when and where her daughter needed to be to catch the school bus.

There’s been silence since reapplying for busing in June, she said, adding she was unable to reach anyone at the board office with information before Wednesday and sought updates via crowdsourcing, a neighbour and the division’s website.

She drove her eldest child to Henry G. Izatt Middle School on Wednesday and arrived to work late as a result.

In Silva’s case, the app displayed an incorrect pick-up and drop-off location for her daughter enrolled in Westdale School and no details for her son who attends Beaumont School.

Subsequent calls and emails went unanswered before their first day back, she said, adding her family pleaded with their daycare to waive a policy requiring families provide route details before any given school year in order to attend.

Both mothers said they wished the division had piloted the app in the spring to work out kinks.

Transportation officials provided an update to families via mass email following dismissal on Wednesday.

Parents with missing or incorrect schedules are being asked to make transportation arrangements until their app is updated accurately.

Citing a bus driver shortage and increasing demand for rides, the division has made fundamental changes to its busing model over the last two years.

In 2022-23, the division moved stops to feeder streets to reduce ride times.

Last year, it adjusted bell start and end times at roughly half of its schools to double-route buses.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca