Students consider public transportation as Seattle Public Schools sorts out bus services

As Washington’s largest school district prepares to head back to class on Sept. 7, several families don’t know how they will get their children to school.

SEATTLE – As Washington’s largest school district prepares to head back to class on Sept. 7, several families don’t know how they will get their children to school.

During summer break, Seattle Public Schools announced some bus routes may not be in service for the start of the school year. The district assured it would give notice before Sep. 7 to students and parents whose bus routes could be impacted.

As of Sep. 1, families were still waiting for those details.

To avoid any difficulties, incoming freshman Nathan Volk and his father took time to practice a bus route with King County Metro Transit.

“I think I’ll get the hang of it when school comes,” Nathan said.

“It’s nice to have something predictable and not have to worry about calling transportation and saying, ‘My son’s bus has not arrived, when is it going to get here?'” said David Volk, Nathan’s father.

Volk said the reliable city line is what his children prefer, after dealing with unreliable rides from the school district’s transportation service.

“Last year was very frustrating. He was on a route and they often didn’t get him there on time. There were days that the bus did not arrive until an hour or two later, and sometimes the bus didn’t arrive at all . Sometimes the bus driver didn’t know where he or she was going,” said Volk.

On social media, some parents said they feared challenges with the school bus system could be their fate this year.

Seattle Public Schools said due to a national bus driver shortage, some bus routes may not be in service for the start of the school year. Beverly Redmond, the assistant superintendent of public affairs said, “We expect to be able to provide increased service as the school year progresses.”

Some parents complained that because they don’t know which routes will get dropped, everyone’s planning is in limbo. It’s one reason why the Volk family is taking the district’s advice and taking advantage of the bus and light rail systems that are now free for all students 18 and younger.

“Especially for low-income families, because now they can go on a bus without worrying whether they can afford it or not. Because going on a bus every day can cost a lot for a whole school year,” said Nathan.

The district originally contracted with two transportation companies. Part of the routes were awarded to First Student – a client of more than 30 years. The other part was awarded to Zum. After Zum stated it did not have the capacity to fulfill the terms of its contract, SPS announced on Aug. 31, “At the start of the 2022-23 school year, the district requested that First Student take on additional routes while Zum ramps up to its full capacity as anticipated over the first semester.”

“The good news for us in Seattle with First Student is we don’t have a driver shortage right now. We are fully staffed, we are overstaffed. In fact, we have so many drivers that are ready to work and get your kids to school in Seattle, that when our competitor who was awarded part of the contract this year– by the Seattle Public Schools– when they were unable to get ramped up quickly enough to fulfill all their routes, we stepped in because we had the people to do so. So, we picked up an extra 78 routes,” said Scott Gulbransen, senior director of communications for First Student.

In a written statement, Zum said when the right time comes it looks forward to serving Seattle students and families. The statement read, “We share the view of Seattle Public Schools that Zum’s transition is proceeding as planned and looking great on the ground.”