First Few Days Of Busing Requires Patience

By Susan Coney

The wheels on the bus go round and round all around the town.

 The verse from the familiar children’s song certainly applies when you are talking about the 60 square miles that Newtown school buses traverse delivering some 5,900 children to and from school each day. It is a huge undertaking to fine tune the bus schedule and to pull it off successfully everyday without a major glitch.

“Patience and indulgence is what we need the first couple of weeks of school until the kids get acclimated and into the flow of things,” stressed Anthony DiLonardo, transportation director for the Newtown schools.

Mr DiLonardo, feeling confident heading into his second year as transportation director, explained that basically everything will run in a similar fashion as last year’s three-tier system. With the assistance of VersaTrans, the bus route software that the school system began using last year, the busing process works well. “It is second to none,” raved Mr DiLonardo. “The VersaTrans system has really delivered what they said they would. Their support and training are excellent.” he continued.

Assistant Superintendent Alice Jackson wanted to reassure parents that the first few weeks of school require patience on everyone’s part. “It’s much more like loading an airplane the first couple of times. It takes a while for the kids, especially kindergarten and first graders, to know where their bus parks at the end of the day. You have to be careful to make sure you have every child on the right bus. If it’s not on time it is because we are being careful and proceeding in an organized manner,” Ms Jackson emphasized. She also added that since the buses service different schools a delay in a high school bus may trickle down into the next wave causing a lower school bus to be delayed.

Mr DiLonardo attributes a smooth operation of the bus system to a team effort on the part of his bus drivers and his transportation staff Cathy Hydeck and Maritza Nezvesky. “We are so fortunate that we are all committed to one goal. We have wonderful staff and our drivers know the people and the kids on their route,” he said. “The drivers have an enormous responsibility; you have to be able to control your bus and the students and with the tight curves, steep hills, and less than optimum paving it is challenging,” Mr DiLonardo emphasized. He continued by saying, “I am proud of my drivers; our corps of drivers are well trained and top rate. Newtown should be proud of their bus drivers!”

Mr DiLonardo said that Sue Hickey, bus #32, has been added to the team of drivers. “Sue was a spare driver and we added her basically due to growth. She has driven for us in the past when we needed an additional driver,” he related.

To ensure that delivery of Newtown’s school children continues to be successful, Mr DiLonardo holds monthly breakfast meetings with the drivers to relay any news, review safety issues, and provide staff with reminders constantly, reinforcing safety rules that will become ingrained in the driver.

Mr DiLonardo said, “I look forward to the start up of the school year and I think that people will be pleasantly surprised.”

Parents whose children ride on the smaller MLM Transportation, Inc buses should be made aware that MLM will become MTM Transportation, Inc for the upcoming school year and the logo on the bus will read MTM.

For questions or more information regarding this year’s bus schedule contact the transportation department at 426-7613.