Bus Concerns

To the Editor:

For this current school year I was informed by MTM that I had to contact Pupil Services in order to confirm my youngest daughter’s special needs transportation. I contacted Sally at Pupil Services at the beginning of August and was told our daughter was assigned to ride on a van. I told Sally that my daughter was on All-Star regular route bus #18 and was told she would fix it. On August 14, my husband and I met with Sally who verified our daughter was on a van with an aide. Six days later, I called MTM and was informed by Maria that our daughter was assigned to ride on a 47-passenger bus with an aide. She was then assigned back to a van with an aide.

On August 27, Maria told me that our daughter was now assigned to minibus #48 with an aide. On the first day of school, All-Star bus #18 arrived at our house at 8:35 am to pick up our daughter. I told the bus driver that our daughter is supposed to ride on an MTM minibus with another special needs child. On September 4, my daughter boarded the minibus at 9 am. School starts at 9:05 am. The driver told me that she was tied up in traffic for her high school run. Later that day, my daughter arrived home at 4:20 pm.

Last week, my daughter and other children were waiting 20 minutes for the minibus to pick them up at school. Dismissal time is 3:37 pm. My daughter arrived home at 4:30 pm. This is unacceptable.

All-Star is in charge of all bus routes. They took over many of MTM’s routes even though MTM’s contract has two years remaining. All-Star is unfamiliar with the number of special need children in Newtown and their specific needs.

My oldest daughter boards bus #25 to attend middle school. The bus is overcrowded with middle schoolers and high schoolers and she has difficulty finding a seat going to and arriving from school. We were told no conversations are allowed with the drivers and to contact All-Star.

On September 4, we got a message from the middle school principal requesting all middle school and high school students to be at their bus stops five to ten minutes earlier. The bus drivers were supposed to tell students what time they would arrive. My daughter’s driver never mentioned anything to her.

What happens if a child leaves school and does not get off the bus at home? When All-Star is contacted, there is no answer and the school only says the child has boarded the bus. What happens then? What happens with early release and 90-minute delays? It will be interesting too see.

Karen Visca

30 Mile Hill South Road, Newtown                      September 5, 2012