New Fleet Of School Buses In Westport In October: Superintendent

WESTPORT, CT — A new fleet of school buses is "expected to be fully operational and ready to transport" Westport Public School students in October, according to Schools Superitendent Thomas Scarice.

In a message to families this week, Scarice said First Student, the district's new school bus provider, will be ready to roll when schools open next week, but the new fleet will be ready in October.

The district moved on from school bus company Dattco last year, following a challenging period where drivers were in short supply.

"I want to emphasize that the first couple of weeks always present with transportation delays as routines settle in, however, we have been assured that most of our former drivers from Dattco have transitioned over to First Student, and that we will have a full roster of drivers ready to transport our students on day one," Scarice wrote.

Because the new fleet of buses will not be available until October, the district's WheresTheBus app for parents will not be operational, but is expected to roll out when the new buses do.

In the meantime, parents with transportation questions should reach out to the principal of their child's school, or contact Transportation Coordinator Buffy Barry at bbarry@westportps.org.