Bus Lateness Still An LTHS Problem?

LA GRANGE, IL – In September, Lyons Township High School officials talked about possibly going out to bid for a new bus company next year.

That was because they were frustrated with the on-time performance of the school's longtime bus contractor, Cincinnati-based First Student.

Officials said they would need to start preparing by year's end if they went out to bid. At the same time, they also said that it would be hard to overcome First Student, which they described as seemingly the "only game in town."

Since the fall, public talk about changing companies has died down. Through a public records request, Patch obtained First Student's performance data.

Of particular concern were buses arriving late on late-start Wednesdays, when classes begin at 9:15 a.m.

On the last Wednesday of August, 10 of the 27 late-start buses were late.

First Student blamed a stalled train in La Grange, but the company suffered from lateness the year before. Many of the drivers are also assigned to First Student routes in other school districts.

Since the beginning of October, First Students has had, at most, five late buses on a late-start Wednesday. During that time, 9.2 percent of buses were late, and another 17.6 percent arrived within five minutes of class starting, which is considered cutting it close.

The most problematic bus routes have been two in Brookfield, one in Countryside and one in La Grange.

Officials have also been concerned about buses picking up students 50 minutes or more after school ends. That has happened 8.3 percent of the time since the beginning of October.

In early September, nine of the 21 afternoon buses departed at least 50 minutes after school ended. Since October, the most buses departing at least 50 minutes late was eight.