Bus Company Apologizes to Orland District 135 Parents

Orland District 135 has attempted to allay the concerns of parents angry over poor bus service during the start of this school year.

Board members convened a special meeting Wednesday to discuss how the district would handle its working relationship with Positive Connections, one district parents say has been laden with irresponsible drivers and unsafe situations. Parents last week demanded the board fire Positive Connections, which just began serving the district this year.

The board decided to honor its contract with the company, but to also add 30 extra routes with former provider American Bus Company. Positive Connections responded Thursday to parents’ concerns.

—Statement from Positive Connections

The entire Positive Connections team is working diligently to address the school transportation start-up issues at Orland Park District 135. We realize the change in providers, along with routing and schedule changes, have caused some confusion and, in some cases, late vehicles. We sincerely apologize to the district and those families impacted. The good news is our service has consistently improved and more than 90 percent of our buses now are operating on time. We value our relationship with the school district and the Orland Park community and assure you we will not rest until 100 percent of the routes are on schedule, which we expect shortly. We have upgraded our GPS systems and held additional driver training sessions to reinforce all safety rules and local regulations with our staff. We will continue to work closely with the district staff to address the small number of remaining issues on some routes and to meet the high standards of service our company has delivered to this community for more than 10 years. We look forward to delivering outstanding service and demonstrating our commitment to the community in the days ahead.”

— Aaron Halcomb, GM, Positive Connections