School Bus Service To Resume For 850 Anne Arundel Students Next Week

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Rides to school will be restored to about 850 Anne Arundel County students next week amid a driver shortage as more SUVs and van begin service to pick up kids.

The second phase of Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ Alternative Vehicle Program begins next week, according to a district news release.

Seven more vans or SUVs will be put into service — six on Monday, Dec. 12, and one on Tuesday, Dec. 13 — to transport students with special needs to nonpublic facilities across the region. Buses that have been taking those students will be transferred to general and magnet program routes at comprehensive schools.

The vans and SUVs are driven by drivers who are not required to have CDL licenses and have been acquired through an emergency procurement program approved by the school board earlier this year. More than 1,600 students received service when the first phase of the program launched this week.

Routes were chosen through factors that include the use of an equity lens aimed at identifying and eliminating negative barriers, whether an additional run will result in students getting to school on time or nearly on time, the volume of students expected to ride a bus, and the existing affect on a school that would be served by such an additional run.

Beginning Monday, Dec. 12, these routes will be operating:

• Bus 490 – Ridgeway Elementary School, Old Mill High School, Old Mill Middle School South
• Bus 238 – Broadneck Elementary School, Broadneck High School, Magothy River Middle School
• Bus 333 – Jessup Elementary School, Meade High School, Meade Middle School
• Bus 230 – Severn Elementary School, Meade High School, Meade Middle School
• Bus 208 – Folger McKinsey Elementary School, Severna Park High School, Severna Park Middle School (to be run by Bus 600)
• Bus 393 – Windsor Farm Elementary School (afternoon only, to be run by Bus 201)

Beginning Tuesday, December 13, the following route will be operating:

• Bus 412 – North County High School (to be run by Bus 656)

Schedules with bus stop pickup times can be found on the School Bus Schedules link. The new stops and times will be shown on the page no later than 5 p.m. on Dec. 9.

As with all routes, service on the routes could be affected by sporadic driver unavailability for illness and other personal reasons, the district release said.

Bus route impacts on a given day will continue to be posted online at www.aacps.org/buses, and alerts sent by email and text message to registered bus riders at impacted schools, and on the school system’s Facebook page.

County Executive Steuart Pittman was criticized for the ongoing bus problems during the election campaign by his opponent, Republican Jessica Haire.

Pittman tried to address the bus driver shortage last fall by securing signing and retention bonuses for drivers. Every current or new driver will get a $5,000 bonus. Bus attendants will collect $2,000. Pittman also said this year's budget included a pay raise for school bus drivers.

The county executive hoped this $5.6 million plan would attract more drivers and attendants. The problem, however, extends beyond Anne Arundel County. The entire nation faces a shortage of commercial drivers.

Despite these efforts, some Anne Arundel County bus drivers unionized last year to fight for higher wages. The news came days after Pittman announced the driver bonuses.