County Executive 'Shares Frustration' With Parents About HCPSS Bus Problems

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — After bus driver vacancies and bus route delays marred the first day of school for Howard County Public School System families, County Executive Calvin Ball addressed the situation after countless families contacted his office with concerns.

“With the start of the 2023-2024 school year on Monday, Aug. 28, our Howard County government team is aware of the widespread school bus challenges, delays and temporary route cancellations associated with the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS). I share in the frustration that too many students, parents and families have experienced with these transportation hurdles," Ball said.

"While the county is a funding partner for HCPSS, the school system is a separate governmental entity, with a separately elected Board of Education. HCPSS has exclusive and sole authority over student transportation services, including school bus routes," Ball added.

As a parent, Ball noted that he wants improved school transportation services to "ensure that all our students can safely and efficiently travel to and from their schools.” At the same time, he thanked educators and bus drivers who are supporting students.

"While this is a challenging time, please remember to treat them with respect and patience as they work to support the needs of our students," Ball said.

According to HCPSS Superintendent Michael Martirano, delays commonly happen at the beginning of the school year because drivers are learning their routes. Monday morning, more than 200 buses were trying to leave the bus depot at the same time, causing a major traffic bottleneck, he told CBS News.

The superintendent also said one of the issues that caused delays was the fact that some bus numbers did not match the ones parents found on the school district's "Connect" website, which is a platform used to communicate with parents. The buses are addressing the signage problem by having signs in their windows with the numbers that match those found in the HCPSS Connect website.

In an email sent to families Monday that was shared by WTOP, Martirano said, “We must work together to create a culture of showing up,” and that he will continue to monitor transportation operation.

One parent told WJZ that the confusion caused her middle school-aged daughter to climb on the wrong bus.

"My daughter actually jumped on the high school bus this morning, not realizing it," parent Nikki Marlatt-Young said. "Then they got down the road, and then she told the bus driver that she was on the wrong bus, that she's a middle schooler and then he let her off right there."

Marlatt-Young said the bus driver left her daughter on a busy street.

"No sidewalks," Marlatt-Young said. "It's a huge busy intersection with a great deal of accidents. You're going to let her out at that intersection of all places? So yeah, not to mention she could've been snatched."

Furthermore, some families have been asked to make alternative arrangements for their students to get to school this week after bus drivers for 20 routes have been called out.

"One of the HCPSS bus contractors, Zum Transportation, has informed us that they will not be able to cover 20 routes due to driver callouts for the remainder of this week," Howard County Schools said in a statement.

All students who are absent or tardy due to issues with transportation will be considered excused absences, the district said.

Ball noted that earlier this year, the county fully funded the Board of Education’s transportation budget request for this school year with an $8.2 million increase from last year. Over the last four years, the county has increased HCPSS’s student transportation budget by approximately 40 percent over previous years' funding levels, Ball pointed out.

Per HCPSS, the routes that Zum will not be able to cover through Sept. 1 are:

1020 - Mt Hebron HS, Patapsco MS, St John's Lane ES
1023 - Centennial HS, Centennial Lane ES, St John's Lane ES
1148 - Atholton HS, Cradlerock ES
1161 - Atholton HS, Thunder Hill ES
1163 - Wilde Lake HS, Wilde Lake MS
1165 - Atholton HS, Wilde Lake MS
1168 - Atholton HS, Mayfield Woods MS, Bellows Spring ES
1191 - Long Reach HS, Lake Elkhorn MS, Atholton ES
1078 - Clarksville MS, Pointers Run ES
1090 - Reservoir HS, Hammond MS, Forest Ridge ES
1155 - Oakland Mills HS, Phelps Luck ES, Thunder Hill ES
1201 - Long Reach HS, Phelps Luck ES, Atholton ES
1122 - Patuxent Valley MS, Murray Hill MS
1144 - Atholton HS, Swansfield ES, Waterloo ES
1053 - Dunloggin MS, Burleigh Manor MS, Northfield ES
1176 - Atholton HS, Talbot Springs ES, Waterloo ES
1089 - Hammond HS, Bollman Bridge ES, Gorman Crossing ES
1070 - Hammond HS, Hammond MS, Guilford ES
1173 - Clarksville MS, Pointers Run ES, Swansfield ES
1154 - Wilde Lake HS, Wilde Lake MS, Running Brook ES

Specific concerns regarding delays and temporarily cancelled routes can be directed to https://www.hcpss.org/schools/transportation.

Related:

Lengthy Bus Delays, Not Enough Drivers Plague HCPSS 1st Day Of School