Salem Schools Seek To Fix Transportation Troubles From First Week

SALEM, MA — Salem Superintendent of Schools Steve Zrike called students arriving late to the first days of school because of transportation issues "not excusable" and said officials, police and the bus company would work on Friday and throughout the holiday weekend to make sure the road to and from schools is smoother starting next week.

"We've got to fix this with children not getting to school on time," Zrike said during his Facebook Live session with families.

Zrike said traffic has been "an issue across the city" during the first week of school this week, and that delays were particularly concerning at Witchcraft Heights, Horace Mann and Bentley.

"We're going to make some adjustments based on the input we're getting from Salem police," Zrike said. "We've got to make an adjustment in some of these places because it is slowing our buses down at some of the schools, and also creating frustration for families who are trying to drop their children off for school, and for neighbors."

Zrike said officials were planning to take advantage of the day off from most schools on Friday for Labor Day weekend to come up with solutions.

"We knew the first two weeks would have bumps," he said. "We definitely have had our challenges with transportation."

Zrike blamed the issues on adjusting to a new bus company that took over all of the district's routes, the traffic in the city from more people returning to work, and commuters being "out of practice" after 18 months of mostly remote and hybrid learning amid the coronavirus crisis.

"But these delays, in some cases, are too long," he allowed.

Zrike said the transportation issues have been worst in the afternoons and that communication on any delays with parents is critical. He added that more staff has been added to the district's transportation office to increase responsiveness.

"Nothing is more frustrating than to not know where your child is, and then you try t9 call, and you get no answer," he said.

Some bus routes may be altered in the coming weeks because Zrike said they are "too tightly scheduled for a city with a lot of traffic, especially with what's going to happen in October (with Halloween tourism)."

He said that busses did do practice runs prior to school opening, but that "things change" when everyone is trying to get to and from the schools at the same time.

"We are not suffering from a driver shortage," he said. "I want to make that clear. This is really about how the schedule is and adjusting to traffic patterns, and the congestion around the city, that is really causing an issue."

Zrike also said he is concerned about some reports of windows not being down, and masks not always being worn, on buses, per the district, state and federal coronavirus requirements. He requested anyone who sees a bus with windows closed contact the school offices.

"The windows have to be down and everyone has to be wearing masks — students and drivers," he said, noting that those mitigation efforts are especially important because there are no longer any social distancing guidelines for buses.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)