School bus route changed after complaints

From DNA Info:

The Department of Education has agreed to change a Queens bus route back to the way it was after parents complained that the length of their kids' commutes suddenly doubled in time in recent weeks.

Children who live in Long Island City and take the bus to Astoria's P.S. 122 were recently told they had to start showing up at their bus stops about a half hour earlier than their usual pickup time, parents said.

They learned the bus — which they say brings about 40 students from Long Island City to P.S. 122 on Ditmars Boulevard — had to make a detour to pick up and drop off students at P.S. 151, located on 31st Avenue in Woodside.

Several parents complained to the DOE's Office of Pupil Transportation, arguing that the altered bus route was in violation of a Chancellor's Regulation that limits bus trips to 5 miles.

However, the parents say they were told by OPT that the "five mile" rule applies to the placement of bus stops en route to each assigned school, not the whole trip collectively.

The DOE, however, ultimately reviewed the parents' complaints and agreed to once again split the bus route between the two schools, returning it to the way it was.