School buses continue to leave students and parents hanging

NY Daily News 

A “cataclysmic” failure of New York City school bus transportation has left scores of city kids without buses for days or weeks — and some desperate families still waiting for a pickup more than a month into the school year, parents and advocates say.

Years of dysfunction compounded by the logistical challenges of restarting in-person classes amid the pandemic and a nationwide driver shortage have pushed transportation conditions in the city to a record low, according to families and school bus watchdogs.

“The busing situation in this city is cataclysmic,” said Amaranta Viera, the mother of a first-grader with autism who was without a bus for nearly a month after classes started on Sept. 13.

Some students legally entitled to school buses because of disabilities still have not been assigned a route. Others have a route, but no driver, matron or paraprofessional to pick them up. And some kids whose buses do show up are facing erratic pickups or hours-long rides, according to experiences shared with The Daily News.

“The problems are boiling over this year with kids missing not just hours, but days and weeks of school,” said Sara Catalinotto, the head of the advocacy group Parents to Improve School Transportation.

DOE officials said there are roughly 550 students who still need bus routes, a slight increase over the approximately 500 kids without routes at this time in 2019 and 2018 but still a small fraction of the 150,000 total kids who take school buses. Officials claimed all kids who were registered by the first day of classes now have a route.

But advocates say the number and severity of complaints pouring in this year are noticeably greater than in years past.

Catalinotto said she heard from eight families just last week who still don’t have a school bus, and 15 since the beginning of the year, compared to zero and three such complaints in 2019 and 2018. Another parent advocate who began compiling bus grievances at the beginning of the year got 58 hits, with half complaining of a no-show bus. The city’s Panel for Education Policy solicited bus complaints from parents for a recent meeting and got roughly 60 emails in three days.

“Typically by now, the bus issues would die down a lot, but not this year,” said Lori Podvesker, the education director of the special education advocacy group INCLUDEnyc and a member of the Panel for Education Policy.

The DOE also pointed to a 63% reduction in the number of calls to the Office of Pupil Transportation hotline compared with fall 2019, from roughly 6,400 calls per day in 2019 to 2,400 calls per day this year.

But parents say calling the OPT’s hotline is a lesson in futility because they either can’t get through or are directed to contact their schools or bus companies — discouraging them from trying again.

School buses collect city revenue while collecting dust

NY Post

New York City is spending nearly $6 million a day during the coronavirus crisis for idled school buses, The Post has learned.

Under contracts with school-bus companies, the nation’s largest school system is obligated to pay 85% of the daily fees when schools are shut for snow or other emergencies, if the days are not made up later.

That comes to roughly $5.9 million a day for buses parked in lots while students learn from home. Normally, the city Department of Education spends close to $6.9 million a day to transport kids to public and private schools during the 180-day school year.

The DOE plans to keep paying the 85% of fees for mothballed buses, but seek other uses for them.

“This is an ever-changing situation and we intend to honor our contracts and continue to support the bus workforce while exploring ways to utilize these vehicles to serve the city during a crisis,” DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson said in an email.

Yet three weeks after schools were closed — March 13 was the last day of classes — nothing has been done with the buses.

The cost is steadily rising. Schools are closed until at least April 20, but the city has cautioned that buildings might not reopen until the start of the next school year.

City officials budgeted $1.25 billion for school buses in the current school year, the city’s Independent Budget Office reports.

Schools are closed until at least April 20, but the city has cautioned that buildings might not reopen until the start of the next school year.                                                                                                                                                                        

 

 

Cyclists think rules don't apply to them

From CBS 2:

Surveillance video shows a child run off a bus and get run down by a person on a bike, who blew past the bus’s flashing stop sign.

“Bikers need to abide the laws,” said community activist Gary Schlesinger, who’s been leading a social media campaign that highlights bikers behaving badly in Brooklyn. “Passing a stopped school bus that’s a terrible thing, because it’s almost impossible not to hit a child.”

In May, another bicyclist sped through a bus’s stop sign and hit a child; another raced through a red light and crashed into a woman pushing a baby stroller.

“People feel frustrated at so many accidents happening,” Schlesinger said.

So frustrated, in fact, they’ve begun taking matters into their own hands. One bus nearly hit a bicyclist trying to block him from going past.

“That is absolutely dangerous,” said Schlesinger.

Parents and drivers Layton spoke with said they’re concerned that if the NYPD doesn’t step up enforcement fast, a child might get seriously hurt.

School buses get stuck in snow

From PIX11:

Multiple school buses became stuck in the snow Monday as they tried to traverse snowy streets in Queens, the borough hardest hit by the weekend's blizzard.

Residents were furious over unplowed streets and the mayor's move to keep schools open despite the record-breaking storm.

"We make one decision for a school system of 1.1 million kids," Mayor Bill de Blasio said, defending the move to keep class in session, during a midday news conference.

PIX11 News viewers in Middle Village and Woodhaven reported seeing school buses getting bogged down in the slushy mess that still coated the roadways during the morning commute.

Requests for comment from the city's Department of Education were not returned by the time of publication.

Bus company needs to clean up its act

From the Queens Chronicle:

Ozone Park resident Eduardo Venegas has been waking up at 5:30 a.m. to the sound of idling school buses for the past two years, and he’s sick of it.

Venegas’ house neighbors Logan Bus Co.’s Ozone Park depot, located at 97-14 Atlantic Ave.

He said the school buses depart via 95th Avenue, a quiet residential street, in the early morning hours and idle their engines in front of people’s houses.

The buses often double-park on the narrow road, he added, causing people stuck behind them to honk.

When they’re parked curbside, he claims the drivers are behind the wheel either sleeping or eating before they begin their routes.

Venegas said in addition to waking up residents along 95th Avenue, the drivers are throwing their garbage in front of their houses and on the streets.

Venegas said he has brought his complaints regarding the depot to Community Board 9, but has not reached out to any elected officials about the situation yet.

He brought his complaint to the board at its Dec. 9 meeting.

Corey Muirhead, a representative for the owners of Logan Bus Co., said the company is aware of the situation and is working to correct it.

Tweeding via legislation

From Crains:

Two weeks ago, a man named Alexis Lodde made a $100,000 donation to a Hudson Valley Democratic account. It was an exceptionally large gift, particularly for a Texan who until recently had never given money to a New York political campaign.

The donation came less than two months after workers at certain busing companies, including one owned by Mr. Lodde's firm, had gotten an unprecedented windfall from New York City government: a $42 million grant pushed through by Mayor Bill de Blasio to raise wages at low-paying private bus companies with city contracts.

Employees at the company owned by Mr. Lodde’s firm are expected to be among the largest beneficiaries, and the company itself will benefit from having a better-compensated workforce without having to pay for it.

Asked whether the mayor’s team solicited the six-figure sum after Mr. Lodde’s workers and company had benefited from the school bus legislation, a de Blasio spokesman said the mayor had not personally requested the funds, but declined to say who had.

Magical blue bus still gracing Brooklyn streets

My trusted informant in Brooklyn sends over shots of the magical blue bus spotted once again this week.
Oh my, something seems to have happened to the door!
I'm sure the parishioners are thrilled to have this lovely piece of "artwork" across the street from their sanctuary. Nice to see that the bunkbeds are still intact.
It's really quite a piece of mobile creativity, so it's no surprise that it's affiliated with the Knockdown Center, which prefers skankily decorated vehicles with out-of-state plates.
I find it hard to believe that those racks are street legal, but at least they are sans gas tanks this time.
Here we have a shot of the whole vehicle.

And now a word from our correspondent:

"What I find interesting is when I have seen this bus it is parked on the same place on Banker Street (just north of Nassau/Berry) OR on Bogart between McKibben and Boerum. They seem to have an IBZ fetish."

(The strategy is to hide where you think no one will complain about your fleabag motel on wheels.)

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.

Whitestone sidewalk blockers

Summer is coming and with it many people walking the sidewalks of our beautiful Whitestone which I think has always been a pastoral type of community where people enjoy the outdoors by walking around the neighborhood and even doing short distance shopping to enjoy the summertime and afternoon delights that this jewel of a place has to offer.

But some people make these summer moments difficult by disrespecting their fellow men, women and children by forgetting the very basic urban manners in total disregard of rules and regulations written or unwritten.




Again (I have called 311 and placed a comment before on this same address before in the Queens Crapper) a car continuously blocking the sidewalk at 20-16 149th Street in Whitestone where there’s a high pedestrian (children to and from school), cars, buses and trucks pushing people to take the street which may endanger their personal safety. Shame on this person. By the way, the car that used to do this before was a white Acura with license plate number FEY 8665, now is a Honda Accord with license plate number FSX 6627.





At 20-07 Clintonville Street in Whitestone a yellow school bus from the Precious Moments Nursery School & Daycare totally blocks the sidewalk, and as most people know Clintonville Street is a heavy traffic street, highly dangerous if you have to walk in the street to avoid this vehicle. The license plate number is 14596 SL.




At the Whitestone Car Wash on the service road of the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone you can barely walk among the cars parked on the sidewalk, customers and car washers, beyond the protection area - some cars love to park impeding pedestrian of the proper use of the sidewalk.




Finally, since is getting hotter law sprinklers are starting to make their appearance everywhere. But some of them are badly placed and regulated to the point of impeding pedestrians from using the sidewalk thus having to take some heavily traffic streets in order to avoid them and not to get wet. An example would be on 148-09 Willets Point in Whitestone-Flushing where a lawn sprinkler is all over the sidewalk wasting precious water on the sidewalk and street and putting pedestrian on risk of getting hit by an incoming vehicle. My humble question for this type of homeowner would be, if I get hit by a car while trying to avoid your sprinkler, who do you think I’m going to sue? - Anonymous

Private students getting public busing

From the Daily News:

State lawmakers are pushing to enhance bus service for yeshivas in a way city officials fear could wind up costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of extra dollars, sources said.

A measure that is wrapped into state budget talks and is being promoted heavily by Senate Republicans would require the city to offer busing for all private students in classes taught after 4 p.m. Most of those students attend yeshivas.

The plan also includes a provision that would require city buses transporting after-hour students to drop them off within 600 feet of home, a city source said.

Current regulations require city buses to stop within a half-mile for students in second grade or younger, and within a mile for those between third and sixth grades.

A city memo obtained by the Daily News urges lawmakers to reject the proposal.

Being required to stop within 600 feet of a child’s home, the memo says, “would require twice as many stops as current ... practice, at additional cost.”

City officials are worried that providing a superior service for yeshiva students will lead parents of students at public schools, charter schools and other private schools to clamor for equal treatment, sources said.

The state and city split the cost of busing kids to private schools during the regular school day.

But last year, over the objections of Mayor Bloomberg, the Senate GOP successfully pushed to require city bus service for students at private schools that offer classes until at least 5 p.m.

Thirty schools took advantage — 29 Yeshivas and one charter school — for a total cost increase that was capped at $3 million.

Kids in danger walking to school

From CBS New York:

Parents and local leaders are blasting the Department of Education’s “safe route” in Queens which they claim is putting school children in danger.

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said in the last week there were two accidents at the intersection of Laurel Hill Boulevard and 61st Street in Woodside, a suggested “safe route.”

He claims the DOE is putting the children of P.S. 229 in a dangerous situation on a daily basis.

“Instead of protecting children it places them directly in harm’s way forcing children, as young as 7- and 8-years-old, to walk into one of the most dangerous intersections in all of Queens, forcing them to stare down tractor-trailers just to get to school,” Van Bramer told 1010 WINS.

The DOE’s reversal of policy eliminated bus service which was critical in bringing children living in the Big Six Towers to school safely.

Now, the children must walk what Van Bramer calls a dangerous route, which involves crossing the service road of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway.

Here's an idea:

How about Jimmy redirects his yuppie shuttle money that the MTA never used toward busing services for the kids. That money still exists, right?

Kids have hard time navigating dangerous streets

School bus jam on Grand

From the Times Ledger:

Maspeth drivers want yellow buses busted.

Residents who attended a meeting with the 104th Precinct April 20 complained of school bus drivers who double- and sometimes triple-park outside PS 58 with impunity.

“It seems to me if you’re yellow, you’re sacred,” said resident Manny Caruana, who called on the officers to write more tickets. “This has been going on since the school opened.”

When the buses double- and triple-park outside the school, at 72-50 Grand Ave., they effectively narrow the road to 1 1/2 lanes of traffic, Caruana said, causing a dangerous situation. Cars often have to swerve into the opposite lane of traffic to get around the yellow vehicles.

And yet there is ample room along the avenue for the buses to park normally.

The only problem is that the spaces are often occupied by parents who are also determined to drop off or pick their kids despite its being illegal to park in front of the building during school hours.

“God forbid little Johnny should walk a block to school,” said another woman at the meeting. “I’ve always seen the handicapped bus double-parked because some mother is in the space.”

Last Thursday, lines of minivans along with an ice cream truck pulled into the spaces reserved for the school buses, forcing many to double park right beside the vehicles of parents.

School next to firehouse not the best idea

From the Times Ledger:

City officials agree that Corona public schools are extremely overcrowded and that new schools must be built, but those same officials disagree about where at least one of those schools should be built.

City Department of Education officials said Tuesday that public review and design plans are underway for two schools, one at 97-36 43rd Ave., which will add 664 seats in the district, and the other at 110-02 Northern Blvd., which will add 379 seats.

The 43rd Avenue site is an L-shaped, 40,000-square-foot warehouse currently occupied by the Wal-Rich Corp., a plumbing and heating supplies distributor, and the city is forcing the owners to sell the property through eminent domain. The building surrounds the 89th District firehouse and is less than two blocks away from the NYPD’s 110th Precinct house.

Community Board 4 District Manager Richard Italiano said that makes the proposed site dangerous for kids.

“We’re not against new schools,” he said. “We want as many schools as we can get, but that particular site poses a concern. We’re just concerned with the emergency vehicle movements and children walking from school around the street there will be safety hazards.”

CB 4 members met Tuesday night at one of the proposed school construction sites, located at 98th Street between 50th and Christie avenues. An 89th District FDNY member, who asked not to be identified, said he and other fire officials disagree with the proposed location of the school because children traveling to and from school may be hit by passing vehicles and emergency vehicles leaving the firehouse could be slowed down by kids and school buses.

“It’s a terrible idea,” he said. “How are we going to get out of quarters? They claim they’re going to use the other street that’s in back of us, but the street behind us is 12 feet wide. There’s no way the school buses are going to fit behind this building. In my opinion, it’s going to be a very dangerous situation to build a school right next to a fire house.”

Okay, so the business owners don't want to leave and the FDNY thinks this is a bad idea, so why not put the school at 90th Street and Corona Avenue in the big empty lot that's been a blight on the area for years? Last time I checked, it was for sale. There would be no business displacement, safer location, eyesore elimination... wait - that makes too much sense.

We blow a lot of dough on school buses

From the NY Post:

The city and state fork over a staggering $1 billion a year to move schoolkids on yellow buses, while stiffing the MTA on its student MetroCard program -- which is far less expensive and significantly more efficient.

In fact, while MetroCards help move four times as many students at one-fifth of the cost of school buses, MTA officials say they have to cancel the program because city and state officials won't pay for its increasing expenses.

The agency said it spends about $214 million to transport 585,000 students for free every year, with the city and state putting in only $45 million and $25 million respectively.

Meanwhile, the Education Department's $1 billion school-bus program moves only about 140,000 students, city statistics show.

That's $786 million more for 445,000 fewer students.

But city officials insist that money can't be taken from one group and given to the other.

"Busing requirements are set by state law. The city does not have the option of using busing money to fund MetroCards," said one mayoral aide.

The DOE determines who is eligible for both yellow bus and free MTA services.

And, of course, there is nothing political involved in that! After all, the more kids you deem eligible for yellow school buses, the more it helps tweeding efforts. And the further away you build the schools from where the kids who attend them live, the more school buses you will need.