As school districts struggle with staffing for school bus drivers, one Chicago Heights family is raising concerns over the reliability of the essential service. NBC Chicago’s Regina Waldroup reports.
A family in Chicago Heights is aiming to raise attention to a lack of reliability for school bus service as their 15-year-old son has struggled to find transportation to school.
David Louden, the father of Octavian Louden, said his son was left waiting for a bus that never showed up earlier this week.
"They called me Tuesday and told me he would be picked up at 7:20. I got him ready, no bus. I called the bus company, a dispatcher told me that they could not talk about what was going on," Louden said.
For nearly three weeks, Louden and his sister have adjusted their work schedules to drive Octavian to and from school.
A statement from Safeway Transportation told NBC Chicago that District 802 families were informed before the start of the school year that certain routes would not be serviced due to a nationwide bus driver shortage.
Louden said the letter he got from Safeway Transportation before school started did not acknowledge a driver shortage or route issues, and speculates that his son's absence of transportation may have to do with a lack of equipment necessary to transport students with disabilities. Octavian is nonverbal and on the autism spectrum, and Louden said his son thrives with his interactions with teachers and administrators.
Safeway told NBC Chicago it does have vehicles to transport students with disabilities, though District 802 officials said the contract with the company has been terminated as of Friday.
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The district is now utilizing three new transportation companies, with changes set to take effect Tuesday.
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