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NYC school buses delayed on 1st day of school amid threat of driver strike
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Sep 7, 2023
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Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Published Sep 7, 2023
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The threat of a strike by school bus drivers exacerbated pickup delays that are typical on the first day of school, advocates and parents told Gothamist on Thursday.
Education department data showed more than 500 school bus delays starting at 5:30 a.m. The vast majority of delays affected special education buses, with heavy traffic, engine trouble and flat tires listed as common causes.
On Wednesday, the Department of Education warned families that bus delays were a possibility on the first day of school because of ongoing negotiations between ATU Local 1181 — the union representing New York City school bus drivers — and contracted bus companies. The negotiations had delayed the process of assigning drivers bus routes, practicing runs, and notifying families of pickup times, according to the education department.
The delays were spread out across the five boroughs.
Paullette Healy, a parent and member of the citywide council for District 75 serving public school students with disabilities, said the potential bus strike is “exacerbating an already existing problem.”
The delays “are higher than usual due to the bus strike,” she said.
Bus delays on the first day of school are a perennial problem. But Randi Levine, policy director for Advocates for Children, said the threat of a strike created “an added layer of complication” this year.
In 2019, there were nearly 700 bus delays on the entire first day of school as the education department rolled out a new GPS tracking system. As of 1 p.m. on Thursday there were 581 bus delays, with school still in session.
A bus drivers' strike could affect around 80,000 students – many of whom have disabilities. Levine noted that students with disabilities typically have to travel further to go school.
The union vowed not to strike the first week of school, but has left open the possibility of its members walking off the job in the near future.
According to Healy, some parents who expected their kids to be picked up at 6:15 a.m. had to wait until 8 a.m. Other parents, she said, opted to drive their children to school or used ride-share services like Uber or Lyft.
Heather Dailey, the mom of a sixth-grade student with a disability, said her son was 30 minutes late to the Paul Klapper School in Queens. His bus driver, who appeared confused about the route, drove through his neighborhood twice.
Carolyn Rinaldi, a spokesperson for ATU Local 1181, said that Thursday was “just like any other first day of school” and disputed the suggestion that negotiations complicated preparation for the start of school. The union is pushing for better wages amid a national shortage of school bus drivers.
Jessica Gould contributed reporting.
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new york city
education
Ramsey Khalifeh
Ramsey Khalifeh is a transportation reporter on the NYC Accountability desk covering the largest transit system in the country. He was previously a general assignment reporter at Gothamist and worked on the Boston Globe's metro and copy desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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