MANCHESTER – Following Monday night’s Board of School Committee meeting, we are providing several updates on school transportation. This includes work that is under way to cover routes canceled by a busing provider, an update to rules on carpooling, and progress on adding additional bus drivers.
Canceled routes: The District continues to work with additional transportation providers to cover the charter and private school bus routes that were canceled by STA. We expect to get these routes finalized during this week and will get them up and running as soon as possible. The District will work directly with each affected school to communicate when these new buses are ready to run.
Carpooling: On Monday night, the Board of School Committee approved a temporary change to district policy to ease restrictions on students carpooling for athletics or other school events if there is no district-provided transportation available. Under the change, a parent or guardian can volunteer to drive to a competition or event, but must provide a valid driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. A parent or guardian must also give permission for a student to ride in a carpool. The district is drafting an updated procedure and will share with schools and coaches in the coming days.
Additional drivers: The district’s two major busing providers: Manchester Transit Authority (MTA) and Student Transportation of America (STA) are in the process of hiring additional drivers. The process to get drivers trained and fully certified can be lengthy. The District is in contact with the state to attempt to accelerate the process. These additional drivers will help reduce delays and, more importantly, allow STA to re-start bus routes for several charter and private schools. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a bus driver, you can apply online today:
- Manchester Transit Authority jobs: https://mtabus.org/manchester-transit-careers/
- Student Transportation of America jobs: https://stacareers.com/
We will continue to provide updates on this ongoing issue.