ST. LOUIS — Many parents are concerned about Saint Louis Public Schools' emergency transportation plan as their children return to school in less than two weeks. The district's transportation issues have been an ongoing problem.
This comes while the district deals with turmoil over its leadership and budget.
The biggest concern for parents all summer long has been how the district plans to get more than 15,000 students to school this year.
The district is now offering solutions in the wake of Missouri Central canceling its bus contract, which provided 230 bus routes last year.
On Tuesday, the district said those solutions include children riding in taxis, rideshares, and Metro buses.
"It's astounding that a major city has had so many issues with its district and transportation," said Bjorn Ranheim, a concerned parent.
While more than 5,300 students will take the traditional bus routes, nearly 1,700 high school students will get Metro passes.
"There's no way I would send my 10-year-old on public transportation by herself," Ranheim said.
Almost 3,800 students will get to school by either shuttle buses, taxis, cabs, or through a rideshare program called Hop Skip Drive.
Ranheim's 10-year-old daughter attends Mallinckrodt Academy of Gifted Instruction. He and his wife received an email saying their daughter would be picked up via a cab. "It's part of Smart Taxi, which I think are larger occupancy vehicles, so they'll catch a few kids from our neighborhood and then drive them to school. These are young kids, many of whom have never traveled alone in a taxi cab or rideshare vehicle, so I am a little concerned about that."
Another concerned mom, DeJanel Freeman, has three daughters who will be attending Central Visual Performing Arts High School in less than two weeks.
Freeman said her family has always relied on school transportation. She didn't know how her daughters were getting to school until she said, "I got a phone call telling me about my children receiving vans that will be picking them up from in front of our house, and then they gave me pick up times and drop off times, and that was it. I only received verbal confirmation. I never got an email."
Ranheim is hoping this transportation solution will work in the long run.
"I would hope that the taxi drivers have gone through the same rigorous background checks that a school bus driver would need to go through. As a parent of an SLPS student, you have this attitude where you hope things work out. If push comes to shove, we may have to make different arrangements for our child, not only for transportation but also for schooling," said Ranheim.
Freeman says she's happy her children have a way to get to school, but she still has concerns.
"It's disheartening for those parents whose children will have to ride the Metro because I don't even let my children ride the Metro, even for extracurriculars. They don't ride it at all because it's just not safe," she said.
The first day of school for SLPS is Aug. 19.