ST. LOUIS — The Saint Louis Public Schools Board of Education approved an emergency transportation plan Tuesday for the upcoming school year.
One board member abstained from voting, but the rest approved the emergency plan.
Consultants said by this fall, the Saint Louis Public School District has to eliminate 70 bus routes.
Ashley Davies with consulting firm Better Education Partners said there are many challenges facing the district when it comes to transportation including a national bus driver shortage.
Superintendent Dr. Keisha Scarlett said transportation has been an issue for years.
"I think we are at tipping point," Scarlett said. "Communication and transparency are going to be the key to this entire effort, as well as collaboration."
Main strategies
The new plan includes these changes:
- Start and end times will be staggered:
- Start times: 7:15 a.m., 8:20 a.m. and 9:25 a.m.
- End times: 2:12 p.m., 3:17 p.m. and 4:22 p.m.
- High school students will be asked to ride the Metro. Consultants said about 1,000 students are Metro-eligible. This could include both the MetroBus or MetroLink.
- Parents who can or already drive kids to school will be asked to opt out of using the bus.
- They will consolidate stops in areas where it is safe to do so. Some areas won't change for safety reasons.
- The district will use vans where they have fewer students who need a ride to school.
Davies said all of these efforts combined should be enough to stabilize the transportation situation.
“We believe that this will result in overall improvements and on-time performance," Davies said. "This should shorten trips across the system meaning that our students are on vehicles for a shorter amount of time."
The district already approved plans to work with 19 different providers, including First Student, and use vans from day care providers and even local churches.
Safety concerns
One of the biggest concerns was over safety.
The board members raised concerns about the safety of students on the Metro and the busses but also about the consolidation of stops, making sure students aren't walking too far in a neighborhood that might be unsafe.
“I really want you to consider that when you're thinking about our families, because they're in the thousands, that many don't have a stable place to stay. Please consider that our young people are going to have to go through neighborhoods that they're not going to be welcome in. From one block to the next you could be in serious trouble,” Board of Education Secretary Donna Jones said.
Following the board meeting on Tuesday, Scarlett spoke to media members on Wednesday.
Scarlett said, "As we’re thinking about safety for Metro, the conversations with Bi-State Development have been around, what type of security can be provided, how might we invest in ensuring we have the level of security on those busses than beyond what typical ridership will be."
She explained they may even use their own security force.
"We may be able to utilize our resources differently in that way, so the whole idea here is... what can we be open to?" Scarlett added.
Public transit
Davies said there are specific requirements for high school students who will ride public transit:
- The total route duration must be 70 minutes or less.
- No transfers required.
- Walking distance is about half a mile or less at each end.
- Arrivals and departures are expected within 5-30 minutes of the school bell.
Bus stop consolidation
- Consolidation will happen on a case-by-case basis.
- The average home-to-stop distance for all students will be 0.11 miles.
- Stops will be consolidated to reduce route time.
- There will be a formal process for families to submit concerns about bus stops.
Concerns identified
Davies said the board is still working on a plan to address concerns as they come up.
- Attendance could be an issue with changed start times. Consultants said they will monitor and support schools to address any attendance issues.
- The district and consultants will collaborate with Metro to manage additional capacity needs and ensure enhanced safety and support at key transit stops and routes.
- There will be several safety initiatives launched, like extra safety training for staff, to make sure each student is safe.
Opting out
The district is asking parents who do not use the bus service to opt out ahead of the school year to make sure adequate resources are provided for everyone who needs to ride the bus.
The district provided 5 On Your Side this link for parents to learn more about opting out and complete the form.
What's next
The plan will be in place for the entire 2024-2025 school year. Scarlett said in that year span, it'll be doing a bidding process.
Quarterly meetings will be held to discuss concerns and find solutions if needed. The first one is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 6 at Vashon High School.
Scarlett said in the future, they'll try and work with two or three vendors when it comes to transportation providers.
"There are a lot of lessons learned from the previous transportation situation," Scarlett said.
To watch 5 On Your Side broadcasts or reports 24/7, 5 On Your Side is always streaming on 5+. Download for free on Roku, Amazon Fire TV or the Apple TV App Store.