The shortage of school-bus drivers is another sign of how the pandemic has disrupted society almost two years on. sydneyp1234 reports on how parents have been forced to pick up the slack
The latest COVID shortage has nothing to do with toilet paper or microchips. Photo: Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Charell Peterkin walked her two daughters to their bus stops in Williamsburg on the first day of school Monday, her 7-year-old excited to return to a fully reopened school for the first time since the pandemic began. At 7:15 a.m.
She’s one of countless parents across the country who’ve experienced a shortage of school-bus drivers, another sign of how the pandemic has disrupted society almost two years on. NPR reported the nationwide bus driver shortage may be due to furloughs last year when schools went remote, while some drivers chose to retire and avoid contracting COVID.
The driver shortage problem in Massachusetts has gotten so bad the governor deployed the National Guard to drive kids to school, which has spurred some New York legislators to call for Governor Kathy Hochul to do the same. Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he hasn’t heard of a “bigger trend” for school transportation problems so far this year.
“When I got there, the operations manager for the school — the one who’s in charge of busing — told me that buses were not showing up at all,” she said. The bus company that picks up the students, Jofaz Transportation, told parents there were no drivers and hung up. When Intelligencer tried to reach the company, three phone numbers listed for Jofaz either didn’t function or didn’t reach anyone. The company also did not respond to an email. “It’s like a skeleton crew,” Tony-Jean said.
Miles was among parents who struggled to file a complaint to the education department this week, waiting on hold before eventually being disconnected.
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