Some school bus routes expected to change in Osceola County
Transportation officials in Osceola County say for the first two weeks of school, they analyze how many kids are getting on and off the buses and where. Then, they adjust accordingly.
That means routes will be changing which impacts the timing of when your child’s bus will arrive.
The first day of school in Osceola County started with a bus driver shortage, which already meant there would be delays as some drivers had to circle back to pick up double.
Then, a mechanical issue caused another delay near Harmony.
Coordinator of transportation Randy Wheeler says the issues are normal.
“We always start out with a little bit of error,” he said.
He says this year the district has more students riding the bus than last and routes will be fluid until they figure out how many kids need a ride to and from where.
“In this period, there could be a little more confusion because we are going to be changing bus routes. We’re going to be adjusting times, we may be adjusting which students are going to ride which buses," Wheeler said.
Wheeler says some students on bus routes reaching capacity – which he says is about 77 riders – will be shifted to different buses or to different pickup times.
The district does have an app called Here Comes The Bus where students and parents can track where their ride is but that won’t be activated until Aug. 25 when most of the kinks are worked out.
The district also has a hotline parents can call if they have any questions.
We’re told it’s received a very high call volume, so officials are asking parents calling in to please be patient.