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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — A parent in Huntsville’s Green Cove community says he is on the verge of losing his job because his child’s school bus is late. The bus being late causes him to be late for work.

Michael Bradford turned to News 19 for help because he says there is a lack of assistance from the bus company which is forcing him into some very tough choices. 

“[At] this point, I have been able to drop my kids off every day if the bus doesn’t show up but once it gets cold, I can’t do that anymore,” said Bradford. 

Bradford says the bus that picks up his children for Challenger Middle School and the elementary school in the morning has been late nearly every single day since the beginning of school in August. 

News 19 reached out to Huntsville City Schools, who reported some bus driver staffing issues at the beginning of the school year, but told us Apple Bus Company indicated they had not heard from the Bradfords until reaching out to him and working with him to address his concern.

Apple Bus supplies the bus and employs the drivers for the schools. 

“I’ve asked for an early drop-off option, and nobody can give me an answer, and everybody is blaming one another,” said Bradford. “I’ve reached out to Huntsville City Schools and Apple Bus. I’ve also reached out to individual schools. Yet the only one that has been halfway decent with me is the individual schools.”

Apple Bus said that it’s a routing issue with the driver, but it’s been two months and Michael Bradford has been an hour late for work nearly every day and his boss has had enough. 

“My boss allows me a little bit of leeway but when we start approaching coming in an hour late and things like that,” Bradford explained. “He’s a great boss but at the end of the day he’s got a business to run, and he can’t have me coming in late like that every day like that so it’s very very frustrating.” 

Bradford said that he has been forced to put his 5-year-old in after-school care because he doesn’t know when the bus will bring him home.

He hopes that telling his story will get the issue rectified before he gets fired from his job.