![]() Bus driver shortageĬPS contracts with 13 school bus companies, and has added alternative modes of transportation like taxis and vans over the past two years to help deal with the bus driver shortage. There are concerns that without busing, parents will opt out, threatening those pockets of integration. Most of the city’s magnet and test-in schools were created as a way to lure a diverse group of students, and though most are racially isolated, the integrated ones are among the only racially diverse schools in the city. “I’ve never even looked into it because we were really locked into the idea of the magnet school bringing kids from all over Chicago in one place.” “I have no idea what the neighborhood schools have to offer,” Patterson said. The district used to offer free transportation for families who lived within a six mile radius of magnet programs in an effort to draw families from across the city and promote diversity and equity. Patterson moved to Rogers Park about five years ago, and said they chose a location that would allow their daughter to stay at Disney and qualify for free bus services. “Ideally we’ll figure out a solution before it breaks the bank.” “It’s gonna be a pain for us, but I can see it being absolute chaos for people who don’t have the flexibility I have,” he said. The family plans to spend at least $15 a day on Uber rides. He was able to rearrange his schedule to handle pick ups in the afternoons, and his wife will drop her off in the mornings. Patterson says he’s not comfortable with his 13-year-old daughter taking the CTA to Disney Magnet School in the Uptown neighborhood. Families of about 3,000 students have already taken the stipend, compared to fewer than 1,000 this time last year. They can also opt to receive a monthly transportation stipend of up to $500. Given the shortage, CPS is giving students with special needs and kids who are homeless who haven’t yet been routed $25 per school day. A manager at a CPS bus company said candidates are getting turned away over decades-old convictions. Officials with bus companies also offer another reason for the ongoing driver shortage: Many candidates cannot pass CPS’s background checks. Routes last year had been extended up to 90 minutes, forcing some students to wake up as early as 5 a.m. But the district says it’s trying to keep student travel time to 60 minutes or less. CPS now has 672 yellow school bus drivers, up from 656 drivers at this time last year. The district’s efforts to reduce route length is a key reason why fewer students are getting bus services this year, a spokesperson said. This year, only 7,000 families will have service by the first day of class – even though the district has slightly more bus drivers now than it did last year. But at this time last year, CPS said it could route all 15,000 students whose families had already requested it. The driver shortage has been an acute problem for the district since students returned from remote learning in 2021, leaving families struggling to line up consistent CPS bus service. ![]() Cameron Mendoza will now have to get a ride to Inter-American Magnet School from his mom Lindsey Woods because CPS is no longer offering bus service.
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