Bus Delays, Confusion First Week of School

While a few adjustments are expected with the onset of each school year, local bus drivers are still working to adjust to their new routes.

Several local school districts began the year with new busing contracts. While Downers Grove and Woodridge districts consolidated their routes into a comprehensive contract with Westway Coach, Glen Ellyn schools and District 202 began new agreements with Illinois Central School Bus.

Woodridge Patch reported Districts 68 and 99 sent out apology notes to district families after '' last week.

A few fans of the Lisle Patch Facebook page said both District 202 and St. Joan of Arc buses were experiencing difficulties as well.

District 202 officials confirmed that problems ranged from missed pick-ups to late-running routes. According to a statement by Superintendent Dr. Patricia Wernet, district staff and administration have been assisting the new drivers by participating in ride-alongs. Tate Woods also released an updated bus schedule for the school's six routes.

“We are very discouraged that this first week was not as successful as we hoped. This is not acceptable.  We are working closely with Illinois-Central to improve the timeliness and reliability of the routes and have been assured the second week of school will be much more successful," she said. "We are very appreciative of the patience of parents and students as we have worked to improve the level of services.”

The school district's contract with the bus company is effective through the end of the 2013-2014 school year. According to the district website, the new agreement is expected to save the district more than $100,000 each school year.

Families still experiencing problems or those that have questions can contact Illinois Central Bus at 630-499-0800.

[Editor's note: As of publication time, we haven't spoken directly to St. Joan of Arc School personnel to confirm reports of late buses last week. This story will be updated as more information is available. Send your comments, about service this and last week, to karlie@patch.com.]