School District 57 is going back to Diversified Transportation to help with its busing woes.
In September Ohio-based company First Student, Inc., took over the school busing contract from Diversified Transportation, which had been the district busing contractor for the past 15 years. However, the company was soon beset with problems as it had trouble finding enough drivers to serve all the routes required. That left parents in the lurch as they struggled to find alternative ways to get their children to school.
“Beginning January 2023 Diversified Transportation will be providing student transportation services for a number of previously under-serviced routes within SD57 to ensure that all eligible riders are able to access transportation,” according to a new release issued by Assistant Superintendent Lee Karpenko. “Route information will continue to be available on district websites and both providers will be contacting busing students/families with information related to stop locations and pickup/drop off times.
“The district appreciates that both providers were willing to work with us to design a solution that puts students first and ensure that students are transported to and safely home from school each day. In order to ensure stable and consistent service, the student transportation services in the district will be serviced by both First Student and Diversified Transportation until June 2024.”