ST. LOUIS — The reliability of taxis, shuttles and school buses is still erratic on the third day of ºüÀêÊÓƵ Public Schools’ emergency transportation plan, parents say.
There have also been serious safety concerns about the taxis carrying an estimated 6,200 children, according to several interviews and online posts in SLPS parent groups. Some have no signage indicating they are working for SLPS. At least one reeks of marijuana. One parent saw a driver weaving in and out of traffic on Kingshighway and running multiple red lights. Another post said a driver was seen smoking with children in the car.
One mom said in an interview that both her son and daughter rode home in minivan taxis with more students than seats. One had to sit on a box in between the bucket seats, and the other had to share a seat with another kid. The mom asked to stay anonymous until after she talks to the taxi company and SLPS officials.
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Messages to acting Superintendent Millicent Borishade, chief of operations Square Watson, transportation director Toyin Akinola and two SLPS media representatives were not returned Wednesday.
About 200 high school students have taken the MetroBus this week, which is much fewer than expected, transit officials said.
There were 1,600 students who qualified for MetroBus passes because they lived near major arterials and would not have to transfer buses. But a majority have rejected public transportation as parents said they feel uncomfortable with the arrangement.
“We are easily accommodating the influx of SLPS high school students on the MetroBus system with only minor adjustments so far,†said Taulby Roach, president and CEO of Bi-State Development, in a statement Wednesday. “We are in regular communication with SLPS and we all understand that these first few days, possibly even first few weeks of school, are going to be learning curve for us and parents and students who take MetroBus to school.â€
Bi-State added an afternoon bus on the #95 Kingshighway Boulevard route to accommodate students at Gateway STEM, the district’s largest high school, and more security guards patrolling the Kingshighway and Grand Boulevard routes.
Administrators at SLPS have been scrambling to cover student transportation since primary bus vendor Missouri Central canceled its contract with the district in the spring. A mix of buses, taxis and shuttles from 19 different vendors plus Metro Transit buses were expected to deliver students to school starting Monday.
Attendance on the first day of school was 72%, similar to last year, acting Superintendent Borishade said at a press conference Monday.
Over the weekend, the district informed more than 1,000 families that three vendors backed out of their commitment to provide 36 buses:
- Xtra Care bailed on providing six buses. The company registered with the state on April 22, a few days before transportation proposals were due to SLPS.
- Shuttles Pro said it could provide 25 out of 45 buses. Parents of students assigned to the Florida company were given gas cards on Friday, according to the district.
- Victorious Life International informed SLPS on Aug. 9 “they could not run 10 buses because they could not acquire buses,†according to an SLPS news release. Victorious Life is a nonprofit in Swansea that runs World Changers Prep Academy, a private school that is not recognized by the Illinois education department.
When asked at the press conference why the vendors had not been properly vetted, Borishade only said, “Good question.â€