ANN ARBOR, MI - Some parents in northeast Ann Arbor say they’re frustrated with Ann Arbor Public Schools’ bus service to their neighborhood.
Buses have run behind this week, they said, leaving some students waiting outside in frigid weather for them to get there.
For instance, only a small portion of parents in the neighborhood were aware the bus was running late Wednesday morning, Jan. 22, parent Brittany Bennion said, because they didn’t have access to a smartphone app alerting them to changes in the bus’ progress on their route.
It’s the second time in the last two weeks the bus has showed up more than a half hour late, Bennion said, expressing concern for “dozens” of children left standing out in the cold.
The neighborhood also is comprised of children from families in University of Michigan student housing on North Campus, Bennion said, with numerous parents needing to leave for work or school before the bus even arrives.
“We’ve got refugees, we’ve got people in an international community where they’ve never experienced the type of exposure that the Michigan winter breeds,” said Bennion, who has three children attending A2 STEAM school. “So, a lot of them are ill prepared to have their children wait outside for an undetermined amount of time because they’re not being communicated to properly.”
Because of the demographics of the neighborhood and the cultural differences, people don’t always have access to the smartphone app, parents said. And the app is the only notification system they have for keeping track of bus delays, they said.
And A2 STEAM parent Shelby Hansen said she has experienced technical issues with the app.
“The app wouldn’t let me log in (Wednesday)," Hansen said. "It only works about half of the time. How am I supposed to know if the bus is going to come or not? It can’t be the only means of communication for these families.”
Bennion, who tracked the bus on the app provided by the district’s transportation vendor, Durham School Services, saw a notification sent out at 7:37 a.m. that the bus was going to be running 25 minutes late.
At around 8 a.m., Bennion said she got another notification from Durham that another bus was dispatched, with the app estimating it would arrive in about six to seven minutes, but it actually took about 15 minutes to arrive, putting the overall delay at approximately 38 minutes, in addition to children who were waiting outside the bus prior to the first notification.
Ann Arbor Public Schools Executive Director of Student and School Safety Liz Margolis sent a message to neighborhood parents Thursday, Jan. 23, apologizing for the bus running late, noting the driver of their bus called in sick just prior to a run to Huron High School and a substitute driver was placed on the route.
Due to the late start of the bus to pick up Huron High students and rush hour traffic, the bus was delayed Margolis said, causing Durham to send another bus to pick up A2 STEAM students at Northwood and Stone.
“Unfortunately sometimes we do experience delays in picking up students due to unforeseen circumstances,” Margolis said. “We always encourage AAPS families to use the Bus Tracker app. It is a free app that parents and students can download on their mobile phones or computers that provides accurate on-time routing of the buses.”
Margolis confirmed the Bus Tracker app was working Wednesday and reflected the late arrival for A2 STEAM students. She added that on the rare occasion that severe weather hits, the Bus Tracker may not be able to keep up with all the route delays, but a general delay notice will be listed for students’ route if that occurs.
Beyond using the app, Margolis said parents can contact the transportation dispatch office at 734-994-2330 and the transportation staff can provide up to date information on a student’s bus route arrival time.
Bennion said she would like different options for all parents to be able to monitor the progress of the child’s bus routes.
“Only using one source to distribute this information is discriminating against the families who don’t have access to this technology,” Bennion said. “A simple email and robocall doesn’t seem like a difficult thing to ask for to help ensure the safety of these kids.”
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