CINCINNATI — Transportation woes roll on as pandemic-era problems continue to plague Cincinnati Public Schools.
Since the start of the 2022-2023 school year, the district has seen issues with buses running late or in some cases, not at all.
"Right now, it is a mess for the yellow bus," said CPS parent Laura Pipitone. "I have a child who ... her bus route has never shown up on time. I have a child who is a seventh grader at Walnut and at the start of the year he could only take the yellow bus and he was getting home an hour to two hours late."
CPS currently has more than 18,268 bus-riding students. That's up from the 13,546 students the previous school year.
Large portions of the additional students are seventh and eighth graders who, as of this school year, are once again transported to and from school on the yellow buses. Previously, those students rode on Metro buses, just as 9-12 graders still do.
CPS also relies on vans to transport students. Because Ohio law requires public school districts to also transport private and magnet students, Superintendent Iranetta Wright said CPS has struggled to meet the need.
"What we do know is what we're doing is not working. We have populations of students that are not getting to school on time," she said. "We have a set number of buses that's responsible for transporting all students in the city."
CPS currently has 430 routes. Wright said the district was down 40 buses at the start of the school year, but has been able to cut that deficit in half.
The district’s on-time rate is now about 80%, Wright said, which is up from 35% at the start of the year.
"It's really something we want to address together with the community," Wright said.
In efforts to find solutions to the problem, CPS hosted the first of six planned community roundtables Tuesday.
HAPPENING NOW: CPS is holding a community roundtable to discuss solutions to its ongoing bus transportation issue.
Officials say CPS started the school year around 40 buses down. It is still 20 buses short of meeting “minimum expectations.”@WCPO pic.twitter.com/e0gMr58YCZ
— Valerie Lyons (@VLyonsTV) January 10, 2023
Two big ideas the district floated: staggered school start times or looking at the possibility of a “hub and spoke system” like Metro uses with buses.
"Think about riding an airplane and there is a connecting flight for an airplane," Wright said.
Pipitone said she could see the system working with older students, but she worries it may not be the best solution for the younger ones.
"I wouldn't want my 8-year-old ... depending on where the hub was ... I don't know if I'd want to let her go off like that without some sort of check-in system and making sure there's security," she said.
Another parent raised concern at Tuesday's discussion. She said seven out of 20 students in her daughter's class never made it to school last week.
She said it is an immediate problem that needs an immediate solution. But with the ongoing national bus and driver shortage, Wright said the challenges won't be going away any time soon.
"The truth is we don't have an immediate answer and we don't want to give the impression that we do," Wright said.
Pipitone said there could be a quick fix, however. She suggests a better bus tracking system to replace the district's current one.
Fixing transportation will be a marathon, not a sprint, Wright said. So the main goal now is improving communication and keeping parents and students in the loop.
"I really feel like she cares about this issue and in the past, I felt like the administration didn't care," Pipitone said.
There are five more roundtables planned, all to be held at the Mary A. Ronan Education Center:
• Wednesday, Jan. 18: 5:30-7:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, Jan. 25: 10-11:30 a.m.
• Virtual: Wednesday, Jan. 25: 6-7 p.m.
• Tuesday, Feb. 7: 6-7:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 15: 6-7:30 p.m.
Pre-registration is required to participate as CPS said seating is limited. You can also join virtually.
Wright said the district will take any and all suggestions and evaluate them to present to the Ohio State School Board to consider for the upcoming school year.
