MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – As school begins this week, the district’s bus contractor assured leaders they have enough drivers.
Last year, the Madison School Board accepted bids from bus companies. Until that point, Badger Bus was the district’s transportation provider.
In the bidding process, Badger Bus offered their services for $82 million over five years. National company First Student bid $81.3 million. The school board chose First Student’s lower bid.
The rollout was rocky. First Student took over transportation for the school district at the start of the 2023-24 school year. There were reports of missed stops and late arrivals. Many families chose to drive their children, feeling like they couldn’t trust the new bus system.
Officials from First Student blamed a driver shortage. It’s a problem nationwide. The state of Wisconsin lost 18% of its bus driver workforce from 2007 to 2022, according to analysis from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.
The school district even adjusted start times to give bus drivers more leeway. Without enough drivers, many of them had to do extra stops. Over time, the situation seemed to improve.
This year, First Student assured the school board that they had enough drivers. Area general manager for the company Ladel Cass told board members they have 127 drivers, with more in training. That’s enough to cover every route, and have an extra person who can fill in.
Kids in 4K, kindergarten, sixth grade and ninth grade started school Tuesday. All students begin class on Wednesday.
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