Get Answers: Bus route plagued with problems

Posted at: 10/15/2009 10:47 PM | Updated at: 10/15/2009 11:03 PM
By: Jeff Maher, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com

An Albuquerque mother says her daughter's school bus is never on time. She says she's called APS and the bus company, but just gets the run-around, so she contacted us and asked, "Why can't this bus company stand by their word and have this situation resolved?"

Earlier in the week, when Christina Tyson came to Osuna Elementary to pick up her daughter, she was given a note that said, "your child was dropped off late today and was not picked up on time." The problems didn't end there.

Monday morning, Tyson's daughter was waiting at the bus stop for the school bus and it never showed up.

That same afternoon, Tyson was forced to leave work early to pick up her daughter from school because, again, the bus was not there. It eventually showed up 45 minutes late.

Wednesday, the bus was late. The little girl's dad had to take her to school, which made him late to work.

Tyson called the bus company to complain.

"I talked to them several times this week and they say oh we assure you we're going to put a seasoned bus driver on this route, and everyday it's somebody different. Everyday, they're either picking up late, dropping off at the wrong bus stop, have the wrong street," Tyson said.

Tyson is not alone—Janet Townsend does not allow her 4th grade daughter to ride the bus anymore.

Townsend said that last year, her daughter, "Would tell me how the bus driver would yell at them and cuss at them."

Once Tyson e-mailed us with her question, we started looking in to it.

APS officials said the bus was late because it had to drop off kids at Jackson Middle School before picking up the elementary students.

APS says starting Monday, they are going to change the bus to a bus that doesn't have any hang-ups like the other one did.

Tyson says as long as her daughter gets to school safely on time, she's satisfied.

APS says the new bus will still have to make a stop at the middle school, but will do that much earlier—allowing the elementary kids to make it to class on time.

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