Upper Darby transportation report: staffing gains, routing strain and plans to consolidate tech

Marvin Lee, Upper Darby School District’s director of operations, told the Finance and Operations Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 26 that the district has made measurable gains in transportation staffing while continuing to face operational strain from routing complexity and curb‑to‑curb special‑education needs.

Lee said the district registers about 15,000 students in its information system and transports roughly 5,300 students per year. The transportation operation covers more than 130 schools daily — including public, charter and private schools — and last year ran 79 school buses and 24 school vehicles to meet those needs.

Lee summarized key pieces of the program and recent changes. He cited district transportation policy A10 on eligibility distances (elementary students who live one mile or more from school; middle school 1.5 miles; high school more than two miles). He also said the district recognizes SEPTA student fare cards as an approved means of transportation and that policy prohibits transportation to babysitters and day care.

On demand and route complexity, Lee noted the district transports roughly 70 percent of eligible students to public schools and about 1,500 students to 16 charter schools and more than 100 private schools. He said the district must manage 131 calendars and multiple bell times, which complicates routing. Lee explained curb‑to‑curb pickups — required for many special‑education, foster, or homeless students — reduce a bus’s capacity to about 15–17 riders (versus 40–50 on a typical route) and often require a bus assistant and visual handoff at drop‑off.

Lee reviewed improvements and staffing metrics. The district purchased about 20 vans over two years to support route flexibility. He said the transportation workforce grew from 73 school bus drivers at the end of last school year to 87 as of the committee meeting — a net gain of 14 drivers; similarly, bus assistants increased from 27 to 41. Lee credited a wage increase for drivers (from $19 to $20 per hour) and for assistants (from $12.55 to $15 per hour), the introduction of attendance bonuses and a revised attendance policy for lowering daily absences from an earlier 8–15 to about four.

Lee highlighted training and pipeline work: trainees typically take three to five months to become licensed drivers, and the district converts approximately 80 percent of trainees to full drivers if they stay in the program. He said the district is pursuing its own PennDOT testing site to reduce dependence on a neighboring district’s road‑test schedule and to control testing logistics.

On technology and parent communication, Lee discussed the district’s GPS and routing stack. Parents can sign up for bus tracking at wheresthebus.com and approximately 32 percent of eligible parents use the Where’s the Bus app; GPS coverage can lose signal sometimes but is generally useful. The district’s routing and GPS contract expires June 30 and staff are evaluating vendors to consolidate multiple systems into a single platform; Lee said a recommendation will be routed to the board through a forthcoming resolution.

Lee also described a project to standardize special‑education seating and equipment: the district created a catalog, sizing and installation guidance and added dropdown choices to the PowerSchool IEP system to capture equipment and sizing. He said drivers and assistants received training on installations.

Board members thanked Lee and asked clarifying questions about hazardous‑road designations (a PennDOT determination), substitute drivers, and ticketing/enforcement around motorists passing stopped buses. Lee said the district typically has about four substitute drivers available when attendance is normal and that ticketing data will be shared with the board as enforcement programs continue.

Lee closed by asking for patience as the district continues to address delays and reliability issues and by thanking frontline staff for recent hiring and operational efforts.