Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Transportation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Durham buses: district reports 146 routes, 31 double-loads and new driver supports as school year starts
Summary
District transportation leaders said routing is largely stable with 146 routes and described steps taken to address early-year issues including system migration to Infinite Campus, driver lounges, bonuses and a Spanish class pilot for drivers.
Anthony White, executive director of Auxiliary Services, told the Durham Public Schools Board of Education Tuesday that the start of the school year "is going well" while acknowledging early operational bumps tied to a system migration and usual first-week traffic.
"This year we have 146 routes, and they are efficient," White said, adding that staff will review routes during the first 10 days to improve efficiency. He said the district currently has 31 "double loads" where buses run a second set of stops after an initial drop-off, a practice that can lengthen wait and ride times for some students.
White and Superintendent Dr. Lewill Lewis described steps taken to support drivers and reduce service disruption: two new driver lounges at Holton and Hamlin Road, reopening the Southern High School lot to ease staging, a $200 monthly bonus for drivers plus a $150 monthly attendance bonus, new use of the district's educator handbook to record bus behavior referrals, and planned Spanish-language classes for drivers in partnership with Durham Technical Community College starting in January.
White said route and rider issues are largely related to the district's recent student information-system migration from PowerSchool to Infinite Campus and small address-formatting issues that prevent routes from populating automatically. He advised parents with routing problems to contact their school first and to check the EduLog app for bus information. "If parents are having issues with, like, not getting routes, they should first communicate with their schools," White said.
Board members raised follow-up questions about who notifies families when routes are ready and why some students waited for long periods. White and other staff said schools have the routes in School Web Assist and that EduLog is the parent-facing source; they said turnaround for routing had improved from thousands of outstanding cases earlier in the prior school year to roughly 400 outstanding students during the meeting.
On late pick-ups and long waits, staff described traffic congestion and the mechanics of double loads. "We have 31 double loads across DPS right now," White said; Deputy staff explained that second-load students are supervised inside schools when possible, but acknowledged isolated incidents where students waited outdoors and staff resolved the specific case.
White said recruitment work has produced quality applicants via recent job fairs and emphasized the role of safety assistants; he said the Spanish class pilot will enroll about 20 drivers in January and that the district will monitor the program. He closed by saying the department will continue to refine routes and work with schools to reduce wait times.
Parents and board members were advised to contact schools for immediate routing questions and to use EduLog to confirm bus stop information.
