Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
West County Transportation reports staffing and ridership improvements, details electric-bus plan amid complaints about late special-education routes
Summary
West County Transportation told the board it added drivers and routes and is pursuing seven electric ambulatory buses under grant funding, but parents and teachers reported special-education and general-education buses running late; staff pledged follow-up.
West County Transportation officials updated the Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Education on Sept. 10 on staffing, ridership, vehicle electrification plans and budget pressures, while acknowledging ongoing service issues for some special-education students.
"We have had a net increase of 11 drivers in one year," West County director Chad Barksdale told trustees as he reviewed route counts and staffing. He reported the agency currently operates 35 general-education buses and a mix of vans and smaller ambulatory vehicles; overall agency on-bus staff stands at about 168, up from 159 last year, and six drivers were in training.
Barksdale said special-education ridership rose to roughly 960 students agency-wide last year and currently stands near 554 Santa Rosa City Schools students; the agency expects that number to approach 1,000 by the end of the school year. He also noted general-education bus pass…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
