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Grand Rapids schools warn driver shortages and aging buses are stretching routes and fueling student safety concerns
Summary
Transportation director Greg Olsen told the board the district is operating 44 bus routes, logged 936,799 miles last year, and is short drivers; he flagged vaping on buses as a growing safety and legal issue and urged restoring a regular bus‑purchase rotation and adding routes to cut ride times.
Greg Olsen, the district’s transportation director, told the Grand Rapids Public School District board that driver shortages and an aging fleet are lengthening student ride times and increasing maintenance costs.
"We are down to 44 bus routes," Olsen said, and later added the district recorded 936,799 miles last year for school transportation operations (excluding athletic trips). He said 2,988 students are set up to ride the bus and that some buses now carry roughly 80 students when routes are fully loaded.
Why it matters: long rides and understaffed routes affect students’ daily schedules and can reduce instructional time and staff capacity. Olsen said adding about five…
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