FIRST REPORT: Durham Bus Service has pulled out of Lakewood, a Board of Education official told TLS.
The company, who earlier this year left thousands of children without busing after cancelling about 52 routes, announced they would be leaving Lakewood due to the fact that the district would be covering routes with their own purchased buses. There is also, as of now, no courtesy busing for thousands of children. Many of those routes were covered by Durham.
The Board of Education earlier voted against purchasing the buses, believing it would cost the district extra money, but the move was overridden by State Monitor David Shafter.
As the BOE predicted, the bus companies began pulling out, now leaving hundreds of children without busing.
Following the company’s announcement, some Durham drivers left the company to secure themselves jobs for the upcoming school year.
As a result, 14 routes in the morning and 12 routes in the afternoon are left without drivers, leaving approximately 500 children in the morning and approximately 400 children in the afternoon – from both public and non-public school – without busing until the end of the year.
“It’s very sad to see the state undo all the progress Lakewood has achieved all these years in transportation,” the Board member told TLS.
In response, the administration has pulled the company’s performance bond, and will be seeking new drivers to cover the routes until the end of the year.
[TLS]
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This was predicted and glad that it hppnd to show lakewood they are killing the town with there “ways of saving”but we all didn’t get money back from our taxes so there yu have it finally coming corrupt
Aren’t they all locked in a contract? That starts and ends with the school year?
Do you know which routes/schools are canceled?
wont the other bus companies be able to get these cancelled routes now?
It seems to me that the state monitor is doing, and has done more harm and damage to this district than we ever had before. And to my understand the state monitor is costing us – tax payer dollars. Now I don’t see that as a way to save money.
My son lost bussing but i heard that the busdriver quit because the bus yard moved to freehold and its too far from her house.
Same old story, when will get competent people running the BOE
Linda – Perhaps the state monitor is pushing for a real solution as opposed to the band-aid solutions the district has been pushing for the past few years.
Driving a bus in Lakewood has to be the most thankless job in the world.
Don’t blame them for quitting.
You know people should really get their story straight before making accusations. Durham isn’t pulling out of Lakewood. They are getting pushed out.
Very confusing article….poorly written! There is 2 separate things going on #1 Durham is pulling out of Lakewood NEXT YEAR. #2 Due to this,some of their current bus drivers left now causing 100’s of students to lose their bussing now. This paragraph is wrong “As the BOE predicted, the bus companies began pulling out, now leaving hundreds of children without busing.” And so is your title misleading!
Most BOE articles are based on unnamed board officials or board members. If they want to be anonymous they shouldn’t be public officials. The BOE opposed the purchase of buses to save money in order to keep the money flowing to local bus companies. The same bus companies that gouged the district this year with 30% to 40% price increases. The BOE continues to fight with and to refuse to work collaboratively with the State but demands more state aid. Durham is one company. There is nothing to support the BOE prediction that bus companies (plural) are pulling out. Poorly written article!