There is a nationwide shortage of bus drivers, but M&J has failed to adapt to this shortage locally. Instead of conducting a thorough route review, M&J has relied on last-minute changes that have left children stranded. These changes seem to disproportionately impact a few neighborhoods--particularly those that rely on buses 16 and 23. Buses 16 and 23 have combined on at least one trip on 38 out of 62 days (a whopping 61.2% of the time). This combination wouldn't matter if the times were the same, but this is up to a 15-minute difference in pickup time (most adults are hard-pressed to leave 15 minutes early with no notice in the morning--kids are worse). Additionally, learning is negatively impacted with the students frequently arriving late (often missing homeroom). Finally, students often do not know which bus they are taking at the end of school, creating anxiety.

Enough is enough--if it is safe, then M&J should look to permanently combine 16 & 23. Combining would free up a spare driver on 38.8% of the days. If it is not safe, which we are not convinced it is (3 to a seat during conventional times seems less than ideal, and during COVID-19 it is even less so), perhaps it is time to look for another solution. Other solutions would be to reroute the entire system, which would take effort, but one group of taxpayers should not be holding the burden for the town.

Please sign to help us convince the Superintendent and M&J that this is a priority for the town's voters.