Buffalo parents practice patience, flexibility to deal with school bus woes

Holloway said the Buffalo Public Schools' transportation issues, a local example stemming from the nationwide shortage of bus drivers, were a continuation from last school year. And while she's hopeful things will get better, she already has taken matters into her own hands, picking up Marcel from the pre-K-8 school in the Delavan-Grider neighborhood the rest of the week.

"We can't have him get home at 7," Holloway said. "We still have dinner, homework, chores, baths ... "

Holloway was among the few dozen parents and kids who ventured out early Saturday for the B-District Community Day outside the Pratt Willert Community Center, where a backpack giveaway led by the City of Buffalo, Molina Healthcare and the Buffalo Police Department was complemented by free food, live music and tents with a dozen local health and community organizations. 

Many parents and children at the event said they had not experienced problems through the first week of school, while others emphasized that patience has been required for transportation delays. Some thought delays could just be an ordinary byproduct of the first week of school.

Holloway attempted to call the bus terminal for updates, but the line is usually busy, she said. She learned the two-hour delay on Tuesday was due to a "hectic" afternoon at the school Marcel's bus went to first. 

Debbie Lombardo, president of the Board of Block Clubs of Buffalo & Erie County, said her block of Bird Avenue by Herkimer Street has already felt the brunt of the bus driver shortage.

"My block alone has been terrible," she said, adding that the last bus run ended around 6 p.m., about two hours after the final bell. "That's a really long day for kids."

Lombardo said there has not yet been discussion in monthly board meetings about how block clubs could assist kids waiting for extended periods for buses to arrive in the morning, or coming home later in the evening, but it's a topic she plans to investigate further.

She said it's possible that some individual block clubs, among the more than 225 active in the city, have already taken steps to improve safety and vigilance.

The block club board president urged Buffalo Public Schools and First Student, the district's longtime transportation partner, to "go old school" by holding more community events and informational meetings to recruit drivers and aides. The lack of aides was of particular concern to Lombardo for security reasons. "If there's 40 or more students on a bus, and a situation happens, who's helping the bus driver?" she asked.

Travell Scales, who said his son will ride the school bus for the first time this week, pointed to the lingering impact of Covid-19 – which saw many retiree bus drivers leave the role for health concerns, he said – as one reason why parents should not expect everything to be back to normal.

"We have to understand that things aren't going to be what they were," he said as his son pulled him toward a nearby tent. "Just as parents, we have to adjust, the administration has to adjust as well."

Scales said he is not worried about how his son will handle any busing issues, but he did not downplay the overall challenge.

"I understand it's a process, but also I have a good support system that most people don't," he said.