TRINITY, Fla. (WFLA) — The Pasco County School District announced this week that thousands of students will be unable to ride buses in the 2022-2023 school year.
Middle and high School students living two miles or less from their school will be impacted by the transportation decision. Those parents will have to find alternate travel methods for their children.
The change will impact nearly 3,000 students.
“Eighty or so bus routes would be eliminated if we didn’t send them to those areas where students are close enough that they can provide their own transportation,” Pasco County Schools Public Information Officer Stephen Hegarty said. “That makes it easier for us to provide transportation to the other students that we are required to provide transportation to.”
According to school leaders, the decision is difficult but necessary due to bus driver shortages.
Stops made two miles or less from the student’s school are also not funded. Those are called “courtesy ridership,” and are not required of the district.
“I wish we could coordinate something, if we could do carpooling, if we could stagger the bus routes better or get more community involvement,” parent Leigh Anne Jensen said.
Jensen thinks board members should walk the routes themselves before the fall.
“I think that they should take some time to potentially go sit on the streets in a car at 5 o’clock in the morning before it starts to get light and see how dark some of these streets are without street lights,” Jensen said.
