Local

Parents frustrated over Osceola County bus driver shortage

Students in Osceola County said they stood out in the cold Monday morning for an hour waiting for a school bus that had enough room to take them to school, but it never came.
The district has been struggling to find bus drivers for months and parents say it's taking a toll on their children’s education.
One St. Cloud mother estimated 20 kids missed class Monday.
When the bus driver assigned to the route doesn’t come, other buses already on a full schedule have to pick up the slack.
RELATED STORIES:
It’s leading to full buses and children left behind at their bus stop.
On Monday morning, four buses stopped to cover Route 104, but not everyone made it to class.
“One of the students got on the bus and said he couldn't even see a seat. There were three to a seat, and then the second bus, it was the same way,” said student Tiffany Cox.
Tiffany gave up and went home.
“I said, ‘How many actually missed the bus this morning?’ She said all of them this time,” said mother Valeria Cox.
The school district can't say how many students might have missed the four buses.
It's one of 16 routes that suffered from driver shortages Monday, 

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. — ""We've had routes that were uncovered. We didn't know until the last minute (that) they're 30, 45 minutes, sometimes an hour late," said bus coordinator David King.

Valerie Cox’s daughter goes to Harmony High School, which is at least 30 minutes from her home.
King's hiring as fast as he can and said six new drivers should start in January.
And by mid-January, he hopes to have an app called "Here Comes the Bus" up and working.
“Once the bus reaches that radius, it sends out an alert and lets them know your bus is close,” he said.
The app has been in the works since before the driver shortage, but transportation officials hopes it helps kids whose buses run late.
The district is still hiring drivers and raised the pay by a quarter last month to $11.43 an hour. it is working to get the pay even higher.