Despite a handful of issues during the first week of classes, Hays CISD’s transportation department is starting to equalize its on-time percentages, according to district officials.
Tim Savoy, Hays CISD public information officer, said the district is now “where we expected to be” in terms of getting students to class before the first bell. During the first week of school, 169 of the 973 total bus routes across all 23 campuses were late.
Since then, the district has increased its on-time rate to above 95 percent. On Sept. 20, only five total bus routes ran late across elementary and secondary campus routes.
Hays CISD Transportation by the numbers
141 – number of bus drivers employed by Hays CISD
159 – number of routes run per day
210 – number of yellow buses in the district fleet
13,600 – number of students who ride the bus in 2018
9,400 – approximate number of students who rode the bus in 2008-09
2.5M – number of combined miles traveled by Hays CISD buses per year
Adding back nine regular and four special education bus routes that had been eliminated prior to the start of classes was a major help in reducing tardy buses, Savoy said. A reduction to 146 routes meant some buses had more students, leading to an issue of overcrowding.
An online photo showing students sitting in the aisle of an overcrowded Hays CISD bus was the cause of uproar from parents during the first week, leading officials to immediately make changes. District transportation employees will no longer be allowed to bring on students that could cause the bus to exceed rider capacity.
Hays CISD policy dictates no more than three students per seat for elementary riders, and no more than two people per seat for secondary students.
The district also worked to improve air conditioning on many of its buses, which was a problem addressed by parents during the initial week of school.
While the district has improved on bus times, Savoy said safety is paramount and the district urges drivers to not place students in an unsafe position to meet on-time percentages.
“We can’t say we will be on time every day, but we work as hard as we can to keep buses running on time,” Savoy said.
