Families struggle with school bus delays in Prince George's County
HYATTSVILLE, Md. - Parents in Prince George's County are contacting FOX 5 over bus problems persisting.
They say the issue is causing a headache for families just trying to get their students to school on time.
At a bus stop located on 72nd Avenue in Hyattsville, kids have had to wait for hours and parents are fed up with the bus showing
up ridiculously late.
"It’s terrible because we're going to work," said Maria Castillo, a Prince George's County mom. "We can’t stay waiting for the time they come, and yesterday it didn’t show up."
Parents have told FOX 5 that bus route 135 is supposed to show up at 7:15 in the morning. However, they never know when to expect it.
The bus has come as late at 9 a.m. before.
Parent say the delays have caused students riding the bus to miss the opportunity to get their school breakfast, which is an unfortunate circumstance for those who
rely on that meal in order to eat.
Prince George's County school bus driver job fair gets strong turn-out
There was a strong turn-out Wednesday at the school bus driver job fair in Prince George’s County. Prince George’s County Public Schools says it’s still in need of nearly 200 drivers less than two weeks before the first day of school.
Anthony Castillo, a Prince George's County sixth grader, said, "That’s what I hate because the bus always come around 8:00, 8:30 or sometimes 9 and like I get late to class and the teacher just sends me to the office."
Prince George's County Public Schools said this is a result of not having enough school bus drivers. The school district said that all bus drivers are expected to help with other routes because they have no substitute bus drivers.
Several bus drivers told FOX 5 that people are using PGCPS to get their free commercial driver's license, then getting jobs at Metro and elsewhere.