Waiting for the Bus: Royal Oaks families growing frustrated over school buses that sometimes never show up

ROYAL OAKS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- A Royal Oaks community is growing frustrated over the lack of bus service for students in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.

Families start the school days around 6 a.m. before the sun is out waiting for their bus.

Some have flashlights, hot tea and blankets as they wait patiently, hoping the oncoming headlights could somehow be the bus they've been waiting for.

But families say over at least the last three months, the buses just don't show up.

"It's not just a few kids at this bus stop," a mother says. "The schools want children to attend but the district isn't picking them up!"

Families will often have to resort to adjusting their morning routines to take their kids to school instead.

They also tell KION when letting the district know about the issue, and the possibility of keeping their kids at school, the schools say a late or absent bus is not a reason for the student to be absent. That the parents are responsible for driving them to school at that point.

The district says they recognize the issue they're dealing with and point to a bus driver shortage.

"We are short 19 drivers, and we have to cover 420 routes every week," says PVUSD Transportation Director Sarah Lemke.

Families living up some hills face specific access issues for school buses, too. The conditions force families to depend on neighbors to take their children to bus stops to wait for buses. But it loops back to the main issue: The buses don't show up.

From there, the families say they work to get their kids to school, with some having to travel over five miles away.

Some of the families we talked to say while the district has a service that lets them know if a bus is coming or not, they often get a notice right as the scheduled pick-up time passes, adding to the frustration.

"The district is a little different from others," says Lemke. "Some districts have a two hour all call, this one has a one hour. Sometimes drivers will call, we call dispatches, and it could be hard to accommodate."

PVUSD also provided a written statement.

“We recognize the urgency of the situation and are actively working to expedite the process while maintaining the necessary safety and certification standards."

PVUSD says they are planning to launch a training class in May or June of this year for new drivers.