- Ann Arbor Public Schools
- Superintendent's Messages
October 24, 2016 - Transportation Issues
Hello Students and Parents,
I am writing to express my deepest apologies for the lapse in bus service that we experienced in the Ann Arbor Public Schools this morning. I am so very sorry that this situation occurred, and for the impact that you may have experienced. I want you to know that it is absolutely unacceptable for our transportation service to fail in this way. We aspire to a high level of service for our students in the AAPS and we will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure improvement.
We have been working with Durham Transportation personnel since early this morning when we first received contact about this issue. Our goal is to better understand exactly what happened, and to take immediate steps to ensure that this does not occur again.
I want you to know that today I have spoken directly with Mr. Brad Tate, Durham Regional Vice President, to demand immediate and decisive action to ensure improvement - sustained improvement. This situation should never have happened, and Durham understands that it cannot occur again.
This morning a number of unscheduled driver absences caused some routes to be cancelled. In addition, two busses were detained due to the I-94 closure and failed to make their routes on a timely basis. We find this lapse in service to be unacceptable.
Over recent weeks, Durham has experienced a critical shortage in bus drivers and we have been working daily with Durham Transportation to resolve a number of issues, most rooted in this driver shortage. An extensive recruitment plan has been in place for several weeks and is yielding additional drivers, however, we continue to experience a shortage. As an additional support, Durham has relocated drivers to support the AAPS, and to further recruitment efforts, we are currently assessing the costs and viability of increasing the hourly rate for drivers to attract better, more reliable candidates for these positions.
Brad Tate, Regional Vice President, Durham Transportation Services shares, “I offer my apologies to the students, parents, and District. We made a commitment and we stand behind that. We will draw the resources necessary to assist Amy Wolfe and the Ann Arbor team so that they can provide the services you expect and deserve. We have 7 more drivers coming to Ann Arbor tomorrow morning.”
Again, I apologize for the lapse in transportation service that you have experienced. This failure does not meet our goal of ensuring quality transportation service for our students and families, and I promise you that we will not rest until we realize sustained improvement in consistent, quality transportation service for our students and families in the AAPS.
Sincerely,
Jeanice Swift