Reconfiguring Newtown School Bus Routes Is A Long And Winding Road

By Eliza Hallabeck

The Newtown school district’s Transportation Committee continued down the tortuous road of reevaluating bus routes this week at its monthly meeting.

Over the next month and a half, problem areas will be examined, and if there is a possibility of rerouting for efficiency, solving overcrowding on buses and shortening student time on the bus then remedies will be explored.

Last month the committee said it would have four maps printed out to help them analyze the current routes, but only one map was given to them by the town, according to Cathy Hydeck of the transportation department. Smaller roads can not be viewed on a small map. Problems with the transportation software have also created delays in addressing problems.

“There are three factors that need to be considered,” School Superintendent Janet Robinson said. The amount of time students are on the bus, the total number of students who are on the buses, and efficiency of the routes all have to be figured out before a new bus route can be reached.

The length of time students are on a certain bus can be measured in two separate ways, according to Ms Robinson. The amount of time a student is being driven on one route, and the time it takes for the first child to be picked up in the morning and dropped off in the afternoon are two different time lengths.

“It is all about the kids,” said Ms Robinson. “How long are the kids on the bus?”

District Business Manager Ron Bienkowski reported there is no formal limit to how long a student can be on a bus route, but the goal of the town is to have no student on a bus for more than 45 minutes.

Carey Schierloh, a veteran driver and bus owner/operator, said during the meeting that she spent two hours looking over the printed bus route information. She said she did this after learning the routes had not been reviewed as thoroughly as had been suggested at the committee’s last meeting.

“The information is all here,” said Ms Schierloh. “I just read and compared it.”

She then pulled up a large scale map that showed Newtown with different bus routes on it. She pinpointed certain buses that start their mornings far from where their bus routes eventually take them. Ms Schierloh said certain routes could either start later to save time or they could be switched to cut back on the amount of gas that is being used.

Anthony DiLonardo, the director of transportation, was then asked by Lillian Bittman, a member of the Board of Education, if he believes looking at where the drivers start driving is a good idea and if it can be done.

“The other thing that hasn’t been figured into the first tier routes is what they are doing on the second tier,” Mr DiLonardo said.

“Second tier does not come into play with this at all,” said Phil Carroll, a veteran driver and an owner/operator in town. “It does not come into play.”

He said all of the buses on the first tier, which are buses that drive during the first round of drop offs, arrive at the Newtown High School at the same time. According to Mr Carroll the second tier bus routes are not connected to how the bus routes work on the first tier.

The matter of efficiency for the bus routes will be looked into further by Mr DiLonardo and the transportation department. Ms Hydeck said she will look at the routes when school gets as there will be more time to further study the issue.

The software in place for routing the buses does not give perfect details, and human intelligence is needed from the drivers to verify what routes work and which ones do not. According to Ms Scheirloh the software allows the routes to be pulled up on a map, but it does not show certain information.

“For instance you can bring up Bennett’s Bridge and it will show you, okay, these are the four buses on this road, but in order to see where each bus is stopping or if it is stopping you have to click each bus route individually,” said Ms Schierloh.

Mr Dilonardo said the routes are “pretty good right now,” and he said reevaluating them will need more time. He said discussing the first tier bus program before the next meeting would be pushing the boundaries of time.

Ms Bittman said the problem is rapid growth. Despite the situation of constant new residents moving to the town and more students attending the schools, she said by phone, that a bottom line needs to be agreed upon.

“I think we just have to drive home that we have these issues and they have already been agreed on,” said Ms Bittman.

Mr Dilonardo did agree to meet with the bus drivers and owners two weeks before the next meeting, which has been tentatively set for around July 29.