NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (WFSB/Gray News) – A school bus company says it is making changes after a student with autism was mistakenly driven an hour in the wrong direction during the first week of school.
The boy’s mother, Somers McCray, said she was in a panic that day when her son never made it home at the expected time.
“If it wasn’t for my baby‘s phone, I wouldn’t have known where he was because they did not know where my baby was,” she said.
The ride, which should have taken minutes, ended up lasting more than an hour before he was safely returned.
In response to the situation, the New Britain Board of Education held a meeting Monday night with First Student, the bus company contracted to transport students in the district.
Board members accused the company of being unprepared for the start of the school year.
New Britain resident Neamiah Ward said the buses seemed to be running late for the first few days of school this year.
“The buses were a bit late,” he said. “That first caused me to be a bit frustrated because I was worried about missing my own ride that was supposed to come around 8:10 in the morning.”
His brother’s bus wasn’t the only one that was late. Laquan Ortiz, an eighth grader, said his school bus was as well.
“They [were] late, almost like an hour,” Laquan said.
The New Britain Board of Education addressed the situation in Monday’s meeting.
“What broke my heart day one was the lack of communication,” Tina Santana, a member of the New Britain Board of Education, said.
“We try to tell our parents everything, the good news and when bad or scary things happen,” Consolidated Schools of New Britain Superintendent Anthony Gasper said. “So the frustration for me and my team was that we couldn’t do that during those first early days.”
A spokesperson for First Student acknowledged the problem and outlined steps the company is taking to prevent similar issues.
The company said it hired 22 new drivers, some of whom were brought in from out of state, including Rhode Island and Louisiana.
First Student said the drivers have been staying in hotels as they begin work in the area.
One challenge raised during the meeting was that some of the out-of-state drivers were unfamiliar with local roads.
Because Connecticut law prohibits bus drivers from using cellphones for GPS navigation, First Student drivers have been relying on printed directions.
However, the company said it plans to issue tablet devices to its drivers.
“The tablets will give route-by-route, stop-by-stop instructions, but in the meantime, we are using paper instructions to help the drivers,” Michael Trujillo, area general manager for First Student, said.
The tablets will not allow calls or text messaging to keep them compliant with state law.
First Student said it is also continuing to recruit more drivers.
According to the school district and the bus company, student safety remains their top priority.