Copyright Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Although an emergency bus company contract narrowly avoided stranding 150,000 New York City students last month, a group of Staten Island elected officials wants to see future service disruptions avoided. In a letter to Mayor Eric Adams, Assemblymembers Sam Pirozzolo, Michael Reilly, Michael Tannousis and Councilmember David Carr urged the approval of a long-term contract with the school bus companies that serve New York City. “This is not the time for political division or bureaucratic nonsense. It is the time for stability and accountability for the students who rely on yellow buses every day and for the families who depend on this service to make their lives work,” the borough Republicans said in the letter to Adams. While the elected officials said are happy to see the problem addressed in the short term, they believe that the lack of a long-term agreement creates “unnecessary instability.” In addition, the letter stated that failing to approve a five-year contract extension for bus operators is placing thousands of jobs in jeopardy. The letter pointed the blame at the Panel for Educational Policy, the school board that approves the contracts, which is largely mayor-appointed. “The delay by the Panel for Educational Policy, who you appoint, risks placing our city on the brink of a school bus strike that would have serious consequences,” the letter stated. “It is unprecedented that a Mayor is unable to rally members of the PEP, and shows a failure to manage Mayoral Control.” The Advance/SILive.com reached out to the mayor’s office for comment, but did not receive a response before publication. On Oct. 30, all 52 companies that operate New York City’s yellow bus service signed an emergency contract with the city, averting a possible work stoppage that could have begun Monday, Nov. 3. A contract dispute has been ongoing after a five-year contract between the bus companies, the city, and the Department of Education expired in June. Near the end of October, the companies said they were preparing to halt operations and lay off employees on Nov. 1 if they didn’t receive a five-year contract extension. According to Chalkbeat, Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos voiced concerns about approving a contract that would outlast the incoming mayor’s first term. Officials have also labeled the bus system as “rife with problems,” Chalkbeat said, including delayed and no-show service and lack of air conditioning. Before the end of October, 27 of the 52 bus companies agreed to extend the contracts for November and December during the meeting of the Panel for Educational Policy. But four of the largest bus companies — Logan, Consolidated Transit, Pioneer, and First — had not signed the emergency contracts. At the meeting, panel members unanimously voted to oppose a five-year contract for the bus companies, saying that it lacked vendor accountability and better services. The companies had to choose between continuing on an emergency contract basis or laying off drivers and stopping bus service. They opted for the emergency extension. The contract is scheduled to be finalized at a panel meeting on Nov. 19.
