TULSA, Okla. — After less than a month, Union Public Schools is now restoring some of its previous bus routes after cutting down a large chunk.
Originally, the district cited not having enough bus drivers as the reason.
According to the district, some Public School certified drivers were hired on to the team, which is why the routes are now able to be driven.
2 News spoke with Bibiana Villarruel, a Union Public Schools mother.
She also spoke about the topic back in March when the route cuts were officially announced.
Local News
ROUTES CUT: Union Public Schools forced to cut bus routes amid driver shortage
She said she's relieved to see the district taking action now but thinks every child deserves a fair chance getting to school.
"I just hope they can hire more bus drivers because the school needs them, so they can improve overall attendance," said Villarruel. "I'm just happy that some other parents can now go back to normal."
Still, not all routes have been restored.
Below, are the routes that will not be driven on certain days.
2 News' Isabel Flores spoke with the District Associate Superintendent Charlie Bushyhead to find out what the restored routes mean for next school year.
FLORES: “Tell me what Union is doing to make sure that this doesn’t happen next year.”
BUSHYHEAD: “Well, we’re doing a lot of things. We’re talking to several companies who do routing services, we’re looking at if there are other companies who would be able to take care of our other special transportation needs.”
Bushyhead said the district has gotten several applicants to drive buses, but they have to go through training, which means they won’t be able to get on the road for a while.
Still, he said the district isn’t backing down.
"We have to get the kids to school, and that’s one of the things we’re gonna focus on end of this spring.”
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