As the green leaves of summer begin to fade to the falling leaves of autumn, the streets 

go from kids riding bikes to being filled with yellow buses and kids waiting at bus stops. With a new school year, new changes are to be expected; however, a new school year can not begin without a form of transportation for the students. Fortunately, R. J. Rhodes Transit, Inc. has provided this for Freedom since as early as the 2000-2001 school year. With Rhodes being founded in 1932, it was of much surprise to Freedom when the company notified them in mid-June that they would no longer be able to service the bus routes. Left without busing, they were forced to look for another company.

“The Board of School Directors approved the contract with ABC Transit, Inc. and Frye Transportation Group, Inc. on August 10. Since we had a previous agreement with Frye in the 2022-2023 school year, they provided most of the transportation for our ESY [extended school year] programs in July; however, ABC had to pick up a few routes as well,” Business Manager Erin Bluedorn said.

Founded in 2013, ABC Transit, Inc. provides transportation for schools within the Western Pennsylvania area. With such a vast area to cover, ABC Transit, Inc. is one of many transportation companies affected by the nationwide shortage of bus drivers. While this was an issue with Rhodes in the past, the lack of bus drivers continues through this year as well. The company is actively trying to fix this issue, but the new drivers have to be trained and learn the area before being able to run the routes. As a result, there are buses that aren’t running, forcing current drivers to make multiple runs to compensate.

“We have added stops to some bus routes in an effort to have the fewest number of routes possible, so some students may experience longer bus rides. Two drivers that started the school year on Tuesday quit by Thursday morning, so there have been two days when one of the bus routes did not run,” Bluedorn said.

Freedom is also making attempts to address these issues. They have worked with ABC Transit, Inc. to adjust routes to make the number of buses needed as little as possible. Additionally, ABC Transit, Inc. is offering new drivers a $5,000 sign on bonus as an incentive and are making efforts to recruit more drivers through advertising.

“We want to make sure everyone understands we are doing the best we can to make sure all students are transported safely and on time every day.  All the building principals and secretaries have done an amazing job keeping up with the changes and adjusting to the situation on a daily basis,” Bluedorn said.

It is hoped that these issues will be minimized in the near future. Both the efforts within Freedom and within ABC Transit, Inc. ensure that the busing situation has been handled to the best of their abilities. Even though the situation and changes are not ideal, their top priority is to make sure the students arrive safely to school and on time just like every other year.