This article was originally published in Rhode Island Current.
A Connecticut-based school bus company awarded an expanded contract to provide transportation for Rhode Island students is apologizing for service disruptions that left families scrambling to get their children to and from school in the first couple weeks of school.
Service disruptions attributed to a shortage of drivers led the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) to issue a corrective action plan last Friday to DATTCO Motorcoach, the company awarded a three-year, $20 million statewide bus contract in May. The contract expanded DATTCO’s existing service area to span most of the state, from Westerly to Woonsocket, and the majority of the state’s urban core.
It was unclear how many children were stranded without bus service, but they included children with disabilities who were not picked up for school or whose families were called to come get them in the afternoon because bus service became unavailable. The problems drew fierce condemnation on Monday from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Rhode Island and Rhode Island Center for Justice. The advocacy organizations demanded in a letter that RIDE correct the issues by Tuesday, sooner than the deadline of 10 days RIDE set in its own condemnatory letter to DATTCO on Sept. 6.