Bus Problems Continue On Second Day For Andover Public Schools

ANDOVER, MA — Bus problems including delays and no-show buses were widely reported for a second day in Andover Public Schools Thursday, with the district citing staffing issues and construction as causes.

Many parents took to social media Wednesday morning to report long and sometimes fruitless waits for school buses. Similar issues were also widespread Wednesday, with the district saying first-day challenges had been anticipated.

But the district had been assured by its bus contractor that Thursday would be better, spokeswoman Nicole Kieser said.

"Andover Public Schools holds a contract with Trombly and NRT to provide school transportation to our students," Kieser said. "We have spoken with NRT and Trombly numerous times; they had assured us that today would be better than yesterday.

"We know this wasn’t the experience with many of our families."

Many parents blamed the new, later school start times for the difficulties, but Kieser pointed to other factors.

"These challenges are not attributable to a single factor," Kieser said. "Trombly and NRT, like many companies nationwide, are experiencing a shortage of staff or new staff that are getting familiar with bus routes. Many roads in the town are under construction, which is adding to delays and detours."

District officials and the police department will review the new routes in coming weeks for potential adjustments, and Trombly and NRT will "implement operational changes to improve service" after Labor Day, Kieser said.

"Each morning, the bus company will communicate updates to our transportation manager, in order to let our families know of any issues in advance," Kieser said. "Trombly also has three full-time drivers returning to service our bus routes.

"The district worked to update routes with the implementation of the new school start times and the elimination of B runs to improve the efficiency of these routes," she added. "Trombly’s management team will also support our transportation manager in a review of the routes we currently have in place to improve on-time performance."

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.