Parents say kids are spending an extra hour on buses with PGCPS' new bus routes

DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. — Parents are sounding the alarm about bus delays and issues with Prince George’s County Public Schools (PGCPS). Now the school system tells WUSA9 that they averaged 100 issues per day during their first week back.

WUSA9 has been talking with these parents for over a week. The main concern as students start week two of the 2024-2025 school year is that students who are picked up at Flowers High School are then driven about 15 minutes away to Duval High School. Parents and students say they have to come to DuVal and wait for students to get out, making their commute much longer.

Marquita Broady and her son are frustrated with his assigned bus route this school year.

“This is our only hope. This is why we contacted you because it seems like our demands or concerns are falling upon deaf ears,” Broady said.

“It’s really annoying because my last bus got home at like 3:10, so to have to wait a whole hour/hour and a half, it’s not good,” Prince George’s County Public School student, Ulice Slaughter, said.

Prince George’s County Public Schools says it consolidated some bus stops to improve school arrival times and home drop-off times. PGPS also tells WUSA9 the changes will help increase vehicle utilization, maximize staff and reduce opportunities for buses to fall behind on their routes.

Parents said they never imagined this would happen.

“She doesn’t get home until 4:30/5 o’clock, school is dismissed at 2:10,” parent Phyllis Wright said. “So, you’re talking about two hours that she’s on the bus. That’s unacceptable.”

To make matters worse, students say there’s been some really hot days where they waited on the bus for an hour with no air conditioning.

“It was like I don’t know, 95 degrees or something like that so it’s really hot in sweating on the bus,” Slaughter said. “There’s really small fans, so it’s the windows— they don’t all open.”

Parents say they’ve reached out to the PGCPS several times and tried using a new online parent complaint system.

“None of them have been responsive,” Broady said. “You send an email too, you have to fill out a resolution form at transport office and they’ll say the issue has been resolved. My issue has not been resolved.”

The school system tells WUSA9: “We implemented five transportation improvements for the 2024-25 school year that include changes to bus routes. These improvements are just the start of a multi-phase, multi-year project focused on progress over perfection.

As we strive for improvement, families can help by sharing concerns about their child's bus or walking route through our online Transportation Resolution System (TRS). 

Due the volume of requests, families can expect a response within 48 hours. Families can also call the Transportation Call Center at 301-952-6570.

The first week of school we are averaging about 100 issues per day. We are working hard behind the scenes to resolve families' concerns as quickly as possible.

Using the Stopfinder app, families can create geo alerts to receive push notifications on their cell phone when the bus enters their personalized locations. Families must activate their ParentVUE account before they can set up a Stopfinder account.” 

Meanwhile, Broady just wants her son home sooner than later. 

"I understand if you have to consolidate schools, but have a school that’s in closer proximity like maybe Suitland or another school that’s closer," Broady said. "Charles Flowers is 8 minutes from my home and for him to be on a bus for two hours [is unacceptable],” Broady said.

Parents say they will keep pushing for something to change.

“I’m going to fight for these children in Prince George’s County Public Schools,” Wright said.