OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — About 15,000 Omaha Public Schools students rely on the bus to get them to and from school. In previous years though issues like a driver shortage, have caused problems for families. Reporter Molly Hudson looked into how transportation is going for the first half of the school year and the changes some families can expect soon.
- About 13,000 regular education students are transported by Zum. The Zum app offers families a way to track their child's bus and improve communication.
- About 2,000 special education students ride the OPS fleet of buses, without the new technology.
- The district has approved Zum training OPS drivers to use its technology so that they'll have the same access as others.
- OPS hopes to have the Zum technology for special education families by early 2025.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Getting ready for the bus and waiting for it to show up with no way to know exactly where it is. In fact, it happened this morning for the Birchfield family.
"He was very irritated with me and wanted to know exactly what time it was going to arrive, and I said I can't tell you that, I don't know," said Noelle Birchfield, a special education parent within OPS.
I met Noelle and her son Kellen on the first day of school this year. Kellen like 2,000 other special education students ride on the district's fleet of buses.
"His driver's been great, very consistent however when there is a substitute driver there are times when things are a little bit later," Birchfield said.
But right now, special education students don’t take the same bus as other students, those are operated by contractor Zum.
The company app offers parents a way to track the bus and improve communication. So far, the district says things are going well.
"First quarter we were extremely pleased with the service we are receiving from our providers, we are still have 100% coverage," said Trevis Sallis, executive director for Student Transportation at OPS.
Sallis acknowledges it’s not perfect.
"We get more complaints probably for special needs parents wanting to know, will they have the opportunity to have the same application that we provide on the regular education buses," Sallis said.
So now, after parents like Noelle pushed the district, comes the news they have been waiting for.
The district has approved Zum training OPS drivers to use its technology so that they'll have the same access as others.
"It would be nice if they had started us along with everybody else so we could be accustomed to it before the bad weather hits, but I’ll take it," Birchfield said.
And by early next year, Noelle and Kellen will know exactly when his favorite part of the day will begin.
OPS hopes to have the Zum technology for special education families by early 2025.
