Dear Families:
Thank you for your patience with the OSSE Division of Transportation (OSSE-DOT). This past week, many students experienced significant bus service delays due to higher-than-average employee callouts and the need to switch to a new routing system. Additionally, we have had a sizeable shortage of drivers and attendants this school year. Without adequate staffing to cover all routes, we have had to make difficult and complex decisions to meet ridership demands, including:
- Combine routes and add more children onto a bus route;
- Send our drivers and attendants out to run multiple routes consecutively; and
- As a last resort, drop and not service routes.
As we continue working urgently to stabilize our routes, we expect many routes to begin experiencing the consistency and reliability that you expect; however, due to our staffing challenges, we also expect some routes to continue to experience service delays for the foreseeable future. In the coming weeks, OSSE-DOT will communicate a revised pick-up time for the most severely impacted routes. This means some students will receive pick-up times that are close to or past school bell time and drop-off times that will require longer ride times.
What Parents Can Do:
If your child experienced routine service delays last week, you are eligible for parent reimbursement. Parent reimbursements are eligible for self-travel and full ride-share costs (e.g., Uber/Lyft) for commutes to and from school.
If you want to apply for parent reimbursement, please complete the certification and W9 forms (see below links), then submit it using our secure BOX upload site. Reimbursement processing may take up to 60 days.
Parent Reimbursement Forms
Parents may also choose to utilize the Kids Ride Free Program. The Kids Ride Free (KRF) program allows students to ride for free on Metrobus, Metrorail, and the DC Circulator while traveling within the District. Cards can be made available in 2-3 days.
Our Plan for Staffing Shortages:
We are taking several immediate steps to address our staffing shortages. On Jan. 12, we announced a new attendance incentive for our terminal operations staff, including bus drivers and attendants, to reduce absenteeism. In addition to our active hiring process, we will host a job fair in the coming weeks to quickly fill vacancies for drivers, bus attendants and call center staff.
Again, we deeply regret the challenges in service delivery that you are experiencing. We will continue to update you as we move OSSE-DOT forward. If you have questions, please call the Parent Resource Center at (202) 576-5000. Operating hours for the Parent Resource Center are Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. For non-urgent questions, please email [email protected].
Sincerely,
OSSE Division of Student Transportation