Dear Families:

Thank you for your ongoing patience with the OSSE Division of Transportation (OSSE-DOT) as we continue to navigate ongoing staffing shortages.

We know that families have not been receiving the timely, reliable service they expect and deserve, and are writing to provide updates on the ongoing efforts and recent progress that OSSE-DOT has made:

Routing Adjustments

Without adequate staffing, both due to the nationwide driver and attendant shortages and an average of 100 staff callouts per day, to cover all routes, we have had to make complex decisions to meet as many ridership demands as possible, including combining routes by adding more children onto one bus; sending drivers and attendants out to complete multiple routes consecutively; and, as a last resort, dropping and not servicing routes. 

We are making progress, and since Jan. 23, OSSE-DOT has been able to complete every bus route. However, we understand there are still ongoing challenges, including late pick-ups, longer ride times, and separate travel arrangements (e.g., self-travel, ride-share utilization and transportation provided by LEAs) for many families.

Here, we outline the steps we’ve taken to alleviate these challenges.

Private Transportation Expansion

For many families experiencing late service, OSSE-DOT has contracted with new private student transportation vendors. Every week, OSSE-DOT is contracting with additional qualified vendors to expand our ability to cover routes. Since Jan. 9, our transportation vendors have been able to absorb more than 15 bus routes, and the number of private routes will continue to increase in the coming weeks.

New Daily DOT Bus Status Website

OSSE-DOT recently launched a new web page to provide daily morning and afternoon updates on late and down bus routes. This page was created in response to the feedback received from families looking for more up-to-date and accessible information. Updated multiple times throughout the morning and afternoon commutes, this page provides greater insight into our delayed routes and allows parents to view the status of bus services as early as 7 a.m. to make travel arrangements if a bus is expected to be delayed or down that day.

Parent Reimbursement Expansion

After receiving feedback from families, OSSE-DOT has raised the parent reimbursement rate from $0.655 per mile to $1.48 per mile, a 125 percent increase. This new rate was established using the current rate per mile of the ridesharing service Uber. We used Uber because parents may use a ride sharing service to self-transport if OSSE-DOT is unable to provide service. We also chose the per-mile rate for Uber XL to accommodate those who may need to utilize a larger vehicle.

This rate increase will take effect immediately and will apply to all trips in which parents have self-transported their child since Aug. 29, 2022. For any previously submitted reimbursement requests, OSSE-DOT will apply the new, higher rate and provide payment to families with no action required by you. It will continue for the duration of the 2022-23 school year which ends on June 22, 2023.

For information on the reimbursement process, please click here. Reimbursements may take up to 60 days to be processed.

Hiring Efforts

To quickly address our staffing challenges, OSSE is holding a hiring fair on Feb. 16-17 for prospective bus drivers, bus attendants, fleet maintenance, customer service roles and other positions as part of our ongoing efforts to recruit staff to serve DC students with disabilities. OSSE-DOT is offering $5,000 signing bonuses as an incentive for bus drivers and attendants hired after the two-day event held from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Old Council Chambers at the Marion S. Barry Building, 441 Fourth St. NW. Registration is open until Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023, at 12 p.m.

But we aren’t waiting until the hiring fair to bring on more staff. This week, OSSE-DOT onboarded 15 new bus attendants who are undergoing training to serve our students by next week. Since mid-December, we’ve onboarded 22 new drivers, attendants and customer service staff, and we have additional drivers and attendants in the pre-employment phase who will be onboarded this month.

New Employee Attendance Incentive

We know that positive experiences with consistent, excellent drivers and attendants can set the tone for a student’s day, and we have recently launched a new $2,500 employee incentive for perfect attendance.  

Going Forward

We will continue to look for ways to improve family communications, including providing progress updates to families via text and on our website.

We know that we cannot meet family expectations overnight, and we are working urgently to provide our students and families with the safe, reliable service they deserve. We know that there is much work to do, and we are making every effort to improve as quickly as possible.  

Thank you for your continued patience and support,

Michael Riley, Director
OSSE-DOT