Pittsburgh Public School leaders say progress made on busing issues

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Public Schools leaders said the district has made significant progress in narrowing the gap of students with a seat on a school bus versus those without.

Officials said a driver shortage caused by the pandemic left thousands of students without a ride to school. That number is now reportedly down to several hundred.

PPS officials said nearly 14,000 students are back in class or will be by May 3 when all students have the option to return to in-person learning. Nearly 8,000 families opted to keep their students home and continue learning online when the district said they’d have to find their own way to get to school. Officials said that cut the number of students needing a ride from 2,600 several weeks ago to 638.

The Port Authority of Allegheny County is helping to fill the gap, but the district said hundreds of drivers are still needed.

“For the fall, we still need approximately 350 drivers to make everything run smoothly and be able to provide the service where we would like them to be,” said Megan Patton, director of pupil transportation.

The district is also partnering with Giant Eagle to hold a vaccine clinic May 5 at Heinz Field for all PPS students 16 and older, siblings and parents to help get people safely back to school.

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Cox Media Group