Overcrowded buses require mid-year management

All students at HC are aware of the overcrowding issues that have existed for years. This is evident when one walks through the halls. But the overcrowding issues are not limited to just the school building itself. Crowded buses can also express the large population of the school. Over-capacity buses are unsafe and can potentially endanger the lives of their passengers. These unsafe, overcrowded buses are prevalent at HC.

“My bus [120] is very overcrowded,” HC Freshman Nate Lee said. “Some days there are as many as three or four people standing up.”

The issues with Bus 120 have been rectified. Some of the students who ride Bus 120 were informed that they would be riding a different bus in the afternoon.

“They handed us this green sheet of paper,” HC Sophomore Andrea Hicks said, “which told us that we will be riding Bus 975 in the afternoon from now on.”

Once administration is aware of issues with bus overcrowding, the problems are easily and quickly fixed. After being emailed about the issues, it did not take long for Fayette County to solve the problem. The key part is letting them know. These buses are over capacity despite the efforts of Fayette County, who perform regular checkups to make sure this doesn’t occur.

“We ask our bus staff to complete student load counts at various times throughout the year,” Fayette County Routing Supervisor Brad Daniels said. “At the time of our last counts around October 12, we had several buses near capacity, which is 52.”

Fayette County is able to take steps to rectify this issue by manipulating bus routes, which can be seen in the case of Bus 120.

“The solution involves working with other buses in the same area who have extra room,” Daniels said.  “We can usually move one or two bus stops to another bus to even out the loads.”

For anyone who is having similar issues with overcrowding on their bus, he or she can email the routing supervisor, whose email can be found on the Fayette County staff directory.