Budget cuts cause overcrowded buses; district steps in

Budget cuts have hit everyone hard in many places. One of the most evident is the overcrowded classrooms. According to some students, they not only have to deal with the overcrowding in the classroom, but also on the school buses.

“In the mornings, there’s barely enough seats, and in the afternoons, well….,” sophomore Isaac Hansen said.

Because of the budget cuts, bus stops were changed, and some people were told they weren’t able to ride the bus to school anymore.

“I hate how they took away some stops, so now some people have to walk,” senior Simon Situ said. “I know some friends that have to walk a long way to get to school.”

Along with these two changes, the prices have gone up for both a bus pass and the cost to ride the bus without a bus pass. If you do not have a bus pass, it will cost you $5 for one trip, two times as much as it cost last year.

Riding in a bus crowded with many other riders after school in the heat wouldn’t sound too great to many people.

“One time, I decided not to take the bus [after school] because I couldn’t take the stuffiness inside,” Situ said.

Many bus riders would agree that the buses are overcrowded, but not too many actually question to why it is so crowded.

“We are trying our best to transport as many people as possible,” Tim Purvis, Poway Unified School District’s Director of Transportation said.

This year, transportation took a loss of $1.2 million in the budget. Because of this, there are fewer buses and fewer bus stops.

In addition to the fewer buses and bus stops, there are also waiting lists for bus passes. In the beginning of the year, about half a dozen routes had a waiting list, and now, there are about three or four routes with a waiting list.

According to Purvis, even though the buses may be crowded, they could be a lot more crowded if the district wasn’t doing their best to try and keep up with the buses. The district is trying their best to transport as many people as they can, but at the same time, still keeping the buses from being too overcrowded.

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