‘It’s just not safe:’ Parents frustrated as more than 160 Duval school buses delayed or didn’t show

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — This afternoon more than 160 Duval County school buses were either late or didn’t show up to school.

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Duval County Public School sent a notice on Wednesday that said to expect widespread delays due to a high number of anticipated absences.

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Dozens of bus drivers called out of work. Some parents waiting in the carline at Southside Estates High School said they were frustrated about it for safety reasons. But others didn’t think much of it since they were notified ahead of time.

“I didn’t feel bad,” Magnificent Bede, a parent said. “They told us early, they called on the phone, sent the message that there will be a delay in the morning and the afternoon… So I’m aware of that. So I don’t I don’t have any problem with that.”

Original Story: DCPS notifies families of expected widespread school bus delays Thursday

Bede said the bus usually picks up her child to go to Southside Estates Elementary. Since she had time to make arrangements she was not upset.

However, other parents were bothered by the delays.

“If those buses are late, you know, kids are just standing around, and you know, it’s just not safe,” parent Meshech Jefferson said.

This morning, the DCPS bus delay web page showed there were more than 60 routes affected with either delays or no buses at all.

On Thursday afternoon, nearly 150 busses were late and more than 20 bus routes did not have buses at all.

Only about 30 buses were on time.

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Kevin Figueroa has five kids and one goes to Southside Estates. He said it’s unfortunate for the kids, but he understands since it’s the holidays and the last day before winter break.

“It’s a little bit of an inconvenience to some parents, but I understand that it’s the holiday season, so maybe they had plans.”

Action News Jax reached out to the two bus services of Duval County -- Durham School Bus Services and Student Transportation of America.

As of this report, STA has not responded.

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The Durham spokesperson said they had minimal callouts this morning saying, “Nothing out of the ordinary.” They also said Durham’s routes were on time.

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