CINCINNATI — As the school year resumes across Ohio, some school districts said they are still struggling to find enough bus drivers. For Cincinnati Public Schools, the shortage is leading to late starts and possibly missed days of class.  

What You Need To Know

  • Parents of Cincinnati Public School students are voicing their concerns regarding bus delays

  • Parents claim that buses have been showing up late or not at all

  • CPS says school bus drivers have not indicated missing any stops, attribute delays to national driver shortage

  • Parents encouraged to check their student’s PowerSchool account to verify current bus routes 

Rasheena Matthews said her children have taken the CPS bus for years and haven’t had any issues. But this school year has been a little different.

“Things didn’t change from the prior year so I was able to know where their stop most likely would be,” said Matthews. “I just didn’t know what time to be.”

That’s because she didn’t know the bus schedule on the first day of classes. And with her being at work, it was hard for her to communicate that with the guardian who takes her children to the bus stop. 

“I didn’t know what directions to give or what time did the bus come or what time did the bus drop them off after school,” she said. 

But the Matthews aren’t the only CPS family experiencing this issue. Matthews said she knows others who have seen worse. 

“Their children's buses are delayed back 30, 40 minutes. Or, at the start of last week — on Thursday when CPS started — that some buses didn’t show up at all,” she said. 

Spectrum News 1 reached out to CPS. It said bus contractors haven’t indicated missing a stop, but indicated the delay is because of a national shortage. CPS said it is working to resolve issues such as route delays and troubleshooting parent/guardian alternative stop requests.

“As a mother, I think that I just needed to receive the information a little earlier so that I can prepare for the school year as a parent,” Matthews said.

CPS said it encourages parents to check their student’s PowerSchool account to continue to verify current bus routes and other info. They have also added the option for 7th and 8th grade students to ride the Metro bus instead.

“I have faith that it’s going to eventually work out but it was a total like disarray at the start of school," said Matthews.