School bus misses routes, leaves some students behind

On the first day of class, some St. Paul students didn't get a ride to school after a bus contractor unfamiliar with the city encountered problems.

District officials aren't sure how many students were affected, but say about 10 routes lacked service, and a dozen more faced delays of 30 minutes. District spokesperson Toya Stewart Downey said they are working with the bus contractor to reduce problems on Wednesday.

"We'd like to have our buses pick up the students on time, at the stops that they're assigned to, and get them to school on time," Downey said.

She said the delays occurred mainly because the company was unfamiliar with the district's bus routes and construction detours in St. Paul.

Downey says last year the bus contractor, Minnesota Central, covered only a few of the district's 900 routes. This year that number was expanded to more than 80.

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