ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. – Nearly 1,600 students across the county will receive school bus transportation service on Monday, December 5, as the first phase of Anne Arundel County Public Schools’ emergency van procurement program is implemented, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Bedell announced today.
The program will place into service 17 vans that will transport students to nonpublic educational settings across the region. School buses that currently transport those students will be transferred to general and magnet program routes at comprehensive schools, where they will transport students in both the morning and afternoon to 23 schools in six feeder systems across the county.
“As we have said all along, the bus driver shortage is one that exists across the nation and we must take many approaches to solving this difficult issue,” Dr. Bedell said. “This continues to be a frustrating issue for everyone, but no one more than our families who are inconvenienced by the lack of transportation. I thank them for everything they and others throughout our community are doing for our students.”
The vans, which are driven by drivers who are not required to have CDL licenses, have been acquired through an emergency procurement program approved by the Board earlier this year. Additional vans are set to be deployed next week as they arrive, are inspected, and drivers are hired. It is anticipated those routes will provide service to nearly 800 additional students.
Routes were chosen through a variety of factors that include the use of an equity lens aimed at identifying and eliminating negative barriers, whether an additional run will result in students getting to school on time or nearly on time, the volume of students expected to ride a bus, and the existing impact on a school that would be served by such an additional run.
Beginning Monday, December 5, the following routes will be operating:
- Bus 1 – Deale Elementary School, Southern High School, Southern Middle School (to be run by Bus 366)
- Bus 26 – Shady Side Elementary School, Southern Middle School (to be run by Bus 689)
- Bus 82 – Annapolis High School (to be run by Bus 305)
- Bus 88 – Meade Heights Elementary School, Meade High School, MacArthur Middle School (to be run by Bus 53)
- Bus 94 – Jones Elementary School, Severna Park High School, Severna Park Middle School (to be run by Bus 183)
- Bus 201 – Broadneck High School (to be run by Bus 625)
- Bus 204 – Jessup Elementary School, MacArthur Middle School (to be run by Bus 2)
- Bus 274 – Annapolis High School (to be run by Bus 664)
- Bus 286 – Arnold Elementary School, Severn River Middle School (to be run by Bus 483)
- Bus 291 – North County High School, Lindale Middle School (to be run by Bus 680)
- Bus 297 – Shady Side Elementary School, Southern Middle School (to be run by Bus 663)
- Bus 303 – Cape St. Claire Elementary School, Broadneck High School, Severn River Middle School (to be run by Bus 213)
- Bus 387 – Windsor Farm Elementary School, Broadneck High School, Severn River Middle School (to be run by Bus 669)
- Bus 413 – Brooklyn Park Elementary School, North County High School, Brooklyn Park Middle School (to be run by Bus 650)
- Bus 426 – Arnold Elementary School, Broadneck High School, Magothy River Middle School (to be run by Bus 481)
- Bus 605 – Annapolis High School (to be run by Bus 478)
- Bus 641 – Tracey’s Elementary School, Southern Middle School (to be run by Bus 465)
Specific schedules with bus stop pickup times can be found by clicking on the School Bus Schedules link at www.aacps.org/buses. The new stops and times will be reflected on the page no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, December 1, 2022.
As with all routes, service on the routes above could be impacted by sporadic driver unavailability for illness and other personal reasons.
Bus route impacts on a given day will continue to be communicated online at www.aacps.org/buses, by email and text message to registered bus riders at impacted schools, and on the school system’s Facebook page.