Thrown Under the Bus: What’s down the road? Changes in Transportation Reroute Bus Riders

By: Samvruth Kanduri

You're just chilling on your bus, slumped on the seat, lazily scrolling on your phone, your mind trite and jaded. You're eager to get home, have dinner, hop on CoD with your friends, and go to bed. 

The world was not on your side however, because as you were entertaining yourself with your thoughts, you just happened to notice the bus turning right at a corner where it usually turns left. Your brain whirls around, comprehending all the events that would follow; Why did the bus change routes? Who all are involved in this change? What do the others think?

While these changes were designed to address current problems, no solution is flawless. Consequently, they have introduced new challenges. Though these issues do not affect everyone, they place critical pressure on those who are impacted.

The unexpected right turn was no mistake, but rather the mandate of the Transportation Department, designed to address ongoing shortages for bus drivers and the rising cost of fuel.

“I got more kids because there weren’t enough buses, thus giving me a new route,” said Tori Harding, a Driver for Bus #28.

These changes in timings create a major gap in the lives of both students and transportation staff, which can be of great exasperation when persisting too long.

The Transportation Department created these changes believing that they are more efficient despite the minor discomfort faced by students every day. Some students however, complain that the discomforts aren’t so minor.

“Bro, my bus is so slow, I have to be a few minutes late for first hour, and by the time I get home, it's like 5:15, a full hour past school wasted,” says Reyansh Gupta, a Freshman.

Aside from that, there have been some construction projects followed by road hazards surrounding the Jenks Public Schools. The buses have to navigate through these blockages, keeping safe but with the great sacrifice of time.

On 91st Street, between Harvard and Yale, the City of Tulsa started a construction project with the goal of upgrading the old water system underground and building new pavement on top of that to ensure the safety of students who walk to the Jenks Campuses. To avoid any major troubles during the school year, they placed a few rules and regulations to keep things running somewhat smoothly.

“City of Tulsa is implementing a traffic plan ahead of the start of the school year to help improve access to Jenks East Intermediate and Jenks East Elementary,” states a post on the City of Tulsa website.

Considering the fact that many of these delays were expected and warned about, there were no major hiccups at the site.

According to the City of Tulsa’s website, “Drivers should expect delays during morning drop-offs, afternoon pick-ups, and after-school activities”.

The website specified that there would be delays in traffic for the Elementary and Intermediate campus activities, but never really mentioned how that would affect the Middle and High Schools.

“Buses from West Elementary and Intermediate may be delayed in completing afternoon routes, which could cause buses from the Middle and High School to run behind.” said an article written by Alexandra Sharfman for ABC’s Tulsa’s News Pulse.

The buses first left from the East sites where the construction was underway, which caused them to run a little behind schedule, just as prophesied. But this only accounted for the Elementary and Intermediate campuses, not for the Middle and High schools, some of which’ buses would be very late to come after making a trip to the West sides and then down here.