The Lakewood School Transportation Association (LSTA) is asking families for patience ahead of the first Friday dismissal of the school year amid ongoing transportation challenges.

The first week of LSTA transportation has been disastrous for many. Families have reported buses not showing up, major delays, skipped and ignored stops, students being dropped at the wrong schools, and children arriving early at locked schools without adult supervision. Some children have been left waiting for more than 90 minutes, while others have had to walk along dangerous roads or rely on parents for last-minute carpool transportation. There have also been reports of drivers not knowing their assigned routes or stops, ignoring scheduled stops, and students from different schools riding together and struggling to get along, creating additional challenges that drivers were not prepared for. 

LSTA said in a message sent to parents  that last-minute changes to Lakewood’s non-mandated transportation subsidy forced a major redesign of the transportation system in approximately 10 days, with much of the rerouting completed within 72 hours. Routes were consolidated, vendors were reassigned, and driver schedules had to be rebuilt.

According to LSTA, vendors received their final routes Sunday night after the opt-in/opt-out process was completed. Despite the compressed timeline, vendors and drivers worked quickly to put the new system into operation.

LSTA said there had been discussion about delaying transportation, but officials ultimately decided it was better to begin on schedule, even if the initial rollout was challenging.

With Friday’s first dismissal approaching, LSTA cautioned that Friday transportation can be difficult even under normal circumstances and asked parents to remain patient and understanding while the system stabilizes.

The organization noted that it faced a similar challenge about 10 years ago and eventually worked through it. LSTA emphasized that the current situation will not be resolved overnight but said its focus is now on getting routes and schedules back into a normal rhythm.

LSTA also thanked parents for their patience and expressed appreciation for the vendors and drivers working to keep transportation running during the transition.