Transportation Delays Still Challenging City Schools
Bus driver shortages and maintenance issues have plagued the division all school year.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Adele
An ongoing shortage of bus drivers and substitutes continues to cause transportation delays for Fredericksburg City Public School students.
On Thursday of last week, Bus L to Walker-Grant Middle School arrived at 8:20 a.m., almost an hour after the 7:35 a.m. start of the school day. It was the third morning run that day for the bus driver, according to the transportation department.
Students riding Bus W to Hugh Mercer Elementary arrived at 8:55 a.m., almost 30 minutes after the start of the school day. It was also the third morning bus run for that driver, who additionally had to travel to Stafford County “to pick up a displaced student.”
Bus F to James Monroe High School dropped students off at 8:01—20 minutes late. That route was covered by a driver assigned to a Walker-Grant Middle School route, and the bus was late because the driver first completed the middle school route.
And Bus C, which transports students to Gladys West and Lafayette elementary schools, dropped students at school a few minutes before the start of the instructional day.
“This driver also completed two additional runs beyond her contracted routes this morning,” the transportation department wrote in an email to the Advance.
Drivers on Thursday had to complete double and triple bus runs because four drivers called out sick, and there are already six routes without assigned bus drivers.
“Because these open routes are already being absorbed daily, there are fewer drivers available to assist when additional same-day absences occur,” the transportation department said.
Additionally, one bus route had a newly-added stop, which the driver initially missed, and there was no available substitute driver for one of the Lafayette Elementary bus routes, so that route was split among three other buses, “allowing us to safely and effectively utilize all available resources.”
“These necessary adjustments contributed to later-than-normal arrival times but ensured student safety and coverage,” the transportation department reported.
Buses were also late returning home on Thursday afternoon.
Bus driver shortage has continued all year
The School Board held a special meeting in September to discuss the transportation situation, which was in “a desperate state” at the start of the school year, superintendent Marci Catlett said.
At the time, the division identified the implementation of a new routing program and bus tracking app; the opening of two new schools; and staff vacancies as causing the problems.
Eight months later, vacancies are still a problem. The department was short nine contracted bus driver positions as of March 23, according to transportation staff. Three drivers were out on long-term medical leave as of December.
Since August of 2025, according to personnel packets approved during School Board meetings, 12 bus drivers have been hired, and there have been 11 resignations and two retirements.
One of the bus drivers hired in October resigned the following month.
In April, one bus driver was converted to “Electric Vehicle transportation specialist.”
The School Board’s approved budget for the transportation department for fiscal year 2027 includes $500,700 to provide a 7% pay raise for staff, plus a safe driving bonus, and the addition of an office manager.
The budget has not yet been finalized by City Council.
Bus drivers for the division are contracted to work four hours per day. According to a presentation the transportation department prepared for a meeting with Catlett in September, which the Advance received through a request under the Freedom of Information Act, transportation staff asked for contract hours to be increased from 4 per day to 5.75 for part-time drivers and 6.5 for full-time.
Though not part of the budget request for next fiscal year, this proposal is “being considered,” according to the division.
“An external consultant is doing these reviews for us,” the division told the Advance last month.
Fleet maintenance needs
The department also needs more buses. According to information provided to the Advance at the end of March, there are 51 buses in the fleet, five of which were out of service for repair at the time.
“For FCPS, about 60 buses, including spares, would be ideal,” transportation staff said.
At the beginning of the year, transportation staff were also struggling to maintain the bus fleet. In October, according to correspondence the Advance received through a Freedom of Information Act request, mechanics reported that they were not able to run diagnostics on buses that broke down because they did not have a computer with the necessary technology.
Without the computer, staff were having to take broken-down buses to external garages “just to receive diagnostic assessments,” which was causing unnecessary cost, the former director of operations told the deputy superintendent in an October 8, 2025, email.
Staff told the Advance in March that transportation does now have a diagnostic computer.
Also in September, eight of the division’s buses had expired state inspections and nine more were set to expire at the end of the month. In October, one bus failed the inspection because “all of the brakes are worn passed the minimum,” in addition to several other issues.
As of September, the transportation supervisor was working to authorize at least two more vendors to complete state inspections, in order to get more buses through the process.
The Advance asked whether there are still any buses on the road with expired state inspections, and was told that “Director of Operations Dr. David Ferguson monitors a spreadsheet that contains all updates on all inspections.”
Fredericksburg City’s proposed capital improvement plan includes $817,000 in fiscal year 2027 (July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027) for “Buses, Technology Equipment & Capital Maintenance.” It’s not clear how much of that would be allocated to buses specifically.
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