Getting to schools within the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) has been a challenge, especially for families with students in Choice Programs.
The 2024-2025 school year won't be any different, despite SCCPSS's Executive Director of Transportation Lanetta Mills exploring additional options through a "Multi-Go Transportation Campaign," which was shared as part of her Multi-Faceted Transportation Plan update during the school board's July 10 Informal Session.
Some of SCCPSS's Multi-Go options are based on what's worked well elsewhere.Others consider revisiting past SCCPSS strategies such as bus hubs for choice and charter school students, which Savannah area parents expressed concern about in 2019 and which was ultimately abandoned by the district.
The future is one thing. For this year, SCCPSS students have the same options for getting to school that they had last year.
How to get to school in 2024-25
By bus, foot or bike
SCCPSS uses a school and bus stop tool powered by Infofinderi.com, which can be accessed via the district's Back to School Hub webpage.
Once school starts, families can track bus locations in real-time through a partnership withSynovia Solutions via the Here Comes the Bus app.
These tools are useful for families who live more than a mile and a half from their zoned schools, because those are the students who are provided SCCPSS transportation.
Students who live less than a mile and half from their zoned schools are considered walkers (or they can ride their bikes).
Families whose students attend choice schools are not provided transportation. Mills said SCCPSS would need to hire at least 139 additional drivers to once again offer that service. As of now the district needs about 40 bus drivers to reach a desired optimal amount of 220 total bus drivers to meet all the current zoned school needs.
Bus rider students and their families can participate in the SCCPSS Ride-Along Day on Wednesday, July 31. For more information, contact the Transportation Main Line at 912-395-5591.
For the time being, choice and charter school families will need to get their own rides. The only exception would be Tybee Island Maritime Academy (TIMA), which was budgeted for a limited-capacity service contract through Kelly Tours. TIMA has a transportation lottery that selects students for the service.
Type A micro-buses coming later in school year
Mills also addressed the use of recently acquired Type A buses, which carry 10-14 passengers. The smaller bus option allows SCCPSS to diversify its applicant pool because these vehicles do not require that driver's have a commercial driver's license (CDL).
Over the past few months the school board has approved the purchase of 16 microbuses, the first six of which are set to arrive in November with another 10 slated for arrival in January.
Mills said that with necessary inspections and licensing procedures, the first shipment will not be integrated right away. When they are finally brought online, she envisions them being used to pick up smaller "pockets of students" ranging from three or four and up to 10 students that are on a run, which is a segment of a route. Rather than send a large school bus to pick up one of those pockets, she said a microbus could be used instead.
Chatham Area Transit Zero-Fare Student Program
One other option for families is the Chatham Area Transit (CAT) Zero Fare Student Program, which has been extended through December 2024.
According to CAT's pilot program presentation at the school board's informal session, more than 400 students participated, though 21 percent of those were college students. Students from 25 different SCCPSS schools participated with those from SCCPSS's 11 high schools making up more than half the entire program participants. Sol C. Johnson High School had the largest number of high school participants at 37. DeRenne Middle School and Oglethorpe Charter School each had 21 student participants, leading middle schools.
K-12 students' monthly Zero-Fare ridership shot to over 3,000 per month by February 2024, the first full month of the program, and peaked at 4,077 in March.
Planning Schedule Analyst Ambria Berksteiner said during the school board presentation that surveys were conducted via email after the school year. About 88 percent of student and parent respondents said they were satisfied with the program. One respondent noted that the program "taught me independence and made me more aware of my surroundings." Some recommendations were also shared with CAT and included suggestions to improve cleanliness on the buses as well as safety through "better monitoring of bus behavior."
Interested students and families can register for the program at catchacat.org/studentfare/.
SCCPSS student uses CAT program:How public transportation leaves a Savannah student 'stressed' about getting to and from school
Families' transportation questions or concerns can be directed to the SCCPSS transportation office via the Customer Service line at 912-395-6065, which has extended hours Aug. 3 through 19. The Monday through Friday extended hours will be 5 p.m. - 8 p.m. and on Saturdays 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com.
