Parents and students in Detroit say problems with city buses and school bus passes are keeping some kids out of school.
The school district gives out free bus passes to many students. But some students say they never received application forms, and the schools don’t have enough passes.
District policy says all Detroit students can ride for free in September with last year’s bus passes. But many students lost those over the summer.
Helen Moore is a longtime Detroit community activist. She says many Detroit parents are struggling to come up with extra money for transportation--and as a result, some kids aren’t making it to school.
“The children in Detroit are being cheated and not getting to school. I don’t care if it’s [Detroit Department of Transportation]…I don’t care if it’s the Board of Education. But someone is not looking out for the best interest of our children.”
The city’s bus system is also suffering from more widespread slowdowns affecting everyone. Mayor Dave Bing and the city’s transit unions are blaming each other for the problems.
A schools spokesman says other than a few isolated cases, the district isn’t “aware of widespread transportation issues” of this kind.
