LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. — A Lehigh Acres father said his children are missing class time due to an unreliable school bus and a confusing tracking app. He said it's leaving families frustrated and students late to school.
Every morning at 6:30, Nick Squyres walks his two children to their bus stop in Lehigh Acres. They wait for the bus scheduled to arrive at 6:43, but most of the time, he said there's a problem.
"There's been a couple times when the bus hasn't shown up, or there's problems with the app, and I said the bus is inactive," Squyres said.
Click here to see Lehigh Acres Community Correspondent Victoria Quevedo speak to Lehigh Acres parent:
He said his 8 and 10-year-old children have been left at their bus stop multiple times this school year.
"It's supposed to turn from Homestead into our neighborhood where it comes up the street and picks them up. It's been going past our street, turning right onto Lee Boulevard, and basically skipping our stop," Squyres said.
When the first bus doesn't come, the family waits for another one that doesn't show up on the tracking app. Squyres said the kids are often late to school and miss breakfast.
"A lot of inconsistencies with the app, with the communication, and, you know, much more than we had last year when we had a bus driver shortage. It's much more frustrating this year when we're supposedly fully staffed," Squyres said.
On Thursday morning, Quevedo went to the bus stop until 7:45 a.m. While other buses did show up, the Squyres' bus was a no-show. That day, Squyres had the babysitter bring their kids to school to avoid this exact situation.
In a statement to Fox 4, a Lee County Schools spokesperson said the bus route is condensed and doesn't include a stop for Squyres' kids. But the district said another bus is on that route.
"Our transportation department is coordinating with the school to ensure the change is updated and communicated to the family," the district said in a statement.
"It's frustrating for us. It's gonna be stressful for them because that's their routine. That's how they get to school," Squyres said.
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