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Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Angua1 ()
Date: October 14, 2009 01:21PM

Anybody know what's going on at FCPS transportation?

Some cluster 7 bus routes have been changing in the last couple of weeks. Routes serving Franklin Middle, Carson Middle, Chantilly High and Oakton High have been altered with no, little, or inconsistent notice to parents and students. Students have been stranded on multiple occasions due to poor communication of route changes. Routes have been changed in sporadic and strange ways adding mileage to the old route. Instead of simply removing some extraneous stops, buses are being routed around developments which in some cases does save mileage but in others adds time and distance to the route.

I support any changes necessary to help streamline the budget, but so far the changes I've seen have been ... there's no other word for it: wacky. Has anyone had similar experiences with their kid's bus routes?

I've been in contact with a guy named Christopher Lester at Transportation. He's not very helpful - honestly he sounds like he's on a power trip - and his emails are inscrutable. I get the feeling he's totally misunderstood his directive.

Anyone have a better contact at Transportation? Emails and calls to Kathy Smith's office have not been returned.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: c7 ()
Date: October 14, 2009 01:26PM

Cluster 7 is a cluster fuck.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: you are not alone ()
Date: October 14, 2009 01:33PM

My kid's high school bus comes at 6:15-20 minutes earlier than last year, and she gets to school 30 minutes before it starts.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I doubt they will even save the $4 million they claim they will.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: in the know ()
Date: October 14, 2009 08:58PM

It's not just cluster 7. It is system wide.

It is not about saving fuel, etc. What it is about is trying to do is get rid of the senior ($$$) drivers. New hires receive the starting wage, which will be frozen for many years, and zero benefits. So they are jerking around the old timers hoping they will quit.

Some have quit, and if enough more of them do, they will save much more than 4 million dollars.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Drive a mile in their shoes ()
Date: October 14, 2009 10:19PM

I'm sure that Transportation is busy getting many of the routes readjusted. I'm in cluster 6 and we have seen bus routes changed based on the over crowding of busses. (Three to a seat & then some with standing room only; not allowed on county busses)

transporting 150,000 kids per day in a county the size of fairfax can't be an easy job. I don't think posting an employee's name on this site will help you get anywhere. Isn't Dean Tisdat the head of FCPS Transportation?

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Transportation email ()
Date: October 14, 2009 10:21PM

Dean Tistadt, Chief Operating Officer
Dean.Tistadt@fcps.edu



Lynn Saunders, Executive Administrative Assistant
Lynn.Saunders@fcps.edu


City Square Building
10640 Page Avenue
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
703-246-6950

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Transportation Services ()
Date: October 14, 2009 10:24PM

Linda Farbry is a very responsible person. She has been with Transportation for more than 15 years. She is the person to contact. You will get a reply from her.

Transportation Services
Linda Farbry, Director
Linda.Farbry@fcps.edu

Timothy Parker, Assistant Director
Tim.Parker@fcps.edu

http://www.fcps.edu/fts/tran/index.htm


Lorton Transportation Center
8101 Lorton Road
Lorton, Virginia 22079
703-446-2000

After Hours Emergencies Call
Safety & Security at: 703-764-2400

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Angua1 ()
Date: October 15, 2009 06:51AM

I printed the employee's name because he has been an incredible road block as far as getting any information and when I or my neighbors call transportation he's the one to whom we're routed. I needed to find out the extent of his reach outside our neighborhood, cluster-wide.

I finally contacted Chuck Caputo's office and am finally getting some return calls (amazing how quickly his office followed through - there must be an election coming up or something).

Linda Farbry's aid called me yesterday evening and Ms. Farbry will apparently be briefed on my complaint today.

Kids have been left stranded in our neighborhood a number of times now. That's not acceptable no matter what the budget problems. If bus drivers really are afraid they'll get in trouble stopping for these kids who missed the fleeting memo (rumors, yes, but rumors I've heard on this board and from other sources) and if this is a county-wide problem, then people outside Transportation need to know.

And if this is a county-wide problem, I have to wonder how many kids have been stranded since the beginning of the school year.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: itsNavyagain ()
Date: October 15, 2009 07:29AM

Hey everyone, don't be fooled by the complainer here.... it's Navy parents again ... only now it's their older kids who are going to Franklin, Carson, Oakton and Chantilly.... it's the redistricted group.... same people, different issue.... but they ALWAYS have an issue

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: bus driver ()
Date: October 15, 2009 10:02PM

Angua1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If bus drivers really are afraid they'll get in trouble stopping
> for these kids who missed the fleeting memo
> (rumors, yes, but rumors I've heard on this board
> and from other sources) and if this is a
> county-wide problem, then people outside
> Transportation need to know.


Unauthorized stops WILL get a driver in trouble if caught. That's no rumor, it's a fact.

Some buses even have a satellite tracking thing that records everything the driver does. A driver with a bus so equipped would have to be insane to make an unauthorized stop, as much as they might want to. This is no time to join the ranks of the unemployed!

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Consumer Advocate ()
Date: October 16, 2009 12:22PM

Lorton Transportation Center
8101 Lorton Road
Lorton, Virginia 22079
703-446-2000


I had good luck when I called this office. They came to our neighborhood within 24 hours, recognized the problems I reported and added two stops back to the route by the end of the week.

SAFETY concerns are what gets their attention; e.g; one kid walking alone a long distance to get to the bus stop.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: GMU Hokie ()
Date: October 16, 2009 01:41PM

Linda Farbry is an evil scold who never met a piece of chocolate she didn't like.

Ever see that bowl on the table in her conference room?




Transportation Services Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Linda Farbry is a very responsible person. She
> has been with Transportation for more than 15
> years. She is the person to contact. You will
> get a reply from her.
>
> Transportation Services
> Linda Farbry, Director
> Linda.Farbry@fcps.edu
>
> Timothy Parker, Assistant Director
> Tim.Parker@fcps.edu
>
> http://www.fcps.edu/fts/tran/index.htm
>
>
> Lorton Transportation Center
> 8101 Lorton Road
> Lorton, Virginia 22079
> 703-446-2000
>
> After Hours Emergencies Call
> Safety & Security at: 703-764-2400

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: aparent ()
Date: October 16, 2009 03:56PM

I'm starting to get annoyed with the transportation complaints. If parents took the time to read the stuff they get from the county they would understand what's going on. The county has less money, they've consolidated the buses and stops taking info from the SLEEP study. The early buses rush through to drop off the high school kids so they can turn around and pick up the middle and ES kids. For crying out loud, you all act like your 15 year old can't walk up the block to catch the bus. Get over it.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: aparent is apain ()
Date: October 16, 2009 04:39PM

Oh look out. Some one brought up SLEEP. Boundary Studies. Did they check data from the boudary studies?

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Mrs. K ()
Date: October 16, 2009 05:09PM

Dear Mrs. Angual,
If you've got such a problem with transportation -- get your whiney, lazy ass out of bed every morning and drive your kid to school. Problem solved.

Mrs. K

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: Kay ()
Date: October 28, 2009 07:06PM

Did anybody hear of the 4th grader from UMES that was let off at the wrong stop yesterday? There was a mention of something like this in the news but unsure if it is the same incident.

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Re: Cluster 7 fcps transportation issues
Posted by: bus driver ()
Date: October 28, 2009 08:02PM

Kay Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Did anybody hear of the 4th grader from UMES that
> was let off at the wrong stop yesterday? There
> was a mention of something like this in the news
> but unsure if it is the same incident.

After 14 years on the same bus runs, they gave me all new runs this year. They did this to almost every driver, allegedly to save fuel or some such nonsense.

Anyway, the result is I no longer know my students' names or where (the vast majority of them) are supposed to get off. Two of my runs have over 50 students, the other two runs have 30-40. Do you have any idea how long it takes to memorize the faces and the stops of almost 200 kids? Believe me, it will be a while!

The only kids I know so far, are my kindergartners, because they MUST be met by an authorized adult or older sibling. The schools let us know who the K's are on day 1.

But if a 4th grader whom I've only been transporting for 7 weeks or so gets up and walks off the bus, I can only assume that they know where their stop is.

HOWEVER, if any student, regardless of age, expresses any fear or reluctance to get off the bus we take them back to school. We never, ever order a kid off the bus for any reason, period.

A (non-special needs) 4th grader getting off at the wrong stop isn't news.

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