Late for class: 8th grader says bus ride to school routinely takes up to 3 hours

NEW YORK (Spectrum News NY1) — A New York City eighth grader is routinely late for school because his bus ride takes about three hours.

The bus also picks up children who attend a different school.

Michael Mileto gets up at 5:30 a.m. and catches the school bus at 6:20 a.m. He has been late to school on a regular basis, arriving after the first bell at 8:15 a.m.

“It’s ridiculous,” Michael said.

Commute longer than last year

Michael has a speech-language disability. He attends a private school on the Upper East Side at the city’s expense because his needs could not be met in a local public school.

The city’s Education Department is responsible for busing him from his home in Brighton Beach.

This year, the ride has routinely taken two and a half or three hours. Once, Michael did not arrive until 10 a.m.

Last year, Michael was picked up around 6:45 a.m. and arrived at school on time at 8:15 a.m.

This year, his bus also carries children who attend a different school in Manhattan. That has required Michael to be picked up earlier and dropped off later.

“Now, all of a sudden, they just decide to make my school late,” Michael said.

Missed class time

Michael’s mother, Annie Mileto, said he is missing class time.

“He’s missing math, literacy, main subjects, things, and I’m worried. Of course, school makes up for it, sits with him and makes sure he gets it right, but he’s not doing it with his other students. You’re missing out on all of that,” Annie Mileto said.

Michael said the late arrivals affect his lessons.

“I miss lessons, and then I had to rush and get catched up,” he said.

The ride home has also run long. Michael said there was one day he did not arrive home until 6 p.m.

“I always feel tired and drowsy. I just want to go to bed, but I have to do my homework,” Michael said.

Other students affected

At the start of the school year, around 2,000 children on 300 bus routes did not have a driver. The city provided students with prepaid rideshare options, bought new buses and worked to get more drivers online at bus companies that have contracts with the city.

Randi Levine, policy director at Advocates for Children, said her organization is hearing from families who still do not have bus service. She said the organization is also hearing from families, like Michael’s, whose buses are more crowded and arriving later.

“There are times when it is most efficient to have children on the same bus, going to two different nearby schools, and we’ve seen that in past years. But what we’re seeing this year, in some cases, is that routes that were probably meant to be separate are being combined,” Levine said.

City reviewing route

A spokeswoman for the city’s public schools said the department takes concerns about long routes seriously. She said the department is reviewing Michael’s route, including GPS data and any delays that may have been caused by stops along the way, to see what happened and whether it can be improved.

Michael said he hopes something changes soon.

“I know its not their fault, but I think they should do better,” he said.