Smith Bus Service

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My children ride bus 348 in Hanover to Jessup. We had a phenomenal driver from a different contract company for 15 years in the neighbourhood (Ms. Nicki) and were really surprised 2 years ago, to learn that company was switched one day before the school year started, for Smith's.



The original Driver the first year, named Joe, was pretty great. He kept the kids in line, reported things as needed and drove a solid route. He was timed perfectly and we really appreciated his help, when a driver decided to run through one of the stops, nearly hitting mine and several other children. He helped with the report to the police and was a guy with common Sense.



This past year, he opted to leave the Bus Company, because he felt his reports were not being acted on properly by the Principal and Bus Company, and didn't want to risk his own career for that. I solidly respected his reasoning, and we were sad to see him go.



This past year, we were given a NEW driver, also named Joe. (We call him Joe 2.0!) From the first few weeks, he seemed aggravated, impatient and started showing up earlier than scheduled to most addresses, by a full 15 minutes. (We're supposed to wait 15 minutes early at stops, which we do...but even earlier than that?) He had an incident that first week, where he could not keep the kids in line, and pulled over to scream at the kids, while on a cell phone, and insisting he would have them all arrested (?! Another Parent account, I was not there to see it.) That was handled with talks to the kids, and letter sent home to parents, but my family did not receive the letter, probably because I opted to drive my son for a bit after that.)



We were told at the time, that videos were given to the school and that this Joe is a seasoned driver with a year's experience. However, over this past year, we've seen early stops, no wating until the children sit down before taking off, late departures (Although that might have something to do with our school being trapped on 175 in BRAC/Construction/Casino traffic.) and at times, we've seen him blow past our stop while my son was sitting under cover on our porch during rain or extremely hot days. Every stop is near a home, and many of the parents opt to have our kids on the front porch, because our road is routinely barraged with speeding drivers going well over the 30 mph speed limit, INCLUDING other School Buses. However, we have been behind or near Joe on Bus 348, as he tears down route 175 or surrounding areas, while commuting after our children leave or on the way home. And He has NOT been impressive at all. My husband has spoken with both the Bus Company Manager and the Director of Transportation from the county about this several times.



We have seen another bus 501 (?) for CSP, that exhibits fantastic driving etiquette, as they pick-up and drop our next door neighbor every day, so we do have some expectations by example.



Here we are, starting another school year. Joe is still assigned to Bus 348. (Last year, it was in need of repairs and was out of commission for the last few months, perhaps from driving it hard?) We're crossing our fingers as my 2nd son begins Kindergarten...



I've hard similar stories from other parents on our route... I wonder what to expect this year.