For consecutive days in the past week many buses did not arrive at school which resulted in hundreds of students being late to their class, or not even going to school that day simply because the bus drivers never showed up. The bus drivers are refusing to show up to work, and it is affecting students academically. Bus drivers from several schools in Miami-Dade never appeared to their jobs. The reason was because they were on strike for the demand of a higher salary. January 10th was not the first time that buses did not show up at the houses of students; this issue is happening more often this year, leaving parents and students frustrated and seeking answers.

“I was very upset when the buses didn’t show up. I believe that people should just accept their responsibility, and either pay them more or hire new employees because we are only students, it’s not our fault. I don’t have a reputation of getting late to class and I’m afraid I might because of being tardy from the bus. Imagine other students, in which the teacher doesn’t tolerate that reasonable excuse,”freshman Lina Blaseiro said.

Almost once every month of the school year, three things tend to occur with school buses: the bus either gets late to the bus stops, late to pick up students after school, or not show up at all. When the school bell rings in the early morning, you will see every student present at school rushing to class.  However, for a large majority of the students, arriving to school on time is a daily hassle because of the school bus drivers. The students that did not have the fortunate chance of having a regular school day are waiting impatiently at their assigned bus stop with slight hopes of possibly arriving to their classes. This is not only an issue that students face in the morning, buses are also not arriving after school. Then, students wait to be picked up by their parents, that are most likely struggling to rush out of work.

“It’s[public transportation] useful but sometimes it’s not always very reliable. And it’s always very crowded,” senior Yanirys Garcia said.

So what should you do when your bus doesn’t show up? The first step to solve this irritating situation is to first wait 10 minutes. If there are no signs, try calling the bus company and ask for information about your bus route. Another option you have is to ask a family member or friend to drive you to school. The worst thing you can do is stay sitting on the sidewalk. If the bus does not arrive by 8:50, when first block is over, just stay home, and call the school to tell them your situation.

“From a point of view of a teacher, it is disrupting the class with all the announcements, the doors being knocked on, and having to see the reason why the student is late. As a mom, I find it stressful. If a child waits for a longer time for the bus, it loses my confidence with the bus. It is playing with safety, the students are just on the street. Not just that, the child will be under a lot of stress too,” Mrs. Fernandez said.

This on-going issue seems to be irritating many students, parents, and teachers. As for any solutions, the school is unable to take part in solving this on-going issue since the bus companies are not run by the school. Hopefully, this situation will be solved between the school bus drivers and the Dade-County officials without hesitation so that students may no longer be stranded in a location or left without answers.