Car rider chaos: JCPS parents could feel bus transportation cuts in school drop-off lines

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Long car rider lines and wait times are driving frustration for many JCPS parents who have been driving their children to and from school as bus transportation remains unreliable.

And the lone lines might only get worse in the fall because of the cuts to bus transportation.

"Traffic's just backed up, jammed," JCPS parent David Faulkner said.

Faulkner heard about the fights on buses and kids not getting home until late at night. So he vowed to drive his children to school, even if it delays the start of his work day.

"We have to do what they have to do," Faulkner said. "They have to go to school."

An hour-and-a-half before school lets out, Faulkner is already at Medora Elementary School, but he's not even close to the front of the car rider line.

"If you don't get here early, you aren't getting in line," Faulkner said.

The wait likely isn't almost over for parents and guardians driving their students to school.

"Everybody's waiting in line to pick their kids up," Faulkner said. "Traffic's trying, but can't get around."

"Every school will have a plan," JCPS schoolboard member Linda Duncan said at the end of April. "I'm hoping we can use the schools to pull traffic off of the main roads and allow them to use the ground to spread that out a little bit and get them out of the way."

Duncan said the school board is searching for solutions, such as drop off points on school property or creating a position to specifically help with school traffic issues.

A JCPS spokesperson says the board will approve the job's description at the next meeting before it's posted. There are also four schools in line for parking lot remediation for their traffic patterns.

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