The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District said its school bus driver shortage is letting up. And with more staff now available to drive, it’s restoring a handful of reshaped school bus routes in Kenai and Nikiski beginning next Tuesday.
The Kenai district combined several routes before the school year started, changing pick-up times and locations for some central Kenai Peninsula families. At the time, it cited driver shortages and budget issues — the same problems that have been impacting districts around the state, including the Anchorage School District, which has had to cut certain bus routes for weeks at a time.
Kevin Lyon, the district’s director of planning and operations, said the bus company the district contracts with, First Student, has been able to train enough new drivers and bring others up from Outside to reinstate some of what he called the most critical bus routes.
Lyon said not all routes are restored to where they were pre-shortage, as gas prices remain high. But he said overall, the reshaped routes are more efficient and are properly staffed for now.
You can find a full list of routes and route changes on the district’s website.
