Grand Rapids schools receive transportation update; contractor cites ridership gains and seeks electrification funding

Patrick Din, identified as a vice president with Dean Transportation, told the Grand Rapids Public Schools board on March 4 that the contractor and district are working to improve bus reliability, family communications and staffing.

"Hemos distribuido más de 5,000 de pases," Din said during a quarter-hour presentation on operations and outreach, referring to a district pass distribution effort and communications work that include the Here Comes the Bus tracking app and QR-based town-hall registration.

The presentation laid out recent operational metrics and near-term priorities. Presenters said the system tracked eligible riders and usage changes since August: earlier data showed 4,138 eligible students at the start of the school year and a changed tally in January; drivers and dispatch metrics are monitored by quadrant and by school. On-time performance fell in January because of repeated snow events but presenters projected recovery to roughly the low 90s in the coming month.

Bruce, identified as the district's transportation director, said the district is still short of its staffing goal. "La meta es tener 100% de conductores a tiempo completo; estamos en 85%" he said, noting specialized routes and coverage currently handled by about 17 drivers for special-education transport.

Board members pressed Dean Transportation on the causes of missed routes and data transparency. A board member asked how many individual trips failed in a month and whether complaints are captured with enough detail; the contractor said that of 449 documented trips in a reporting window, nine trips had logistics or scheduling errors and that the vendor and district are working to improve call-center response times and the complaint-mapping process.

The presentation also covered the district and vendor's application to an electrification program. Din said the district has applied for a clean-school-bus electrification subsidy and described ballpark replacement costs for electric buses, noting grant eligibility will affect net costs. Presenters gave a range for bus replacement costs in discussion with the board (figures discussed included roughly $100,000–$450,000 depending on configuration and equipment), and cautioned that grants often do not cover the full purchase plus necessary charging infrastructure.

The board asked for follow-up reports on several items: a clearer public-facing timeline for the electric-bus grant, an operations dashboard that separates route-level on-time metrics, and a complaint-tracking summary that protects student privacy while making systemic trends visible. Superintendent Dr. Roby closed the presentation by asking transportation staff and the vendor to bring a written update back at the June report to let the board and community monitor progress.

The board did not take a separate vote on the transportation presentation at the March 4 meeting; the item was presented for information and to capture follow-up actions.