ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Monday marked the first day of school for thousands of students in the St. Louis Public Schools district and many of them had to arrive at their schools through various means.
Missouri Central Bus Company ended its contract with St. Louis Public Schools on June 30th, leaving the district desperate to look for a solution.
When students arrived for school Monday morning, many had to arrive through various means, which notably included a combination of using other school bus companies, metro buses, taxis, and other shuttle services as part of an emergency transportation plan the district announced weeks before the school year began.
Mason School of Academic and Cultural Literacy in Clifton Heights uses a third-party bus vendor called Reed 2 Reed for some bus routes and they say things have been going smoothly on the first day.
"The owners have been communicating with us for the last two weeks, so I feel like we have a good rapport with them," said Dr. Duane Foster, assistant principal at Mason.
Some parents had to rearrange their schedules to get their kids to school. One parent Chantelle tells KMOX she had to take off work to drive her kid to school.
Chantelle says she learned "very last minute" that a bus would not be able to pick up her kid for the first day of school.
"It was very last minute. We just found out Saturday they didn't have anything still," said Chantelle. "So it is hard. I hope they come to something soon."
Another parent, Chris, says he and his wife had to rearrange their schedules to get their son, who is in second grade, to class on time.
"We hope they come to a resolution soon so we can get the kids to school and get them their education," said Chris.
A parent who was able to walk his kid to school says he feels for those who can't rely on the bus.
"More fortunate we didn't have to move too much around," said the parent. "I feel sorry for the parents that it has affected."