The school year has started for many in Lakewood, NJ, and the Lakewood Student Transportation Authority (LSTA) is ready to transport Lakewood’s 36,000 private-school students.
“Bus passes have been given to almost all schools at this point,” LSTA Director Rabbi Avraham Krawiec said. “The schools will then disperse them to the parents.”
The LSTA maps out the bus routes and then accepts bids from private bus companies for each route, with the lowest bidder being signed for each route. Over 98 percent of the routes have already been assigned, and more meetings are on the agenda.
“We are working hard on filling the remaining open routes,” Rabbi Krawiec asserts.
Placing over 36,000 children is a mammoth undertaking, and Rabbi Krawiec asks that parents be understanding.
“We won’t be able to make changes for the first few weeks as routes settle in,” he explains. “If you are still experiencing issues after that, we will be happy to try to accommodate you.”
He added a few important points that parents should be aware of.
“Primary children need to wear a name tag with an address for the first week, both to and from school. Parents of primary students must meet the bus every day. Some students have different stops for pickup and drop-off, so make sure to check the list carefully. Lastly, keep in mind that the LSTA supplies busing only Monday thru Friday from September to June. Any busing supplied outside of those days is a private arrangement and has nothing to do with the LSTA.”
The LSTA was created just over two years ago to help fund and maintain Lakewood’s private-school transportation system. The program’s three-year trial term will culminate at the end of the 2018-2019 school year and will have to be extended for the program to continue next year.
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