Local
Oswego bus route takes 90 minutes longer after substitute driver loses way
Elementary students in Oswego spent about 90 minutes longer than expected getting home Thursday after a substitute bus driver unfamiliar with the route became lost. Police and district transportation staff helped verify students’ identities as parents arrived to pick them up.
An Oswego school bus carrying elementary students home Thursday afternoon ran about 90 minutes behind schedule after a substitute driver unfamiliar with the route got lost, the school district said.
A parent tracking the bus by GPS saw it circling an area for roughly 45 minutes and contacted police. The bus had pulled over while the driver received directions from the district’s transportation dispatch office, according to Oswego School District 308.
Police responded, and the district sent transportation staff to meet the bus. After a parent shared its location on social media, more parents arrived. Police and district staff checked identification against student records, and some children were released to their parents while the bus remained stopped.
The identity checks and parent pickups added about 35 minutes to the delay, the district said. The bus then completed its remaining two stops in about 10 minutes.
The district said it relies on contracted transportation providers for some routes and continues to face transportation difficulties amid declining funding and rising costs. Illinois’ school bus training manual prohibits drivers from using phones for GPS navigation, including when a phone is mounted; the district did not say the driver used a phone.