The first day of bus transportation in the Manitowoc Public School District went very well, according to the owner of Brandt Buses.
Steve Roekle tells SeehaferNews.com that all involved are adapting to the hybrid system the MPSD has during these COVID-19 times.
“Obviously it is a brand-new routing system for all the students,” he said. “There was a lot of information to communicate to the parents and the students.”
Roekle explained the school district and his bus company looked at social distancing in transporting students to school again, saying “The amount of students that are going to grade school are split between morning and afternoon. Junior High is at 33% go Tuesdays, a third of Wednesdays, and a third go Thursday, and then there’s the four quadrants for Lincoln. So with that set up, it established a smaller amount of students that we transport on each bus. That provided social distancing right there.”
The Brandt Bus owner says, “I think we’re all praying for a return to normal soon, but I think it will come down to a vaccine and/or a cure for us, and the rest of society to get back to normal.”
Roekle also said the new norm is facemasks for drivers and students, hand sanitizers, assigned seating for students and sanitize and disinfect the buses on a regular basis.
Brandt has a fleet of 40-buses for public and private schools in Manitowoc and they currently run on 35-routes. He stated two of his drivers have opted out this year due to existing medical conditions.
Hopefully, Roekle says, in-person classes and regular bus operations can be returned to normal by the second semester.
