FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — A lot of traffic and not enough school bus drivers.
Because of those two factors, the school district in Williamson County is starting a pilot program.
The bus pilot program will start in Nolensville. Williamson County is down nearly 50 school bus drivers, so some drivers have two routes. This is an attempt to shorten the duration of some routes.
At a recent meeting, Jennifer Aprea, the Williamson County School board member who represents Nolensville, said it should help in that community because of the layout.
"In Nolensville, we have so many weird, unique traffic issues anyway. The only thing we can do is improve, so a lot of parents are on board with testing things and seeing how it works out," said Aprea.
Starting in January, some stops in subdivisions will be replaced with "hub stops" at places like pools and playgrounds.
This presentation outlines the changes in Nolensville.
"Somebody's going to be more inconvenienced to try to improve the service to others," said Jason Golden, Williamson County Schools Superintendent.
In Jacob Garcia's neighborhood, a lot of kids go to the same middle school as him.
"On the same bus, I have my friend Jace over there and Andrew up there," Jacob Garcia said pointing to homes close to his.
Their bus picks Jacob up at the edge of his lawn. Unfortunately for the eighth grade student, the bus pilot program might make things a little less convenient.
But before the pilot expands to other communities, the district will see if any progress is made in Nolensville by March.
Jacob's mother said it's not always smooth sailing for her kids on the bus, so she hopes the district considers the impact on families before throwing anything more at kids and parents.
"Next year I'll have three kids in three different schools. I might have to take three different kids three different times and that's an inconvenience," said Dawn Garcia.
Roughly 200 parents weighed-in at special meetings about the pilot program.
