70% of Duval County school bus drivers cited in crashes work for same company

In Duval County, 70 percent of the school bus drivers cited in crashes this school year work for the same company.

Student Transportation of America handles about half the bus routes in Duval County; but even accounting for its size, the company still has the most crashes and the most drivers cited by far.

“Many parents don’t have time to take their kids to school, so it’s nice transportation to be to school on time,” said 14-year-old Niyah Green.

Niyah said she feels safe riding her Student Transportation of America bus and was surprised to hear the company had the most crashes.

“It’s pretty scary because, I mean, I ride the school bus every day,” said Niyah.

Student Transportation of America runs 51 percent of the county’s bus routes, but has 63 percent of the crashes.

By comparison, Durham School Services runs 23 percent of the routes and has 17 percent of the crashes.

First Student runs 26 percent of the routes and has 20 percent of the crashes.

Out of the 152 school bus crashes this year, bus drivers were only cited in 10. That means someone else was at fault 93 percent of the time.

But Action News Jax found that Student Transportation of America had the highest number of bus drivers cited, by far: seven.

“My friend, you know, when he was on his bus, a guy just rammed into his bus. It wasn’t the bus driver’s fault. The other guy just ran into them,” said 17-year-old Quentin Smith, who rides a Student Transportation of America bus every day.

Duval County school buses make more than 648,000 trips each year. That means one crash for each 4,200 trips.

Those odds sound pretty good to Quentin.

“I enjoy riding the bus. I enjoy that free gas. I don’t have to pay for gas. I get to school and I get back. And I’m safe and sound. You know, no scratches, no nothing,” said Quentin.

Action News Jax requested an interview with Student Transportation of America every day for four business days.

On Monday, a spokesperson sent a statement, which says in part:

“Safety is STA’s first and most important priority, and something our Duval County drivers are reminded of in monthly safety meetings and safety messages they receive each time they get behind the wheel.  On a national level, the Department of Transportation credits STA with the lowest rate of accidents of any national school bus contractor.”

Student Transportation of America spokesperson Lynette Viviani has been unable to provide any data or documentation that backs up the claim about the Department of Transportation.

Action News Jax has been able to find no such claim on the DOT’s website.

Cox Media Group