First Student Canada Charged with Permitting Operation of Unsafe Vehicle

Following an accident on March 17th, 2008 in which a bus lost it's tire while on the road, First Student's Canadian division is being charged with Permitting Operation of an Unsafe Vehicle, and the driver has as well. No students were on the bus at the time, but First Student and the driver allegedly knew the bus was unsafe.

Origional story

Child Left Miles From Home, First Student Sued

A 6-year-old boy was left miles from home, and now his family is suing the driver, First Student, and the school district.

Anastasia and John Nikolopoulos filed the lawsuit in Scott County District Court against Kathryn Gilbraith, First Student and the Davenport Community School District. They are seeking damages amounting to more than $5,000.

Gilbraith, who could not be reached for comment, “had a duty not to endanger the health, safety and/or welfare of the children she transported,” the lawsuit says. Gilbraith was convicted of child endangerment and sentenced to a year probation and a $500 fine. She was fired from her job.

The bus picked the boy up, but when it arrived at Eisenhower Elementary School, the child did not get off the bus.

The bus continued on to pick up children heading to Adams Elementary School, officials said. At some point, the boy realized the children on the bus were not the ones he usually rides to school with and told the driver he needed to go to Eisenhower. She thought the child had just gotten on the bus when it stopped along Sturdevant Street.

“All he could say is ‘I need 911,’” Jo Robbins said at the time. “Poor little guy. He was just so scared. I sat him on my step and helped him out a bit. It’s not a very good neighborhood where I live. I am just glad nothing happened to him.”

Gilbraith, who had worked for the company for two years, said at the time she was a substitute driver on a bus route she had never done before. Another driver was along to learn the route, too, she said.

First Student would not comment on litigation.

Costs Going Up for Parents, First Student/Laidlaw Merger Blamed

In Weymouth, Massachusetts, parents are required to pay to use the school's bus services, run by First Student. However, as a result of the Laidlaw and First Student merger, costs are going up.

We actually had only one responsive bidder, and that was the First Student Laidlaw Company, and we've been very happy with First Student, so it wasn't that we were looking necessarily to get a different bidder, but it would be better for pricing purposes to have at least one major competitor.

Mary Jo Livingstone, the Weymouth Superintendent of Schools, says in past years, it was typical for the town to get several major bidders for its bus contract.

MARY JO LIVINGSTONE: Mostly First Student and Laidlaw were the two companies that would bid for our business.

THYS: And then, last year, because of the merger, everything changed.

First Student's merger will cost many school districts more money at their next contract negotiation. Even though in this case the costs were transferred directly to parents, it will hit other districts in their budgets, possibly leading to cuts in other important school activities.

Original story

Negotiations to Continue with First Student Canada, No Strike for Now

In contrast to the last story we reported on, the CAW has said that it will not strike with First Student Canada for the time beings and that negotiations will continue until March.

First Student Canada Strike Imminent: Parents Being Notified

Employees of the Hawkestone Division of First Student Canada, which was aquired by First Student in 2007 as a result of the Laidlaw merger, could strike as early as Monday. Parents in the Mississauga area are being alerted that they may need to find alternative transportation for their special education and special needs students, who may be without bus service indefinitely if the strike lingers.

Parents are being urged to call First Student for any questions.

Canadian Special Education Students May Be Without Busing as a First Student Canada District Could Strike

Although First Student is best known for their operations in the United Kingdom and more recently the United States, but they do have a Canadian counterpart. The Mississauga Hawkestone district of First Student of Canada could strike as early as February 22nd. Although it's not clear what exactly they are striking over.

If the strike happens, over 157 buses and vans run by First Student of Canada could be parked. The Peel Board is notifying parents of the possible strike.

Parents with questions can call the Peel Board at 905-890-1010, or First Student of Canada at 1-866-721-4287.

First Student Responds to St. Paul girl who suffers frostbite: It was the right stop, it was just the wrong one.

Yesterday, we reported on a 7th grader in St. Paul who was dropped off at the wrong stop and suffered frostbite. You can read our story here.

On yesterday, we reported about a 7th grader who was dropped off at what was assumed to be the wrong stop, and suffered frostbite on her fingers and toes. Now, First Student is speaking out about the incident. Unfortunately, they are also blaming the student, saying that 13 year-old Kai Thao, who is still in the hospital but recovering, might not have recognized her stop.

Interestingly enough, this is another story where First Student blames everybody else but themselves for what is arguably their problem. First says their extra curricular route is differant than their normal school route, and that Thao may not have recognized her stop.

According to First Student spokeswoman Kimberly Mulcahy:

If she was accustomed to passing a certain number of stops and then getting off, well, now she is on a different bus going on a different route and making different designated stops.

Interestingly, according to Mulcahy, First Student doesn't allow their drivers to bring students to their own homes. Get it Straight! has contacted Ms. Mulcahy about that.

The school staff has also added some information. From Jr. High School Principal Tim Williams:

Information about those changes in the after-school route was sent home with students the week before it began, Williams said. In addition, Thao's teacher asked her whether she knew her bus and stop on that first day of after-school classes. The teacher made a point to do this, the principal said, because Thao also got off at the wrong bus stop on her first day of school at Humboldt.

Williams said Thao told the teacher that she knew where to get off the bus.

Interestingly enough, our story yesterday reported that Thao doesn't speak much English. So it is possible she didn't understand the question.

Thao's family unfortunatly is learning a lesson about First Student's business practices first hand. From Maly Vang:

"I'm just disappointed that everybody says they did the right thing and she did the wrong thing," Vang said. "She's a young girl who was scared. And that driver just told her to get off the bus."

We'll keep you up to date.

See origional story

First Student Driver in St. Paul Drops 7th Grader at Wrong Stop, Girl Suffers Frostbite

In St. Paul, MN, a First Student driver dropped a 7th grade girl from Humboldt Junior High School off at a stop that was, acording to First Student "close" to the girl's normal stop. However, Kai Thao, who doesn't speak much English, was lost for several hours and suffered frostbite.

A 13-year-old girl was recovering today in Regions Hospital after her school bus dropped her off in the bitter cold after school Monday and she was unable to find her way home for several hours.

"I was so scared," said Kai Thao, 13, a 7th-grader at Humboldt Junior High School in St. Paul.

A jogger found Kai Thao - who was dressed in a thin coat and tennis shoes - at an intersection and drove her home around 8 p.m., more than three hours after the bus let her off.

She suffered frostbite on her fingers and toes. She was in fair condition Tuesday and improving, a hospital spokeswoman said, and she is unlikely to suffer tissue damage.

The high in St. Paul Monday was in the teens.
See original story

Laidlaw/First Student Sued Over "unsafe and polluting buses"

Laidlaw Transit, Inc., now a part of First Student, is being sued in San Francisco charging that violated their contract with the San Francisco Unified School District by operating buses that were unsafe and pollution-heavy.

See original story

The suit was filed by two former mechanics at Laidlaw and joined by the Environmental Law Foundation.

The mechanics, William Padilla and Manuel Contreras, testified last year in another lawsuit that Laidlaw has had poor maintenance practices for years, and that it falsified repair records, kept unsafe buses in service, faked pollution tests and did not meet the District's stringent standards for emissions and pollution control equipment on the school buses. Safety claims include faulty brakes, leaking fuel and cracked tailpipes.

Get it Straight Down: That's My Bad

You may have noticed that Get it Straight has been unavailable since Monday. This was a result of work on another blog, and it happened to affect all of our blogs. So, we should be back up by Saturday. I want to apologize and thank you for your cooperation!

-Kevin