Still Not Enough Bus Drivers for Districts 68, 99

Westway still doesn't have enough bus drivers for its routes serving Downers Grove Grade School District 58, and , owner John Benish Jr. told the District 58 board Monday night.

Both school boards of District 58 and discussed bus service Monday at their first meetings since the start of the school year. ’s board met Aug. 29 during the second week of school.

Though Westway continues to hire drivers, the company is still seven to 15 drivers short depending on the day, Benish told the board.

The routes are being covered, but Westway is borrowing permanent drivers from its sister companies. Westway is a subsidiary of Cook-Illinois Corporation, which serves more than 200 school districts.

At the meeting, Superintendent Mark McDonald blamed a lack of drivers in part for the poor bus service the district has received, TribLocal reported. Some bus routes continue to be 10 to 15 minutes late.

McDonald said a group of newly trained drivers should improve timing.

There was a more positive report from Lorie Pilster, District 58’s business services director.

Pilster said that after "a very rough six days," bus service has gotten drastically better.

She is now at the point of dealing what she considers to be “normal” issues that come up at this point of the school year every year, such as bus stops being too far or buses stopping on the wrong side of the street.

McDonald explained during the board meeting why Westway was chosen, TribLocal reported. was obligated to accept the lowest bid under state law, he said.

Districts 58, and decided to consolidate their bus services earlier this year to reduce inefficiencies and cost. They decided to go with Westway, the lowest bidder for District 58.

Because the lowest prices were contingent on the three districts choosing the same company, and also signed with Westway.

The district also had had an unsatisfactory experience with First Student, which also had a history of late buses, he said. 

“This was an opportunity for us to … save money. And we did save money. And we will save money,” McDonald said, according to TribLocal.  “We did not anticipate that we would lose quality of service.”

The three districts continue to meet to discuss issues, including how to best pursue financial compensation from Westway.

Per 's contract, the district can receive 10 percent back for a late bus, 25 percent back for an incorrect route (like a missed pickup) and 100 percent back for a route where no bus showed up.

Officials from and have not said how much money the districts could expect to receive or when.

Editor's note: Downers Grove Local Editor Robert Pienkowski contributed the reporting of the District 58 board meeting to this report. What was said during Monday's meeting was from this TribLocal article.