Standing-room only: Parents say school buses overcrowded in Anne Arundel County

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - Thousands of kids take the bus to school every single day, but some parents in Anne Arundel County said their busses are so full, it’s putting children in danger.

“That’s a lot of kids on that bus. And they’re all standing, there’s not even seats for them,” said parent Leonardo Desanctis while watching video taken on a bus carrying Arundel Middle School students. “That’s alarming.”

Reached for comment, a school district spokesperson said, “every school system deals with ebbs and flows with regard to numbers of passengers at the start of the school year.” He added that this particular issue was caused by one bus carrying two routes and said the district would have a second bus to accommodate the extra children by Monday. 

Still, the video concerned parents like Desanctis, who has two children in the district, including one who will attend Arundel Middle School next year.

“I grew up in New York City and it was crowded there, but this was like nothing compared to that. That’s a huge number of kids on the bus running around, I know the bus driver can’t possibly keep eyes on all those kids, and being a fireman, that always raises my concerns, for safety reasons,” he said.

Parents in other school districts have also reported similar problems, including in Montgomery County. A letter sent to some parents there said the district has added busses on at least one route and that moving forward, stops will be reassigned to different routes as a means of addressing overcrowding.