Road conditions combined with cold weather left some routes running a little bit behind schedule in Bentonville.
Between eight and 10 buses didn't start on Thursday morning, said Chris DeWitt, transportation director. Getting those buses running or swapping them out added a little delay and road conditions added more, prompting a warning from the school district that there could be delays on some routes and asking parents to make sure students stayed warm on their wait. Delays ranged from 5 minutes to an hour, DeWitt said, but the only accident was when a bus backed over a mailbox.
Three buses didn't start in Rogers, said Ron Young, transportation director. Transportation staff jumped the buses or used a different bus and that did not cause delays, Young said. Road conditions did slow the buses.
“Get the kids and be safe,” Young said he told the drivers.
Bentonville and Rogers ran limited routes with Bentonville picking up about 50 of it's routes at five locations where parents could drive students in. Rogers also had about 50 affected routes.
Buses in the Fayetteville School District started without many problems Thursday morning.
Bus drivers avoided rural and dirt roads, which is normal procedure when there is snow and ice, said Tommy Davenport, district transportation director.
"They're slick, and they're harder to maneuver," he said.
One of the bus drivers had to avoid a second trip up Stone Mountain Drive and Stone Bridge Road because it was slick with snow, Davenport said. The two roads are steep and the driver was uncomfortable driving on them.
"We have to be able to adjust," he said.
It's not easy to drive a school bus in the snow because they aren't generally four wheel drive, which is better for driving in the snow, Davenport said. The buses in Fayetteville have rear wheel drive.
When preparing the buses in the morning, the biggest challenge was the cold temperatures and moisture, Davenport said. Drivers had to scrape ice from freezing rain off the sides and mirrors of the buses.
Some of the airlines on the buses also froze, Davenport said. The air lines create air pressure to release the brakes. When the lines freeze, the buses can't move.
Bus drivers had to start working 15 to 20 minutes earlier than usual Thursday morning to remove the ice and warm the buses up for use, Davenport said. Some of the buses were 5 or 6 minutes late and another was 15 minutes late on the routes. The routes take longer, because most cars on the road are moving slower than normal and parent drop off lines are longer than normal at the schools.
"It just takes a while for everyone to get in," he said.
Fewer students ride the buses in the morning when there is ice and snow, because parents drive them, Davenport said. The buses usually have more students when school gets out in the afternoon.