In a year of compromises and cancellations, one thing that has been consistently going strong is the Providence bus system. Despite the nature of COVID-19 transmission and the enclosed space on a bus, Providence has been able to continually offer reliable transportation to its students. This is largely thanks to the efforts of the Director of of Director of Transportation, Mr. Eric England, and his staff.
“There has actually been a spike of people taking the bus this year, “said England Students have noticed some changes from last year such as assigned seats. Many of them don’t mind the assigned seats, but would still like to sit with different people sometimes. The almost universal change that happened even including buses is wearing a mask. In a small condensed bus wearing a mask is a real hassle and some students find it difficult to keep them on.
Some students in Providence use the same buses as students in Wayzata, so some days Providence families are responsible for transporting to and from Providence on the days that Wayzata is not in session in person. Wayzata district provided busing only runs on the days that Wayzata schools are meeting in person. The Wayzata Director of Transportation, Mr. Rich Enda, and Mr. England had sent an email at the start of the year that relayed all the information.
There actually hasn’t been any physical changes made to the school bus so it is the same bus as previous years, which adds a sense of familiarity in this weird time period. Many people in this time where many things are uncertain rely on the steady state of bus for reliable transportation that Providence provides.
“Riding the bus this year isn’t that difficult,” said a student from Providence Academy.
Providence has done a good job keeping the bus Covid free and mitigating the spread of Covid. Providence overall has kept school normal. Even through this tough time in history Providence makes school feel normal.