Bus driver shortage inspires parent to create shuttle service to Walton Middle School

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - One parent is stepping up to help get Albemarle County students to school, but it will cost you $5 each way.

Albemarle County Public Schools announced two weeks ago that it was cutting bus routes, leaving hundreds of students without a ride to school.

“We’re all really busy right now, and I know most parents are working and the times for the middle school do not work with most people’s jobs,” Alanna Smith said Monday, August 21.

Smith has a son at Walton Middle School. When she learned that a bus would no longer take him to school, she decided to put her passenger van to use.

“Most people don’t have a lot of room in their cars for more than one or two kids anyway. And the more I thought about it, the more I was like, ‘I should just do this,’” she said.

Smith’s 15-seat van is now the Walton Shuttle.

“Now we kind of have this need, so I’m offering my advantage as a shuttle service to get kids to Walton Middle School,” she said. “My hope is that I can kind of do one pickup at each neighborhood.”

Smith says she has a business license, and 13 seats are currently available.

“I’m talking to insurance companies right now and getting quotes,” Smith said. “I will have insurance by Wednesday.”

The first day of school in Albemarle County is Wednesday, August 23.

For more information, visit her website at waltonshuttle.com.

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