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The Ohio State Highway Patrol found unsafe conditions on eight of nine school buses operated by a private bus contractor. All eight were declared unfit to drive while minor violations were discovered on the ninth bus.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, the buses operated by First Student Inc. had loose seats, holes in the floor and other safety issues.
The inspections were conducted after a First Student driver was stopped for running a red light in an empty bus. The trooper found the conditions of the bus to be so alarming that he followed the driver to First Student’s garage to begin spot-checks.
Read the Full Columbus Dispatch Article
In the Public Interest, a comprehensive resource center on privatization and responsible contracting, cites that the privatization track record is full of service failures and deteriorating infrastructure. They attribute these failures to private investors and contractors’ interests lying in making profit, which creates incentives to let quality slip and assets degrade.
Columbus City Schools is in the second year of a three-year, $14.2 million-per-year contract with First Student Inc.
