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West Ada family concerned about Cascade Transportation bus delays

Jennifer Peterson's son was on a delayed bus Thursday, Aug. 25. The bus company didn't notify Peterson until the bus was already 30 minutes late.

ADA COUNTY, Idaho — Delays with Cascade Student Transportation’s bus routes had an Idaho mom panicking for 30 minutes about where her child was Thursday.

Jennifer Peterson's 5-year-old son started kindergarten this year in the West Ada School District (WASD). WASD contracts out their bus services to Cascade.

Peterson expected to see her son dropped off at 4:05 p.m. but the bus did not show up then.

"He was supposed to be the first stop," Peterson said. "So, I called him on his Gizmowatch, which luckily he had on. He answered and just said, 'Mom! Mom! I'm on the wrong bus. They put me on the wrong bus.'"

Cascade sent out a mass text message at 4:27 p.m. notifying Peterson - and other parents - their specific bus was delayed 30 to 40 minutes. Peterson's bus combined with another route.

"At this time, it was already 30 minutes past when he was supposed to be dropped off. I was already panicked and chasing down whatever bus I could find," Peterson said.

Going into the school year, Peterson had a difficult time getting her son registered for a bus and bus stop. Throughout the whole process, nobody at Cascade answered her questions.

"They're expecting the parents to figure it out on their own, then this happens, and no one is accountable for my 5-year-old," Peterson said.

Cascade Transportation answered KTVB's phone call and set up a time to answer questions later in the day over a virtual video call. When KTVB joined the video call, Cascade notified KTVB that they could not answer any questions.

KTVB was referred to the corporate office. The contact KTVB received from Cascade had a New Jersey area code.

The corporate office did not answer KTVB's phone call or voicemail.

"There's been no response. There's been no communication. There's been no accountability," Peterson said. "He is now terrified. He doesn't wanna ride the bus. I'm terrified, I don't want him to ride the bus. I hope it gets better and they can sort through their problems. This can't be the best we can do."

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