Students and parents say they are disappointed and frustrated after a van service that serves North Side families was canceled abruptly.
AEG Transportation informed parents by email at 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 20, just hours before the morning van service to Lab was due to begin, leaving many Lab families scrambling to make alternative travel arrangements.
The company, which many Lab families turned to after Lab’s own bus service was suspended during pandemic distance learning, blamed the cancellation on the high cost of commercial insurance, saying in an email reviewed by the U-High Midway, “the current economic climate and rising costs of operating in the transportation industry” had forced it into bankruptcy.
Freshman Abhi Majumdar, who lives in the Lakeshore East neighborhood nine miles north of Lab, was a regular rider of the van but now rides home with a former AEG driver who started his own separate business.
“It’s been hard for many families because a lot of people really relied on the service,” Abhi said. “If kids had sports practice after school, they could take the 5:30 van home, but now we all have to find alternative solutions.”
Emma Lawrence and Rania Khan, both sophomores who live more than 12 miles from campus in Lincoln Park, also expressed frustration. Emma used to ride the van daily to and from Lab.
“Rania called me that morning and said, ‘The van’s done. They’re not running anymore!’” Emma said. “I was shocked because I’ve been riding with that van service since I was in third grade, and I never saw this coming.”
The abrupt cancellation caused her problems.
“This week has been stressful because I’ve had to find rides to take me to school every day until I figure out a long-term solution,” Emma said. “It’s been hard not having transportation to rely on.”
Rania said the announcement felt sudden and arbitrary.
“It was a mess. We had no warning, and it just came out of nowhere,” she said. “Thankfully for me, my parents drive me every morning and then family friends were able to take me, but I know a lot of people don’t have that.”
Bucktown resident Melissa Schopin, a parent of a sophomore and eighth grader who rode the van for four years, wishes Lab would reinstate its pre-pandemic bus system, or at least aid in helping students find rides.
“Prior to us joining the Lab family, they used to provide a bus system that was subsidized through the university and this helped people decide whether or not to go to Lab,” she said. “Not every parent is able to pick their kids up at 3:30, so if the school could help organize transportation by connecting people who live in the same area, that would be a big help.”
Eric Peltier, whose son rode the bus from Wicker Park for three years, said he had prepaid for the next year, but the money was never refunded. His family ended up directly hiring a driver who previously worked for AEG Transportation to get their children to school.
Mr. Peltier also echoed Ms. Schopin’s sentiment.
“This is an issue for a lot of families that don’t live in Hyde Park,” he said. “You could be looking at 2 ½ hours a day driving your kids to school, so for some parents, it could be the deciding factor in whether or not they continue to send their kids to Lab.”
