The Bus is Rolling in Quail Hill & Los Olivos
A new pilot program rolled out, literally, on August 24th, the first day of school. That’s when a school bus — partially funded by the City of Irvine — began ferrying students between University High School and the Quail Hill and Los Olivos neighborhoods.
The new service, which families sign up and pay a fee for, appeared to be an immediate hit. IUSD spokesperson, Annie Brown, reported that the 50-seat bus is fully subscribed, with a 30-name waiting list.
The bus service had long been sought by Quail Hill families, with the school district offering to start bus service if the parents could raise $75,000 to underwrite its cost. The parents asked the Irvine City Council to fund $50,000 of that, with affected families chipping in to raise the rest.
At the request of Mayor Farrah Khan and Councilmember Larry Agran, the Council took up the matter at its August 8th meeting, and voted 5-0 in support of the funding. As a result, the bus for Uni High students in Quail Hill and Los Olivos was ready to roll as the new school year began.