California School Buses Transport Critical Staff Through Mudslide Area
Carpinteria Unified School District bus drivers transport critical personnel for their district and the area, traversing a wet, muddy section of Highway 101.

Carpinteria (Calif.) Unified School District school bus drivers recently transported critical personnel for their district and the area, traversing a wet, muddy section of Highway 101 that was closed due to mudslides.

CARPINTERIA, Calif. — School bus drivers here answered the call to help teachers and other critical personnel get to and from work last week as part of a major highway was shut down due to deadly mudslides.
Four bus drivers and a transportation supervisor from Carpinteria Unified School District (USD) coordinated with the Office of Emergency Services in Santa Barbara and two local public transportation agencies to create two convoys to bring nearly 500 staff members to and from their workplaces down a wet, muddied swath of Highway 101.
Teachers and other district staff members, city employees, water district employees, and hospital staff were transported in the convoys, said Michael Littlejohn the transportation and warehouse supervisor for Carpinteria USD.
Each day, the school bus drivers met at 4:30 a.m. to complete pre-checks and discuss the plan for the day. They then drove to the meeting location, Carpinteria High School, at 5 a.m. Half an hour later, they proceeded to one of the closure points and met a California Highway Patrol (CHP) escort before heading north into Montecito and Santa Barbara, where the convoy of public transit buses from Ventura met them.
“It was kind of a surreal scene, driving through and seeing mud piled up on the sides [of the highway], especially around some of the houses,” Littlejohn said. “There was a red Little Tikes car that was just sitting out there in the mud by itself, splattered. It was a jolting scene.”
After dropping off personnel in Santa Barbara, the school buses picked up some of the district’s teachers and brought them into Carpinteria.
In the afternoon, employees gathered in Carpinteria, and at 4:30, the buses and the CHP escort headed out again. At 6 p.m., the school buses joined the public transit bus convoy and headed south to Carpinteria and Ventura, respectively.
One challenge to committing to the project meant that Carpinteria USD was unable to provide home-to-school service for general-education students during that time. However, it did maintain its special-needs transportation service.
“We have one bus that does special needs here in town, and we kept that going,” Littlejohn said.
In fact, the district actually expanded its special-needs run to accommodate the special-needs students who typically ride on the general-education buses, he noted.
Although Littlejohn said he and his employees are tired, they feel proud for having helped keep critical services going in the area in the wake of the mudslides, and for the successful teamwork they experienced with the emergency services and public transportation agencies.
“The staff has put in 15-hour days, [but] we like being part of the solution,” Littlejohn said. “As far as the agencies working together, that has gone absolutely fantastic. Lot of communication and flexibility.”
The community has been supportive and was understanding about the lack of general transportation for students, he added.
“They are proud of us, too.”
Still, Littlejohn is looking forward to getting back to a normal schedule, he said.
The highway reopened in Santa Barbara County on Sunday. It had been closed following the Jan. 9 mudslide that killed 21 people, the Los Angeles Times reported.
PHOTOS: School Buses Traverse Mudslide Area
More Management

Ohio Transportation Workgroup Calls for End to 'Impractical to Transport' Payments
A final report from Ohio's Pupil Transportation Workgroup proposes ending "impractical to transport" payments and expanding transportation options through regional partnerships.
Read More →
Transfinder Expands California Footprint with Multiple School District Wins
Six California school districts selected the company's routing platform and related transportation technology as Transfinder continues expanding its presence across the state.
Read More →NSTA's Curt Macysyn on Student Transportation History and What's Next
Hear from NSTA's executive director as we discuss student transportation's role in American history, federal regulation, driver recruitment, illegal passing, AI, and what might be next, in this Route interview.
Read More →NSTA on 250 Years of America and the Road Ahead for Student Transportation
Curt Macysyn joins The Route to discuss student transportation's role in American history, federal regulation, driver recruitment, illegal passing, AI, and the industry’s future. Sponsored by IC Bus.
Read More →
Photo Highlights: Inside the 2026 Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation Conference
Snapshots from the 2026 MAPT conference, where Michigan's school transportation professionals gathered for training, technology updates, awards, networking, and more.
Read More →
Zonar Launches Reimagined Bus Suite Web Portal
Can one platform replace your transportation software stack? Zonar says its new Bus Suite unifies routing, dispatch, field trips, GPS, and parent communication.
Read More →
Indiana Association Announces 2026 Award Winners
See who earned top honors at the 2026 School Transportation Association of Indiana conference, recognizing excellence in school transportation statewide.
Read More →
Student Transportation of America Acquires Massachusetts Contractor
Tremblay’s Bus Company and its 400-bus fleet joins the STA family of brands as the company grows its presence across the Northeast U.S.
Read More →
Michigan Association Announces 2026 Award Winners
See who earned top honors at the 2026 Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation conference, recognizing excellence in school transportation statewide.
Read More →Inside MAPT 2026: Michigan’s School Transportation Community Connects at Boyne Mountain
Check out highlights from the 2026 MAPT Summer Conference, where over 300 transportation pros gathered for training, networking, awards, and trade show.
Read More →


