Despite less-than-ideal weather conditions, schools were open in the Halifax area Friday.

Getting to the classroom proved to be a challenge for some as road conditions meant some buses were late or, in some cases, didn't arrive at all.

Several buses ended up gathering at the Sobeys along the Bedford Highway -- some with children on board.

Nashwa Mohamed says she sent her kids to school Friday morning thinking everything was fine, only to later learn they never made it.

"The school didn't inform us,” Mohamed said. “They told us ‘your kids are not in school. They are absent today.’ They didn't tell us. I just figured out from the bus. I called the bus and they told me they are here in Sobeys so I came to pick them up.”

Amber Raja says her 16-year-old daughter waited 20 minutes for the bus.

Unable to find any information about the status of the bus, Raja told her daughter to come home for the day.

“I understand that it’s not an ideal system, but my concern is that there's no communication,” Raja said. “So what about the parents who have left for work and are stuck in the middle of the chaos that was created with the weather today and their kids are just standing at a bus stop.”

In a statement, the Education Minister Zach Churchill said:

“We recognize that some students experienced long waits for buses today as result of the weather and that is unfortunate,” Churchill said. “Ultimately, parents always have the right to keep their child at home should they disagree with the decision of the local (regional centre for education).”

Questions about busing were directed to Stock Transportation, who would not do an interview.

In a written statement they said, in part:

“Early this morning, Stock received notification that the roads were fit for safe transportation during a routine advisory call. However, this was prior to the snow fall.”

Many parents expressed their outrage over the bus situation on social media through the day.

By the afternoon, the precipitation had turned to rain in Halifax and Stock anticipated that all buses would be operating as normal.

As for Raja, she says officials need to communicate better in the future.

“Kids being abandoned or kids being stuck in a bus for two or three hours is not acceptable,” Raja said. “Whether that's Stock’s fault, whether that's the school board's fault, I don't really know, but at the same time, it's not OK and it needs to be addressed.”

Hadley says the Halifax Regional Centre for Education will be following up with Stock about communication.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Natasha Pace.