
Parents frustrated as school buses run late, city promises improvement

Boston’s school bus system has had a rocky start this school, with many students arriving late to school and frustrated parents voicing concerns. Both city officials and families agree that improvements are urgently needed.Cheryl Buckman, whose son rides the bus and has special education needs, described the beginning of the school year as a “busing nightmare.””On top of him being on an (Individualized Educational Plan), he’s also autistic,” Buckman said. She said that her son’s bus was over 25 minutes late on the first day of school. “He got his bus the second day but was late getting home. (Tuesday) was an absolute mess — he was home 45 minutes after the fact,” Buckman said.Nearly two-thirds of Boston’s school buses were late on the first day of school. Although there has been some improvement in the days since, officials acknowledge the difficulties partially stem from a new transportation app called Zum. The app, launched by the district to provide real-time bus tracking, is causing growing pains, according to the head of transportation.“It provides a lot more transparency, a lot more real-time info on where your bus is, if it’s delayed, and the estimated time of arrival at the stop,” said Dan Rosengard, the executive director of transportation at Boston Public Schools.Terry Delehanty, a concerned grandmother, described her grandson’s bus experience as frustrating.”Pick up was supposed to be at 7:31 a.m. and my grandchild was supposed to be at school by 7:41 a.m. Today, they didn’t get there until 9 o’clock,” Delehanty said.Boston mayor Michelle Wu said that a wave of last-minute bus registrations also contributed to the delays. She said that the bus routes had been locked in by early August, but with double the number of late student additions, drivers had to adjust.“The contracts for the bus drivers are structured around having those routes locked by early August,” Wu said. “They did the practice runs, and then so many more students were added. We had double the number of changes.”Wu remains confident that the delays will be resolved quickly, noting that two-thirds of bus drivers had their routes changed just before the start of the school year.
Boston’s school bus system has had a rocky start this school, with many students arriving late to school and frustrated parents voicing concerns. Both city officials and families agree that improvements are urgently needed.
Cheryl Buckman, whose son rides the bus and has special education needs, described the beginning of the school year as a “busing nightmare.”
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“On top of him being on an (Individualized Educational Plan), he’s also autistic,” Buckman said.
She said that her son’s bus was over 25 minutes late on the first day of school.
“He got his bus the second day but was late getting home. (Tuesday) was an absolute mess — he was home 45 minutes after the fact,” Buckman said.
Nearly two-thirds of Boston’s school buses were late on the first day of school.
Although there has been some improvement in the days since, officials acknowledge the difficulties partially stem from a new transportation app called Zum.
The app, launched by the district to provide real-time bus tracking, is causing growing pains, according to the head of transportation.
“It provides a lot more transparency, a lot more real-time info on where your bus is, if it’s delayed, and the estimated time of arrival at the stop,” said Dan Rosengard, the executive director of transportation at Boston Public Schools.
Terry Delehanty, a concerned grandmother, described her grandson’s bus experience as frustrating.
“Pick up was supposed to be at 7:31 a.m. and my grandchild was supposed to be at school by 7:41 a.m. Today, they didn’t get there until 9 o’clock,” Delehanty said.
Boston mayor Michelle Wu said that a wave of last-minute bus registrations also contributed to the delays. She said that the bus routes had been locked in by early August, but with double the number of late student additions, drivers had to adjust.
“The contracts for the bus drivers are structured around having those routes locked by early August,” Wu said. “They did the practice runs, and then so many more students were added. We had double the number of changes.”
Wu remains confident that the delays will be resolved quickly, noting that two-thirds of bus drivers had their routes changed just before the start of the school year.