Boston still struggling with late school buses to start new year
BOSTON -- Students in Boston started the new school year by dealing with an old problem: late school buses. While there was some improvement over the first three days, arrival times are still not where they need to be.
On the first day, only 50% of buses arrived before the morning bell, 77% arrived within 15 minutes and 92% arrived within 30 minutes. In the afternoon, 57% of buses arrived before bell time, 74% arrived within 15 minutes, and 81% arrived within 30 minutes.
By the third day of school, 73% of school buses arrived before the bell, 93% arrived within 15 minutes, and 99% arrived within 30 minutes. In the afternoon, 70% of buses arrived before the bell, 93% of buses arrived within 15 minutes, and 96% arrived within 30 minutes.
The Orange Line shutdown is also having an impact on students' commutes.
Over the summer, Boston Public Schools and DESE signed off on a Systemic Improvement Plan that prevented DESE from placing the district under receivership. One point was to make sure the on-time arrival rate of school buses was 95% or better each month.
"Getting our students safely to school in the morning and returning them home at the end of the day is central to our mission of making sure every student gets what they need to succeed. Our bus arrival times before bell time and after bell time continue to improve," said a BPS statement on Tuesday.
