Dear neighbors,
Please note that Boston City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy and I will hold a hearing on Boston Public Schools (BPS) transportation challenges next Thursday, November 7th, at 2:00PM in the Iannella Chamber at Boston City Hall. This will also act as a joint hearing to discuss BPS transportation issues involving student athletes, also co-sponsored by Councilor At-Large Julia Mejia.
We have invited BPS administrators to testify. This is both a public safety and quality of life issue that continues to negatively impact students, students with disabilities, student athletes, parents, teachers, and school administrators.
We cannot normalize the disruption for all that comes with students being picked up or dropped off a half hour or an hour late, or sometimes not at all. Please see my press release below for more information.
If you would like to provide in-person, virtual, or written testimony, please reach out to Karishma.Chouhan@Boston.gov.
The hearing will also be live streamed at boston.gov/city-council-tv and televised on Xfinity 8/RCN 82/Fios 964.
Thank you, Ed
Councilors Flynn and Murphy to Hold a Hearing on BPS Transportation Challenges
BOSTON - Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn and Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy will hold a hearing to discuss Boston Public School (BPS) transportation challenges on Thursday, November 7th, at 2:00pm. The hearing will address the critical need to improve the transportation system for BPS families, which has been plagued with delays and no-shows since the beginning of the school year.
BPS Transportation serves approximately 22,000 students and transports them across the city’s nine different districts every day. On the first day of school, two out of every three buses were late to school, the worst reported since 2015. Though there has been improvement on the accuracy of school bus arrivals, BPS transportation still has not reached the 95% on-time arrival rate. Many parents continue to contact the city regarding excessive delays and changes in their child’s bus route, many of which had not been communicated with in advance.
Moreover, the unsteady debut of the Zum app for BPS parents and families has seemingly exacerbated these issues. Many parents have written to city officials and their elected representatives about excessive delays for pick up and drop off, having to consistently drive their children due to buses failing to show up at all, the app becoming unavailable, or children having to provide directions to bus drivers.
“It is wholly unacceptable that, for months, BPS children and families, including students with disabilities, have had to endure the uncertainty as to whether their bus would arrive a half hour late, an hour late, or if it would arrive at all,” said Councilor Flynn. “We cannot ignore or normalize the disruption this has caused for students, parents, teachers and administrators. We cannot continue to provide tone deaf answers to parents worried about the safety of their children, or blatantly disregard how this affects their quality of life.”
“I have reached out to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), Superintendent Skipper, and the Boston School Committee for leadership and collaboration with us on this important issue. Parents, teachers, and students continue to express their frustrations, and we receive numerous calls daily from concerned families. The impact of these delays goes beyond inconvenience; it disrupts the learning environment and disproportionately affects our most vulnerable students,” said Councilor At-Large Murphy. “Given that we invest approximately $170 million in our transportation system for around 22,000 students, including many with special educational needs, it is imperative that we hold ourselves accountable to the standards set forth in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with DESE. Our students, and their families, deserve that.”
For more information, please contact Councilor Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 and Ed.Flynn@Boston.gov. | 
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