Readers Say

How 5 readers have been impacted by school bus delays

“Boston Public School transportation has failed our kids this school year,” one reader said.

A student rubbed her eyes in the early morning of Sept. 5, 2024 while on a school bus on her way to a Boston school in Dorchester. (David L Ryan/Globe Staff)

By Annie Jonas

October 1, 2024

3 minutes to read

Boston Public School buses have been experiencing extreme delays this year, which have frustrated Boston.com readers – parents and teachers among them – leaving their children and students feeling “scared and sad.”

This school year, two-thirds of buses were late on the first day of school, the lowest on-time rate for the first-day bus performance since at least 2016. City Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy called on the state to investigate the issue, but City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune said such a move would be “definitely premature.”

Boston Mayor Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper attributed the delays to an influx of new school registrants and drivers adjusting to a new bus tracking app, Zum. But Boston.com readers say “the mayor, superintendent, and BPS transportation need to take accountability.”

We asked our readers if they were experiencing school bus delays, and they shared feelings of anger and frustration. Below, see a sampling of five reader experiences with school bus delays this year.

Responses have been lightly edited for grammar.

Have you experienced school bus delays?

“Boston Public School transportation has failed our kids this school year. Since the start of the year my child has very rarely made it to school before the bell rings, and rides home have been so unreliable and unsafe that I started picking my daughter up at the end of the day. This is not sustainable.

“I have been patient. My child has been patient. But now she is scared and sad. This morning a new bus stop assignment brought hope that perhaps things had been adjusted for the better. But when the app told us the bus was 20 minutes behind schedule, my daughter cried and asked that I drive her to school. She is sick of being late every morning. And she shouldn’t have to spend the day at school carrying around worry about how and when she’ll get home.

“Good leadership means providing employees with the resources they need to do their job well. Leadership has failed our bus drivers, and in doing so they have failed our children. The Mayor, Superintendent, and BPS transportation need to take accountability. Be an example to kids about how adults mess up too; admit that this wasn’t the plan; tell them that you will do better, and then do better.” – Mette A., West Roxbury

“I work for Boston Public Schools as a special ed teacher in a substantially separate autism classroom. All of my students have Individualized Education Programs, which legally specify they get bus transportation. All of my students need direct supervision at all times. Therefore, when the buses are late, teachers and paraprofessionals stay with the students. While the students are waiting, whether it’s 20 minutes past staff contractual hours, or 3 hours past, someone has to stay. I personally have worked numerous unpaid hours because of the bus situation. Many days I have had to have staff from a different autism classroom, who don’t know my students, come to stay for me so I could try to get to daycare pick up before 6 p.m. for my 2- and 4-year-old. The late buses have made me late for daycare pick up several times, which I then have to pay $5 a minute for, on top of already not being paid for the time I stayed after school with the students.” – Christine C., Roxbury

“My daughter’s afternoon bus is late every afternoon. Yesterday it arrived at her bus stop at 5:24 p.m.” – Tracey T., Brighton

“My children’s bus is delayed everyday. The app is often offline and doesn’t even tell us where it is. The route is different everyday!” – Aileen G., Charlestown

“Put schools in the neighborhoods! Kids would prefer to walk! There are ‘school deserts’ in Boston, the neighborhoods that have no public school at all. For instance, the West End/Beacon Hill/Back Bay. The children in these neighborhoods have no ‘walk-zone’ school. The only option is yellow bus transportation, which has been a nightmare year after year. Last year, several families filed complaints with Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) about horrendous yellow bus transportation to and from the West End/Beacon Hill. DESE has yet to make rulings on the complaints. – Anonymous reader, West End/Beacon Hill