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BPS bus contractor kept ‘incomplete and unreliable’ driver records, new report finds
The independent report was commissioned by Boston officials after a 5-year-old boy was struck and killed by a school bus in April.
In April, 5-year-old Lens Joseph was struck and killed by a school bus in Hyde Park. In the wake of that incident, city officials announced an independent investigation into Boston’s school transportation system and its relationship with the international company the city contracts with for school bus services.
A week before the new school year is set to begin in Boston, Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper shared that report with the public. They announced that Boston Public Schools will be implementing all of the recommendations outlined in the report.
The investigation found that Transdev, the company that runs the BPS bus system, has an “insufficient” record-keeping system and “incomplete and unreliable” driver training files. It also found that Transdev “lacks reliable, data-driven evidence” of how its training programs reduce preventable accidents. Finally, the investigators determined that neither Transdev nor BPS has put “meaningful and sustained auditing and oversight mechanisms” in place.
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The findings are particularly notable in light of the fact that the driver involved in the fatal crash had an expired school bus certificate.
In the immediate aftermath of the crash, officials reviewed the specifics of what occurred, placed the driver on leave, and increased the number of safety-related meetings between BPS leaders and Transdev staff.
The findings released this week concern the broad scope of Transdev and BPS operations. Separately, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office is investigating the incident and could potentially file criminal charges.
Speaking at a press conference Thursday morning, Wu called the report’s findings a “starting point” and committed to overseeing the changes it recommends. Throughout the summer, BPS leaders have already begun implementing some of the recommended changes, she said.
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Wu appeared to grow emotional when speaking about the “unimaginable tragedy” of Joseph’s death. Skipper also spoke about Joseph.
“Lens Joseph was a bright, caring kindergartener who, from all accounts, made life better for his friends, for his family, for his teachers,” she said. “I know that the loss of Lens will impact me, and impact our team and our city forever.”
Transdev provides transportation services to public and private entities in 46 states, including in 400 cities across the U.S. The company was first contracted by BPS in 2013, but failed to achieve several performance metrics related to buses arriving on time. BPS leaders weighed bringing transportation services back in-house in 2021 but ultimately determined that this was not viable and prepared to find a new transportation vendor. Despite initial interest from 30 companies, ultimately it was only Transdev that submitted a final bid in 2022. A new contract went into effect in July 2023.
In a statement Thursday, Transdev called Joseph’s death “heartbreaking” and said that it was committed to preventing anything similar from happening in the future.
“We know that safety is not a static function but a dynamic, critical part of our operations that we must continuously seek to improve. We appreciated the opportunity to participate in the review of the systems, training, and safety protocols included in the report and are committed to working with our partners in the city, with the Boston Public Schools, and union representatives to continue making safety our top priority as we transport the 22,000 school children in Boston every day,” Transdev said in the statement.
What the report says
On the topic of Transdev’s record-keeping practices, the investigators found that the company does not centralize its files and demonstrated an “inability to readily locate and produce certain records.” Some records are stored electronically, but the company creates and maintains paper copies of other records. Some were destroyed in a December 2024 fire at a busyard in Dorchester.
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Transdev regularly provides monthly reports to BPS with updates on safety and a number of other topics. But BPS did not regularly request the records underlying the data in these monthly reports, such as accident reports, training files, and lists of staffing vacancies. BPS began doing so after Joseph’s death in April.
The investigators recommended that Transdev centralize and streamline its system for maintaining driver files.
Transdev consistently operated at or below the contractually-obligated ratio of one bus driver trainer to 70 drivers, and the investigators recommended that minimum ratio be increased and that more trainers be hired. The number of trainers increased from 11 to 15 this summer, and BPS leaders say that they will monitor whether more trainers are needed.
According to the report, Transdev showed an “inability to maintain accurate and complete training data.” As such, the company did not assess whether training programs actually reduce “preventable accidents at the individual driver level.”
Investigators recommended that Transdev create a system that directly links driver training programs to accident data. This would allow officials to measure concrete progress “rather than drawing anecdotal conclusions based on fragmented or unsupported processes,” they said in the report.
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BPS officials requested that Transdev conduct an audit of its contractual performances in 2020. This revealed “several deficiencies” related to safety staffing, training, and record-keeping. The company produced an improvement plan, and BPS began “a period of sustained oversight.” Once BPS began to see progress, it “returned responsibility for granular administration” back to Transdev.
But the investigators found that many of the problems identified in the 2020 audit are still unresolved.
“BPS has not fully leveraged its contractual right to audit and inspect Transdev’s operations and related data,” they wrote.
They recommended that BPS officials conduct regular performance audits and more unannounced site visits.
Wu and Skipper say that they are going to adopt all the recommendations outlined in the report and are bolstering oversight of drivers. For example, drivers are now required to show hard copies of their credentials even if Transdev has existing copies on file. BPS is requiring that Transdev provide a full, updated driver roster prior to the school year. Previously, this was only done in the spring.
Read the full report below:
BPS Transdev Investigation Report by Ross Cristantiello
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