BPS and city leaders are feeling more confident about transporting students to school safely and on time this coming school year, officials outlined at an early back-to-school primer.
“Last year to not be fully staffed (with bus drivers) was a deficit. The Orange Line was obviously a critical issue. This year, there’s many more favorable flags going into this school year that help us to feel confident,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said outside Trotter Elementary Wednesday.
Officials indicated a positive outlook going into the first few days of transporting K-12 students around the city this school year — a far cry from the mad scramble to distribute free Charlie Cards, commission vans and keep the system afloat in the midst of the Orange Line shutdown, driver shortage and widespread complications last August.
The 620 active BPS buses — transporting over 20,000 students daily — are fully staffed with over 700 drivers for the first time since pre-pandemic, Mayor Michelle Wu said, with 35 additional drivers in training. The staffing, she added, is expected to make a “huge, huge difference” in reliability and planning.
Still, Skipper warned, they expect an adjustment period in the first week of school as drivers learn and adapt to new routes.
The district is still short bus monitors and will continue hiring, Wu said, though they’ve added 150 monitors since last year. BPS will have enough monitors to staff one on each bus with one or more students with disabilities, Skipper said.
BPS families should begin receiving bus assignments by mail and email next week, officials stated, and can call the BPS transportation hotline with any questions.
Following the rollout of 20 electric school buses last February, Wu noted, the city has placed an order to nearly double the electric fleet this year and will be seeking 50 more through an EPA grant.
Officials also spoke to the Safe Routes to Schools initiative, which updated safe walking and biking routes for students around schools through the summer.
“As of today, more than half of 119 BPS school zones have been updated with clear safe crossings and signage,” said Nick Gove, Deputy Chief for Transportation. “This summer the BTD team and our contracted partners have been out four nights a week putting down over 100,000 feet of crosswalks in BPS school zones.”
The zones are on schedule to be fully updated by the start of school, officials said.
Still, a representative of the Garrison Trotter Neighborhood Association said, the raised crosswalk and signage efforts may not be enough in busier school zones. There are five schools in the area of Trotter Elementary and cars speed on a “regular basis,” he added, calling for additional enforcement measures and a true “safe campus.”
Residents who see any signs or pavement markings that need to be refreshed are encouraged to report the issue on the 311 app, Gove said.