Boston Public Schools (BPS) announced last week that school buses reached a 93 percent on-time performance by Mon., Sept. 17, a level of service that took 26 weeks to reach last school year.
Additionally, 97 percent of school buses arrived within five minutes of the school bell and 99 percent arrived within 10 minutes of the school bell.
“This is proof that the changes we have made are working,” Superintendent Carol Johnson said in a press release. “While this is not an announcement of complete success, it is important that we recognize the incredible progress we’ve made compared to last school year.”
Johnson and new BPS Transportation Director Carl Allen promised more-efficient busing during a round-table interview with reporters last month.
Late buses were a big problem for BPS last year.
Since Allen was hired last year, he has made several changes to the planning of bus routes. Allen has also put a strong emphasis on customer service.
“Our top priority must be to ensure all students arrive to school on-time and safely, but we also have an obligation ensure we are communicating well with all our families,” he said in that same release.
BPS has added extra time to many bus routes to avoid tardiness, as the Gazette previously reported. Johnson and Allen also both participated in busing dry runs the week before schools opened. All of those buses were either early or on time.
From press materials.