Boston school buses averaged 80% on-time morning drop-offs during the first seven days of the 2026-27 school year, down from 83% in the same stretch a year earlier, according to data obtained by Boston 25 News and reported again on Oct. 1, 2026. Families and City Council members described late and no-show buses as a disruption to routines, while Boston Public Schools said the start remains among its strongest on record.
Boston School Buses: Early-Year On-Time Data
Boston 25 reported that average morning on-time performance for the opening seven days stood at 80%, three points below last year’s comparable period. City Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy told the station a nearly $200 million bus system “need[s] to do better than 80%,” calling delays a “huge disruption.” Councilor Julia Mejia said the city is investing significant public dollars in BPS transportation, including tools such as the Zum app, and that Transdev should be held accountable when students are not delivered safely and on time, Boston 25 reported.
Murphy also said Boston may need to consider other contractors if Transdev’s service does not improve, according to Boston 25. The station said Transdev had not responded to a request for comment as of its Sept. 29 report.
Family Accounts and BPS Response
Dorchester caretaker Carol Benjamin told Boston 25 that three grandchildren in different schools face regular delays and no-shows. She said her 9-year-old granddaughter Erin, who is deaf and nonverbal and attends the Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Charlestown, wakes at 4:30 a.m. for a bus scheduled near 6:10 a.m. that is often late or missing. During a Tuesday interview, Benjamin said her oldest grandchild Jeremiah arrived home from Boston Prep about 5:15 p.m. after a 3:15 p.m. dismissal—roughly a two-hour trip, the station reported.
In a statement to Boston 25, BPS said it recognizes delays frustrate families and that it is taking steps to keep service consistent. The district said early-year on-time performance can be affected by traffic, drivers learning new routes, and schedule adjustments, and that the OTP so far “reflects a strong start to the year and one of the strongest school starts on record.” BPS said it will keep monitoring performance and push for improvement.
City Transportation Context
School-bus reliability sits alongside other Boston transportation management debates this week, including the final town halls on the Blue Hill Avenue bus lane redesign and the start of MBTA bus camera enforcement on Silver Line routes. City Hall’s broader permitting and service changes are also tracked in our report on Boston permitting changes that took effect Oct. 1.