BPS Buses Ran 86% On Time in First Month, Missing the 95% Goal Again

BPS bus on-time performance averaged 86% in the mornings and 83% in the afternoons over the first 24 days of the 2026-27 school year, short of the district’s 95% goal, according to Boston Public Schools data obtained by Boston.com through a public records request. The Boston City Council’s Committee on Education takes up the numbers at a hearing at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at City Hall.

86% morning on time · 83% afternoon · 95% target · 18,000+ students on 609 routes

The 95% target was set in the 2022 Systemic Improvement Plan between the city and the district. Boston Public Schools buses carry more than 18,000 students on 609 routes, using 750 yellow buses, 730 drivers and 650 bus monitors this year, Boston.com reported. The buses are run by contractor Transdev, which has worked with the district since 2013 and began a new five-year contract in 2023.

What the data shows

Compared with the same stretch of last school year, mornings slipped two percentage points, from 88% to 86%, while afternoons improved one point, from 82% to 83%. Even so, the morning figure is the second highest for the first month in the last five years, and the afternoon figure is the best in three years. The 10-year average for the first 24 days of morning service is 83%, so this fall ran three points better than that baseline.

Measured against the goal, the gap is still wide. Morning service would need to rise nine points, and afternoon service 12 points, to reach 95% (TBR calculation from BPS data). Put another way, roughly one morning bus in seven and one afternoon bus in six arrived late in the first month.

The month did improve as it went on. The first day of school was the worst, with 61% of morning buses and 73% of afternoon buses on time. Over the first five days, both morning and afternoon service averaged 78%. By the final five days of the period, mornings averaged 90% and afternoons 85%, a gain of 12 and seven points. The best single morning was 93%, reached twice; the best afternoon was 88%, on day 20.

A looser yardstick looks better. In the mornings, 96% of buses arrived within 15 minutes of the bell and 98% within 30 minutes; in the afternoons, the figures were 94% and 98%. The data does not count trips that failed to report arrival times, such as those with missing GPS data, Boston.com noted.

What the council hearing will examine

The hearing order, Docket #1920, was filed Oct. 7 by Councilors Erin Murphy and Ed Flynn with seven co-sponsors. It cites Boston 25 News reporting of an on-time rate of about 80% over the first seven school days. The order asks for daily morning and afternoon results compared with last year, an explanation of how on-time performance is calculated, including canceled trips, uncovered routes and missing tracking data, and a written corrective-action plan with named officials, targets and deadlines.

The order also asks what remedies the district has under the Transdev contract and whether it has used them. Late last school year, BPS began fining Transdev $500 for each “blown trip,” meaning a bus more than an hour late or unassigned, and it levied more than $400,000 in fines between March and June, according to WBUR reporting cited by Boston.com. It is not clear whether fines have been issued this year; BPS did not comment for the Boston.com report.

Representatives of BPS, its transportation department, Transdev, school leaders and families are invited to testify. The public can testify in person or by video, and the hearing streams on Boston City Council TV. Written comments go to the committee at ccc.education@boston.gov.

The hearing comes during a busy stretch for the district, which is also weighing the proposed closure of Charlestown High School. Follow our BPS news coverage for results from the hearing, and our City Council tracker for any follow-up orders.

Sources

• Boston.com: Boston Public School buses fall short of target in first month
• Boston.gov: City Council Committee on Education hearing on Docket #1920
• Boston City Council: Docket #1920 hearing order on BPS transportation performance (PDF)