Special to the Sun
At last week’s Boston City Council meeting, Councilor Ed Flynn and Councilor At-Large Erin Murphy filed a hearing order to review the hiring, training, and compliance certification for Boston Public Schools (BPS) bus drivers. This follows the tragic passing of a 5-year-old boy after being struck by a school bus in Hyde Park. Prior to the crash, the same driver reportedly struck two parked cars in Mattapan and was operating with an expired school bus certificate.
This tragedy underscores the urgent need to conduct a thorough review of the hiring and monitoring practices used by Transdev—the City’s contracted school bus management company—including how drivers are screened, trained, certified, and supervised to ensure they meet the highest safety standards before transporting children. The City must also evaluate and strengthen its real-time safety protocols by implementing enhanced measures to monitor driver behavior, report incidents promptly, and identify and address any misconduct or violations before they result in harm. Boston Public Schools provides daily transportation to approximately 22,000 students. Families across the city entrust us with their children’s safety, and it is our obligation to ensure that only qualified, properly certified, and closely monitored drivers are allowed to operate school buses.
“The safety of Boston’s children is non-negotiable. This troubling development warrants an immediate review of the certification and safety records of every BPS bus driver,” said Councilor Flynn. “As elected officials, we must act with urgency to address the systemic failures that contributed to this tragedy and take meaningful steps to ensure it never happens again. We owe that to every family who relies on BPS transportation.”