Mayor Michelle Wu and Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper unveiled a new BPS Transportation report and a forthcoming Ridership Procedure aimed to improve efficiency and bus service for students, reports the City of Boston's official website. These updates come as part of the "Driving Change: BPS Transportation Progress 2022-2025" initiative, which seeks to continue improving the district's transportation system.
According to the new report, March 2025 marked a milestone for BPS with an average 94% on-time performance (OTP) for morning bus trips, which is the highest recorded since the disruption brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. To get to this point, BPS made several moves to streamline operations including reforming contracts, tackling staffing shortages, modernizing routing with real-time GPS technology, and aligning school bell times to a three-tier schedule. These efforts were designed to not only improve OTP but also to ensure that 100% of scheduled athletic trips were covered since February 2025. Mayor Wu expressed her excitement about reaching this stage, stating, "Most importantly, this is about the individual experiences of each family and student, and we are excited to take that on and to do better each and every day to make sure that Boston continues to be making progress," according to the City of Boston.
The advancements in BPS' OTP figures reflect the district's commitment to strategic planning and implementation of reforms, as conveyed by Superintendent Skipper. She highlighted the critical improvements seen over the past few years, crediting them to the modernization of their routing system and strengthened partnerships with drivers and vendors. Further improvements are anticipated after April vacation when BPS introduces a Ridership Procedure to more accurately match transportation services with actual student ridership. Students who fail to ride the bus for ten consecutive school days without prior notification will be contacted by BPS Transportation with a notice of their removal from the route. This procedure will be facilitated by the Zūm app technology, which has allowed BPS to systematically track student ridership.
District 5 City Councilor Enrique Pepén lauded the district-wide implementation of the new technologies and procedures, voicing his hope for achieving a 100% OTP in the future—a result he believes both families and children deserve. "I am truly proud to see this BPS Transportation report profile significant improvement over the past few years, especially this year alone with the Zūm app technology that I advocated for early in my term," he told the City of Boston website. Dan Rosengard, Executive Director of BPS Transportation, added that the new Ridership Procedure will enable the team to build bus routes based on actual student ridership for the first time, "ensuring our resources are going towards those students who need the bus, adding slack to the system, and building upon the OTP improvements we've seen this year."
Rafael Hernandez Duel Language K-8 School Leader Danielle Costello noted the importance of reliable transportation for their students, who hail from all over the city. Costello recognized the improvements in bus timeliness and communication since the Zūm app's introduction, and with the implementation of the Ridership Procedure expected to enhance these improvements, Costello affirmed continued advocacy for necessary steps that secure safe, reliable, on-time transportation for every student. "Our staff and families have been strong advocates for transportation improvements to address the history of late buses," Costello stated to the City of Boston's website.
