New technology was meant to improve the reliability of school buses, but the district continues to struggle with transportation.
It's now been nearly two months since Boston Public Schools unveiled new technology intended to improve the reliability and on-time performance of the buses that transport thousands of students.
As NBC10 Boston reported in September, the bus-tracking mobile app, Zum, had a rocky rollout when the school year began. On the first day of class, two-thirds of the buses were late.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
So are parents seeing any improvement of when buses are picking up or dropping off their children?
NBC10 Boston requested the bus report card from BPS and found out so far this year, on-time performance is still not making the grade.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Zum allows parents to track their kids' rides in real time and allows bus drivers to use GPS on tablets to follow their routes.
The three-year agreement comes with a hefty price tag for taxpayers, according to figures BPS provided. The district will pay $1.3 million in the first year, followed by a quarter-million dollars in subsequent years.
Despite that investment, the majority of days during the current school year scored worse in on-time performance compared to last year.
That includes each of the 35 days measured during afternoon drop-off.
"When they get to school late, that's class time they're missing," said Boston City Councilor Julia Mejia. "When they get home later, that's homework they're missing. And when families have to wait for the bus to pick up their child or drop them off, that is also time and energy we're stealing from parents."
BPS acknowledged there is plenty of room for improvement in the afternoon, but told NBC10 Boston the numbers are trending in the right direction, especially with morning pickup. For instance, district figures show nine of the past 10 days had scored equal to or better equivalent days last year.
"We are committed to continuously improving our on-time performance, and since the start of school have made weekly route adjustments with the help of the new Zum app to update route timings based on real-world traffic conditions, update bus assignments for any students with changes, and improve overall route efficiency," a BPS spokesperson wrote in a statement.
As part of a state-imposed improvement plan, BPS is required to hit an on-time performance rate of 95%.
So far, no days have met that benchmark, although the most recent morning transportation came close at 94%. The district did not see a percentage that high until Thanksgiving week last year.
"We can't spend more money and do worse," Mejia said. "I just think something has to give and we have to do better for our families."
