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BPS ridership procedure pauses ~1,300 assignments to reduce unused stops and improve reliability
Summary
BPS told the council its new ridership procedure paused about 1,300 bus assignments after outreach to families, trimming routed stops by more than 15% to improve route efficiency; officials said eligibility for transportation was not affected.
Boston Public Schools told a City Council education committee on Aug. 28 that a new ridership procedure implemented in May 2025 paused roughly 1,300 student bus assignments to avoid routing buses to stops that students do not use.
BPS executive director of transportation Dan Rosengard said the change was an operational step recommended by the Council of Great City Schools and developed with the Transportation Advisory Council. The procedure, he said, aligns routes to actual ridership rather than eligibility alone and includes safeguards to prevent inadvertent service loss.
"This does not impact student eligibility for transportation, whether through their IEP or their grade and distance to school," Rosengard told the committee. He said BPS conducted outreach to each family whose assignment was paused before the changes were finalized.
Officials said the ridership work contributed to more efficient routing for the coming year — a reduction of more than 15% in routed bus stops compared with last year — and that the goal was fewer unused stops and more reliable pickups for families whose students do ride the bus.
Rosengard said the system balances route efficiency with protections for families and students who rely on transportation. The committee requested documentation about how families were notified and how paused assignments were handled; BPS said it would provide follow-up materials.
