Council hearing spotlights independent review finding gaps in BPS and Transdev oversight of school-bus safety

An independent review commissioned after a fatal April accident found that Transdev, the vendor that operates Boston Public Schools buses, and BPS had gaps in record-keeping, auditing and training that limited oversight of driver safety, witnesses and officials told a Boston City Council education committee on Aug. 28.

The findings were presented to the Council by attorney Natasha Tidwell of Mintz Levin, who said her team reviewed contracts, training materials and accident records and interviewed employees during a roughly two-month inquiry. Tidwell told the committee the investigation found four core problems: Transdev failed to maintain reliable driver records; driver training files were incomplete; Transdev lacked reliable, data-driven evidence showing training reduced accidents; and neither Transdev nor BPS had “meaningful or sustained” auditing and oversight mechanisms.

The report prompted sharp questioning from councilors about what oversight BPS exercised over a vendor that transports roughly 20,000 students daily. “Families across the city entrust us with their children's safety,” Councilor Ed Flynn said. “We have a solemn obligation to ensure that only qualified, properly certified, closely monitored drivers are allowed to operate school buses.”

Why it matters: BPS contracts out daily transportation that includes about 640 buses and roughly 750 active drivers. The procurement and oversight failures Tidwell describes overlap with long-standing concerns about reliability and safety raised in prior reviews by state and national panels, committee…