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 members said. Councilor Aaron Murphy, who filed the hearing order in May, said the findings must lead to durable changes, not only reactive fixes.

What the report found and what officials promised Tidwell told the committee that her team interviewed about 12–14 people and reviewed “hundreds of pages” of documents to produce the report. She said the inquiry did not attempt to determine the cause of the April 28 crash; that work is part of an ongoing criminal investigation.

Dan Rosengard, BPS executive director of transportation, said BPS will implement all of Tidwell’s recommendations and described steps taken since April. Rosengard said BPS and Transdev have increased on-site oversight, added Transdev safety leadership to daily meetings with BPS, required drivers to bring physical credentials in before the start of the school year and expanded unannounced yard checks. “BPS will continue to audit Transdev's licensing and compliance functions going forward, including with increased auditing of driver files through our regular unannounced site visits,” Rosengard said.

Transdev executives acknowledged gaps in record-keeping and described immediate and planned changes. Lauren Skiver, chief operating officer for Transdev U.S., said the company has expanded digitized systems for driver credentials, increased auditing protocols and planned to maintain a higher number of safety trainers in Boston after this summer’s retraining. Jim Folk, Transdev’s general manager for the Boston contract, described a “Drive to a Better You” program that uses drive-cam data and one-on-one coaching to change behavior.

Contractual limits and next steps Both Rosengard and Transdev representatives said some recommendations will require negotiation with the bus-drivers union because provisions in the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) limit how long disciplinary records stay on file. Rosengard told the committee that a CBA provision now causes most discipline to roll off a driver's record after 13 months, while Transdev’s national policy uses a 24-month look-back for a “three strikes” progressive-discipline rule.

Rosengard and Transdev executives said they will work with the union to address impediments to implementing certain national safety policies in Boston. Rosengard said BPS is already increasing audits of licensing and will maintain the larger number of safety trainers Transdev brought to Boston this summer (Transdev required 11 trainers under the current contract; staff said the number rose to 15 this summer).

Councilors pressed for specifics and timelines. Rosengard said many steps were already in motion and that BPS would establish implementation plans and timelines for the remaining recommendations, but he did not provide completion dates for every item during the hearing.

Context and related findings - BPS transports roughly 20,000 students on 640 buses supported by about 750 Transdev drivers, according to Rosengard’s testimony. - Committee members cited past external reviews, including DESE and the Council of Great City Schools, and an internal monthly performance-review structure BPS implemented after 2020. - Rosengard said the city spends about $189 million a year on BPS transportation. - Tidwell’s review described Transdev’s incomplete accident packages and training documentation for sampled driver records; the firm noted that Transdev’s stated safety policies were robust in design but that evidence of implementation was sometimes missing.

Quotes - “We were asked to evaluate Transdev's performance and BPS's oversight of the safety-related provisions of the existing contract,” Natasha Tidwell said, describing the investigation’s scope. - “This accident will stay with me and with us forever. This happened on my watch, and as the executive director, I take responsibility,” Dan Rosengard said. - “Transdev believes and adheres to a culture where safety is not a static function, but a dynamic part of our operations continuously improving,” Lauren Skiver said.

Outstanding questions and next steps Councilors pressed for concrete timelines, access to digitized driver files and the committee’s ability to review documents the investigators could not obtain (Tidwell said some requested records were incomplete or had been lost in a prior Freeport yard fire). Rosengard said BPS would demand and audit an updated driver roster from Transdev prior to the start of the school year and that no driver would be allowed on the road until physical credentials were presented.

The committee received the Tidwell report on Aug. 28 and the administration said they would proceed with implementation and follow-up reporting. The district attorney’s investigation into the April 28 fatality continues.