New Routes Blamed For Late Boston School Buses
BOSTON (CBS) - The wheels on the bus are not going round and round in Boston.
In fact, they're stuck in traffic, causing kids in Boston public schools to show up late for class.
"All the routes are all messed up. They're all messed up, and a lot of drivers complain," a school bus driver in Roxbury told WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
At issue is a computer program installed a year ago to manage the bus routes.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens reports.
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The relatively new system is way out of whack, according to the driver. He said his route requires him to get from Charlestown to Mattapan in 8 minutes.
"I think it's unreasonable. 'Aint nobody can do that, unless they think these buses got wings," said the driver.
As a result, schools have been flooded with complaint phone calls and e-mails from parents, who were upset that students are missing the beginning of the school day and waiting longer to get home.
"The solution is either in the software or in going over, route by route, and they should have been doing that in early September. It's really inexcusable in the fifth week or so of school to have this issue to continue to crop up," said Richard Stutman, the president of the Boston Teachers Union.
A spokesman for the school department acknowledged the problem and said they're working hard to make changes to get the buses on schedule.
The Boston School Committee will address the issue at its meeting Wednesday night.
