City schools are declining school transportation help from the National Guard for now, as the district says instead it’s focusing on “long-term solutions.”
Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday activated up to 250 members of the Massachusetts National Guard to aid with school transportation. Starting on Tuesday, 90 members will begin training to assist with driving in Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell and Lynn, where shortages are among the worst.
“BPS is focused on long-term solutions and we are awaiting further details of the Governor’s offer of temporary assistance from the National Guard. There are many logistics to consider for a district of our size and BPS will continue to explore every option,” district spokesman Xavier Andrews said.
The Republican governor told reporters on Monday that a “number” of other municipalities may be interested in assistance from the guard, but his office declined to release further details about which cities are towns are participating when asked on Tuesday.
“We’ll try to serve as many communities as we can, because obviously the goal here is to try to sure if we have vehicles, we have the people who are qualified to drive them and do what we can to make sure kids can get to school,” Baker said during an appearance at the State House.
Baker said the state has also been working with various agencies to step up training and cut red tape when it comes to licensing requirements.
A nationwide shortage of bus drivers has complicated the start of a school year already affected by the highly contagious COVID-19 delta variant that has reignited fights over masking requirements and vaccinations.
A recent survey conducted by the National Association for Pupil Transportation that garnered 1,500 participants found that 79% of respondents in the northeast said they’ve altered transportation service and more than half of all respondents said their driver shortage was severe or desperate.
It’s unclear just how many drivers are needed across Massachusetts, how long they’ll be needed and how much it will cost. Baker’s office declined to provide further details on Tuesday. The governor has said the costs would be eligible for reimbursement with COVID-19 relief funds.
Boston’s transportation contractor Transdev has hired 46 drivers since July. Of those, five are currently in training. The company seeks to hire 20 more bus drivers to meet the district’s transportation needs, according to a statement from BPS.
As of Sept. 1, BPS reported 96 vacancies for bus monitors. Sixty applications are pending with 30 hires completed, according to the district.
Alexi Cohan contributed to this report.
