#school-transportation

#school-transportation

Branford Public Schools has signed a 10-year, $60 million (€55 million) transportation contract with California-based Zum, marking the first agreement of its kind in Connecticut and setting the district on a path to a fully electric school bus fleet within five years. The Branford initiative aligns with Connecticut's legislative goal of deploying zero-emission school buses in environmental justice communities by 2030. The project is supported by federal and state funding programs, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus Rebate Program, with allocations exceeding $6 million (€5.6 million) for vehicle and infrastructure costs.

The district announced in late July that it had consolidated its routes to improve safety, increase efficiency, reduce student ride times, address an ongoing shortage of school bus drivers, and optimize resources. This included the removal of all bus stops on Grizzly Peak Boulevard, which the district attributed to safety concerns. A California Highway Patrol (CHP) spokesperson also told Berkeleyside in August that BUSD's decision to remove the stops was due to (the school district's) own safety concerns after multiple crashes.

The safety and well-being of the students we transport is always our top priority. There is zero tolerance for actions that put students at risk and this individual is no longer employed with the company. Safety is a non-negotiable condition of every driver and monitor's employment with Ocean State Transit.

The investigation found that Transdev, the company that runs the BPS bus system, has an "insufficient" record-keeping system and "incomplete and unreliable" driver training files. It also found that Transdev "lacks reliable, data-driven evidence" of how its training programs reduce preventable accidents. Finally, the investigators determined that neither Transdev nor BPS has put "meaningful and sustained auditing and oversight mechanisms" in place.

In response to road safety concerns, the Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) changed its bus service routes, consolidating some lines and discontinuing all stops on Grizzly Peak Boulevard in the Berkeley Hills. The changes were announced about two weeks before families went back to school on Aug. 13. BUSD said the bus route changes were made to address an ongoing school bus driver shortage, reduce student ride times and optimize resources.

Joseph was a student at the UP Academy Dorchester. He was hit by the bus on his way home from school on Washington Street in April.

The safety of our students and staff is our top priority. MUSD's Transportation Department maintains a strong safety record and requires all drivers to complete extensive background checks and training.