--------- Y THAT BUT THE EXACT TIME IS MAKE SURE I KNOW WHAT TIME ZONE I'M INTENDED FOR. THIS HEARING IS BEING RECORDED. IT IS ALSO BEING LIVE STREAMED
AT BOSTON.GOV/CITY COUNCIL DASH TV AND BROADCAST ON CHANNEL EIGHT RCN CHANNEL 82 FILES CHANNEL 964 WRITTEN COMMENTS
MAY BE SENT TO THE COMMITTEE EMAIL AT KCC DOT EDUCATION@BOSTON.GOV AND IT WILL BE MADE A PART OF THE RECORD AND AVAILABLE TO ALL COUNCILORS.
PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN THROUGHOUT THIS HEARING. UM AND THEN INDIVIDUALS WILL BE CALLED IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY HAVE SIGNED UP AND WILL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO TESTIFY. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN
TESTIFYING IN PERSON, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE SIGN UP SHEET NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE CHAMBER. IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO TESTIFY VIRTUALLY, PLEASE EMAIL CENTRAL
STAFF LIAISON MEGAN AT MEGAN DIXIE R C EXCUSE ME C O R U G E D O@BOSTON.GOV FOR THE LINK AND YOUR NAME WILL BE ADDED TO THE
LIST. TODAY'S HEARING IS ON DOCKET 037 FOR EMERGENCY HEARING REGARDING THE CHRONIC UM SCHOOL BUS DELAYS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSPORTATION
FAILURES. THIS MATTER WAS SPONSORED BY COUNCILOR ERIN MURPHY, COUNCILOR FLYNN AND COUNCILOR FITZGERALD AND WAS REFERRED TO THIS COMMITTEE ON
FEBRUARY THE 11TH, 2026. AND IN TRUE FASHION I GOT MY BINDER THANKS TO ME. UM AND UM SO TODAY I AM JOINED
BY MY EMPTY CHAMBER HERE Y'ALL UH UM COUNCILOR MURPHY AND COUNCILOR UH PRESENT COUNCILOR UM, BREADON UM, DO I HAVE ANY LETTERS OF ABSENCE?
NONE. OKAY. UM, SO AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIR, UM, I WILL HAVE OPENING,
UH, STATEMENTS AND I WILL, UM, KICK IT OVER TO THE LEAD SPONSOR FOR THEIRS. THANK YOU. CHAIR. UM, IMPORTANT CONVERSATION
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TODAY. THANK YOU FOR STARTING WITH THE VOICES. OF THE PARENTS AND TEACHERS WHO LIVE THROUGH THIS EVERY DAY. SO I FILED BACK IN FEBRUARY AN EMERGENCY HEARING ORDER
REGARDING THE CHRONIC SCHOOL BUS DELAYS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION TRANSPORTATION FAILURES. BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROVIDES TRANSPORTATION TO OVER 20,000 STUDENTS ACROSS THE CITY EACH
DAY, AND CONCERNS REGARDING CHRONIC AND EXCESSIVE BUS DELAYS HAVE BEEN. ONGOING AND NOT NEW TO THE DISTRICT. FAMILIES, EDUCATORS AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS CONTINUE TO REPORT TRANSPORTATION FAILURES
AFTER AFFECTING SCHOOLS ACROSS MULTIPLE NEIGHBORHOODS, AND THE VOLUME AND REPETITION OF THESE COMMUNICATIONS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, PROMPTING THE FILING OF THIS EMERGENCY HEARING ORDER AT ONE
BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL BUSSES HAVE REPORTEDLY ARRIVED HOURS AFTER DISMISSAL, FORCING STUDENTS TO REMAIN AT SCHOOL INTO THE EVENING AND ON A RECURRING BASIS IN ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD.
A REGULARLY ASSIGNED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL BUS ROUTE HAS REPORTEDLY ARRIVED MORE THAN ONE HOUR LATE ON MULTIPLE DAYS PER WEEK, INCLUDING A RECENT DELAY OF APPROXIMATELY ONE HOUR AND 18 MINUTES AT PICKUP.
RECENT REPORTS ALSO INDICATE AT ANOTHER HIGH SCHOOL DOOR TO DOOR TRANSPORTATION FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS, INCLUDING A STUDENT WHO USES A WHEELCHAIR HAD NOT ARRIVED FOR MORE THAN TWO HOURS AFTER DISMISSAL,
LEAVING STUDENTS AT SCHOOL UNTIL AFTER 6 P.M. FOR AT 3:35 P.M. RELEASE I'M READING THESE INDIVIDUAL ONES. WE ALSO HAVE WRITTEN TESTIMONY THAT WE'LL BE SHARING THROUGHOUT THIS MEETING, BUT
THESE WERE JUST THREE FAMILIES WHO HAD REACHED OUT WITH THESE CONCERNS AND HAD PROMPTED MYSELF AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, I KNOW COUNCILOR FITZGERALD AND FLYNN WERE ORIGINAL CO-SPONSORS BUT ALL.
MEMBERS OF THIS BODY ALL COUNCILORS SIGNED ON TO THIS HEARING ORDERED KNOWING IT'S IMPORTANT TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION. SO I'M LOOKING. FORWARD TO HEARING FROM CONCERNED FAMILIES AND ALSO THE
ADMINISTRATION. SO THANK YOU CHAIR FOR HOLDING THIS HEARING. THANK YOU. UM COUNCILOR MURPHY I WILL GO NEXT TO COUNCIL PRESIDENT BREADON. THANK YOU MADAM. MADAM CHAIR AND THANK YOU TO
COUNCILOR MURPHY COUNCILOR FLUID AND COUNCILOR FITZGERALD FOR SPONSORING THIS UH, EMERGENCY HEARING ON UH, SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION. UM, I THINK IT'S IT'S A
HAPPENING ALL ACROSS THE CITY BUT I AM PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING AT THE AT THE EDISON THIS YEAR. UM, LAST YEAR THEY HAD ABOUT FIVE INSTANCES OF UM, BUSSES NOT TURNING UP UH, UM,
THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE SCHOOL YEAR AND IT'S MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK AT THIS POINT UH AND TO ALSO SHARE CONCERN MURPHY'S COMMENTS UH, SCHOOL BUSSES ARE
NOT TURNING UP TO TAKE STUDENTS HOME IN THE EVENING AND TEACHERS HAVE TO STAY LATE AND TO LATE TO 630 7:00 IN THE EVENING UH, UNTIL PARENTS CAN UH, COME AND PICK THEIR STUDENTS UP.
AND I ALSO HEAR THAT PARENTS ARE CONCERNED BECAUSE THEIR EMPLOYERS JUST SAID WHY? WHY ARE YOU HAVING TO LEAVE YOUR JOB TO GO AND PICK YOUR KIDS UP? THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. SO FOLKS AND THEIR EMPLOYMENT
IS ACTUALLY UNDER THREAT BECAUSE THEY'RE IN DANGER OF LOSING THEIR JOB BECAUSE THAT LEAVES ARE SO FREQUENTLY HAVE TO LEAVE THEIR JOB TO GO PICK THEIR CHILDREN UP AT SCHOOL. SO UM, THIS IS A SERIOUS
SITUATION AND ALSO GIVEN THE FACT THAT WE SPEND $200 MILLION ON TRANSPORTATION IN OUR SCHOOL BUDGET, UH, IT'S TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. WE NEED TO DO BETTER. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL PRESIDENT UM, BRIGHTON AND COUNCILOR MURPHY. AND JUST FOR THE RECORD, THIS HEARING IS TO EXAMINE THE ONGOING SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION PERFORMANCE ACROSS ALL BOSTON
PUBLIC SCHOOLS. THE DISTRICT TRANSPORTS ROUGHLY 20,000 STUDENTS EACH DAY, MAKING IT ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST COMPLEX SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS IN THE
COUNTRY. AT THE SAME TIME, CONCERNS REGARDING DELAYS MISS ROUTES AND SERVICE RELIABILITY ARE NOT NEW AND HAVE PERSISTED ACROSS MULTIPLE YEARS AND
ADMINISTRATIONS. AND SO BEFORE I EVEN WALKED INTO THIS CHAMBER EVEN AS A PARENT ORGANIZER UM I WAS ALWAYS GETTING CALLS FROM
PARENTS HYSTERICAL ABOUT THE BUS SITUATION. SO THIS IS NOTHING NEW. UH, BUT RECENT AND MOST RECENTLY WE WERE ALSO IN THREAT OF RECEIVERSHIP AND
TRANSPORTATION WAS ONE OF THE CHRONIC, UH, ISSUES THAT THEY ASKED US TO, UH, STEP UP, UM, AND AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT. SO RECENT REPORTING AND DATA SHOW THAT WHILE THERE HAVE BEEN
PERIODS OF IMPROVEMENT AND ON-TIME PERFORMANCE, THE SYSTEM HAS NOT CONSISTENTLY MET ITS OWN RELIABILITY TARGETS AND FAMILIES CONTINUE TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT DELAYS INCLUDING LATE ARRIVALS AND MISSED
PICKUPS. THIS HEARING IS INTENDED TO ESTABLISH A CLEAR FACTUAL UNDERSTANDING OF CURRENT CONDITIONS, PARTICULARLY AS THEY RELATE TO SPECIAL EDUCATION AND DOOR TO DOOR
TRANSPORTATION IDENTIFIED THE OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES CONTRIBUTING TO THESE OUTCOMES AND REVIEW HOW EXISTING RESOURCES ARE BEING DEPLOYED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS AND FAMILIES. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING
DIRECTLY FROM THE ADMINISTRATION AND STAKEHOLDERS TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHERE THE SYSTEM STANDS TODAY AND WHAT STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN SO THAT WE CAN HAVE MORE CONSISTENT AND
RELIABLE SERVICE. AND I'LL JUST NOTE UH, THAT FOR ME, AS I MENTIONED IN MY OPENING REMARKS, I THINK THAT THESE OPPORTUNITIES UM, ALLOW
FOR. US TO. BE IN COMMUNITY WITH EACH OTHER AND MORE OF A BRAINSTORMING. OKAY. SO WE CAN GET THIS RIGHT. I'M NOT A JUDGE. YOU'RE NOT HERE ON THE STAND ESPECIALLY I'M TALKING THIS TO
THE ADMINISTRATION. SO COME IN HERE UNDERSTANDING THAT ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE FRUSTRATION THAT FAMILIES HAVE IS COMING FROM A PLACE OF WE WANT TO GET THIS RIGHT. AND SO IF WE CAN WALK OUT
OF HERE WITH SOME VERY SPECIFIC NEXT STEPS AND TO DO'S TO SO THAT WE CAN ADDRESS IT, THEN WE'RE WE'RE DOING OUR JOB. BUT IF WE'RE JUST BRINGING YOU IN HERE JUST TO COMPLAIN AND NOT DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, THEN
WE HAVE FAILED OUR FAMILIES. SO I'M GOING TO ASK US HERE COLLECTIVELY TO COME IN WITH A SPACE OF LIKE HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THIS RIGHT? SO WHILE YOU ARE LISTENING TO
THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY THINKING ABOUT WHAT WE CAN DO TO FIX IT, DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A GOOD PLAN Y'ALL I KNOW Y'ALL USUALLY STAY HERE BUT I'M GLAD THAT YOU'RE THERE AS LONG AS YOU'RE HERE. I'M HAPPY TO SEE YOU.
SO THANK YOU TO THE ADMINISTRATION FOR BEING HERE. OKAY I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE ALSO HAVE BEEN JOINED BY COUNCILOR WEBER. UM, YOU ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO HAVE, UH, OPENING REMARKS.
SHALL YOU CHOOSE TO USE THAT? UH, NO. I APOLOGIZE FOR BEING LATE. UH, BUT YOU KNOW, OPENING REMARKS. I CAN SEE WHAT IS HAPPENING BECAUSE THERE'S NO PANEL.
AND I'LL SIT IT DOWN. OKAY, SO THEY. >> WANT US. OKAY. THERE'S A PANEL. SOUNDS GOOD. >> AND THERE THEY'RE IN THE BLEACHERS IN THE NOSEBLEED SECTION. CAN YOU ALL. >> MAKE.
YOUR WAY HERE SO IT DOESN'T LOOK AWKWARD? THANK YOU. DOES THAT FEEL BETTER OKAY. BEFORE. >> THANK YOU. >> AND THEN WE DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THE PLACE.
BUT IT'S FOR YOU TO HEAR OVER DIRECTLY OKAY. >> WE HAVE STARTED. THANK YOU. WE'RE GOOD AND I'M GOING TO ENCOURAGE US. WE HAVE ONE MIC.
UM, SO WE'LL UTILIZE OUR TIME WISELY OKAY OKAY. ALL RIGHT. LET'S BEGIN WITH PUBLIC TESTIMONY I BELIEVE WE HAVE
FOLKS ON ON ZOOM AND ARE YOU DOING IN PERSON? ARE YOU SIGNED UP. SINCE YOU'RE HERE TO LISTEN I.
OKAY, SO WE JUST HAVE FIVE UM, DO YOU HAVE THE LIST OF. ALL THE ALREADY HERE? OKAY, SO CAN WE.
WE CAN START LETTING PEOPLE IN. WE HAVE LORI MURPHY KATIE. RIGHT. EUGENIA ROJAS, CHERYL BUCHMAN, MILDRED LEWIS, DANIELLE
BRINKMAN, ALMA WILDE ALSO POPE. AND THE ORDER THAT YOU WERE CALLED UPON YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES AND WHEN YOU HEAR THIS THAT MEANS TWO MINUTES ARE UP. OKAY? Y'ALL DON'T ACT LIKE YOU CAN'T
HEAR ME. ALL RIGHT? TWO IS. OH, YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT THE INVITE TO BE A PANELIST. THERE WE GO.
LAURIE MURPHY, YOU HAVE TWO MINUTES. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME TODAY. MY NAME IS LAURIE MURPHY, A PROUD RESIDENT OF ROSLINDALE AND MOM TO TWO STUDENTS IN SECOND AND FIFTH GRADE AT THE
HERNANDEZ IN ROXBURY. UM, MAKING US A WRITING FAMILY SINCE 2018 THIS PAST YEAR HAS BEEN THE WORST BY FAR IN RELATION TO BUSSES BEING LATE OR CANCELED. FROM THE DATA I'VE SEEN OUR BUS
ROUTE ALONE IS OVER 20 DAYS 21 COUNTING TODAY ACTUALLY OF EITHER CANCELLATIONS OR SIGNIFICANT DELAYS THIS SCHOOL YEAR THAT IS A MONTH OF SCHOOL. IN THE PAST FIVE WEEKS ALONE WE'VE HAD NINE CANCELLATION OR
CANCELLATIONS OR DELAYS MORE THAN 40 MINUTES. IMAGINE AT 7 A.M. AND YOU ARE GETTING YOUR CHILDREN READY FOR SCHOOL ONLY TO GET AN ALERT THAT THERE IS NO BUS AND HAVING TO FIGURE OUT WHICH PARENT CAN TAKE THE BURDEN OF DRIVING
THROUGH MORNING TRAFFIC TO GET THEM TO SCHOOL AGAIN. THIS HAPPENED TODAY. THE ALTERNATIVE WHEN WE CAN'T DRIVE THEM IN WE WAIT IT OUT AND KIDS MISS THE MORNING BELL. MY KID SPECIFICALLY ASKED THAT
I REMIND YOU THAT WHEN THEIR BUS IS VERY LATE THEY MISS OUT ON BREAKFAST SOCIALIZING WITH THEIR FRIENDS AND UM THEIR VERY IMPORTANT EDUCATIONAL COMPUTER TIME. STARTING THE DAY WITH ROUTINE
MATTERS SO MUCH TO KIDS AND A TEACHER TOLD ME THAT ONE OF THE STUDENTS ON A DIFFERENT BUS ROUTE ARRIVES 30 MINUTES LATE EVERY SINGLE DAY. THEY HAD A FIELD TRIP LAST WEEK THAT THEY HAD TO HOLD FOR THE ENTIRE GRADE TO WAIT FOR HIM TO
ARRIVE OR IMAGINE GETTING A CALL FROM SCHOOL AT 3:10 P.M. THAT YOU HAVE TO COME GET YOUR KIDS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE THE BUS WAS CANCELED. WORK IS MISSED. THE AFTERNOON BECOMES SUPER STRESSFUL. KIDS GET HOME LATE AND HUNGRY AND WORN OUT.
MY FIFTH GRADER WANTS YOU TO KNOW THAT HE'S HAD TO MISS BASEBALL PRACTICE BECAUSE OF BUS LATENESS AND THE IMPACT ON STAFFING TO STAY LATE CANNOT GO UNNOTICED. I'M LUCKY THAT MY BUS ROUTE IS A COMMUNITY OF FAMILIES THAT
RALLY AT THE LAST MINUTE TO FIGURE OUT CARPOOLS, BUT MY QUESTION IS WHY DO WE HAVE TO DO THIS? THERE'S A BUS SYSTEM IN PLACE BUT WHAT REALLY CONCERNS ME IS THE CHILDREN WHOSE PARENTS CANNOT BE HERE TODAY, THE KIDS
WHO ARE SLIPPING THROUGH THE CRACKS AND JUST MISSING SCHOOL BECAUSE THE BUS WAS CANCELED AND THERE'S NO OTHER WAY FOR THEM TO GET TO SCHOOL. AND FINALLY WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OUR BUS FLEET THE SHEER NUMBER OF TIMES WE'VE HAD
MECHANICAL ISSUES IS. WILD AND COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE. I KNOW IS A COMPLICATED SCHOOL SYSTEM TO PROVIDE BUS SERVICES FOR, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE CAN DO BETTER RIGHT NOW TRANSPORTATION IS FAILING US AND I WELCOME YOUR PERSPECTIVES
AT THIS HEARING TODAY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. GREAT JOB LORI. THANK YOU. >> EVERYBODY NEEDS SOME MODEL LORI'S BEHAVIOR UP NEXT.
IS KATIE. HI KATIE. HI. UM MY NAME IS KATE WRIGHT. I AM A.
RESIDENT OF HYDE PARK AND MY SON HAS AN IEP THAT REQUIRES DOOR TO DOOR TRANSPORTATION AS WELL AS A BUS MONITOR. UM BECAUSE HE'S VULNERABLE TO BULLYING.
UM, I HAVE DOCUMENTED RECORDS DATING BACK TO 2022 UNTIL EARLY LAST YEAR WHEN I PULLED HIM OFF OF, UH, THE BUS BECAUSE HE
COULD HE WAS NO LONGER SAFE. UM, HE HADN'T BEEN SAFE THE ENTIRE TIME AND WE WENT BACK AND FORTH ON DRIVING HIM TO AND FROM SCHOOL. BUT UM, THIS IS AN AN ONGOING
ISSUE WHERE HIS IEP IS NOT BEING MET AND UM UH HE IS I AM PHYSICALLY DISABLED AND I'VE BEEN DRIVING HIM TO AND FROM
SCHOOL WHICH TAKES A LOT OF ENERGY THAT I DON'T HAVE UM ,TO GET HIM SAFELY TO AND FROM SCHOOL. UM. >> AND AT THIS POINT, UH, I'VE
GIVEN UP ON THE ABILITY OF TRANSDEV TO SAFELY TRANSPORT HIM. UM, BUT I AM HOPING THAT WE CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO. UM. >> TO GET HIM SAFELY UH, TO AND
FROM SCHOOL. IT'S BEEN ACROSS MULTIPLE BUSSES STAFF MULTIPLE SCHOOL YEARS. HE'S BEEN PHYSICALLY HARMED, HE'S BEEN VERBALLY TARGETED. HE'S HAD BELONGINGS AND FOOD TAKEN.
UM IT'S NOT A ONE TIME ISSUE AND UH, BECAUSE HIS IEP REQUIRES THIS I BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, IT SHOULD BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY BUT A LOT OF TIMES HE'S BEEN ON BUSSES FOR MONTHS
WITH NO MONITORS. UM AND I JUST WANT TO ENSURE THAT BUS MONITORS ARE TRAINED AND ACCOUNTABLE BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENED WAS UH, ON THE AT THE
MOST SEVERE BULLYING WHEN HE WAS PHYSICALLY ASSAULTED, UH, WAS A MONITOR EVEN CHANGED? THERE WAS NO DISCIPLINE. IT WAS JUST THEY CHANGED OUT THE MONITOR WHICH MEANT THAT ANOTHER BUS WAS GIVEN A MONITOR
THAT WAS INEFFECTIVE. AND I APPRECIATE. YOUR TIME AND YOU CALLING THIS HEARING, UH, TO BE ABLE TO HEAR ABOUT FAMILIES LIKE OURS. THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. OKAY, UM, UP NEXT IT. WOULD YOU REGINA. ONE OF DAMIEN ON.
I'M HERE. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. NATALIE. >> OH. >> ONE OF THE US. UM, MY NAME IS ROJAS. UH, I AM THE MOTHER OF A FIRST GRADER AND A THIRD GRADER.
UM, WE'RE RESIDENTS OF ROSLINDALE. UM, AND HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A MOM BUT ALSO AS A, UM,
TRANSPORTATION, UM, ADVOCATE REPRESENTING A BIGGER COMMUNITY ,UM OR FAMILIES WITH STABLISHED A PARTNERSHIP WITH DAN ROSENGARD UM, A FEW YEARS
AGO WITH THE IDEA OF BEING PART OF THE SOLUTION UM BY PROVIDING THE USERS UM AND FINAL EXPERIENCE WHICH UM. CURRENTLY ISN'T SYSTEMATICALLY
UM DOCUMENTED DOCUMENTED WITHIN THE METRICS OF UM TRANSPORTATION AND UM WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO ASK THEM TO FIND
A WAY TO UM INTRODUCE UM SYSTEMATIC FEEDBACK UH, UM SERVICE SO THAT UH TRANSPORTATION CAN INCLUDE THAT WITHIN THEIR METRICS AND REPORT
IN ADDITION TO YOU KNOW WHAT THE ZOOM APP UM, SEEMS TO BE UM PROVIDING UM I WANT TO SHARE THAT REGULAR BUS LANES HAVE A
STRAINED UM WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO PLAN POTENTIAL CARPOOL RIDES FOR THE WEEK, UM, ON SUNDAYS TO OTHER FAMILIES AND MY FAMILY TOUCH BASE THROUGH WHATSAPP AND
UM, YOU KNOW, WE START ORGANIZING. POTENTIAL CARPOOL RIDES IN CASE THE BUS RUNS LATE OR DOESN'T SHOW UP IN TIME. UM, OUR KIDS DO NOT LIKE TO BE
LATE TO SCHOOL. UM, THERE ARE MULTIPLE REASONS BUT UM, YOU KNOW, THE ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT STARTS EARLY IN THE MORNING AND THEY LIKE TO BE THERE.
WE NEED SMOOTH MORNINGS TO GET TO WORK OR TO OUR DAY APPOINTMENTS AND COMMITMENTS. MANY TIMES WE'RE SORT OF LIKE NAVIGATING WHO CAN STAY BEHIND
TO WAIT FOR THE BUS OR UM WHO CAN RIDE THE KIDS UM, YEAR AFTER YEAR WE HAVE TO NAVIGATE THIS. UM SO THE QUESTION WE HAVE IS WHEN WILL THE SYSTEM BECOME
RELIABLE? WE HAVE SEEN IMPROVEMENTS IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE ZOOM APP. HOWEVER, THIS COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ALWAYS CONCLUSIVE. WE MIGHT GET A NOTIFICATION
ABOUT IT AND BUS BEING UNCOVERED. YES THE TIME HAS UP SO IF YOU HAD 30 MORE YOU KNOW TEN MORE. YES I'M. ALL I'M WRAPPING UP BUT UH WE THINK THERE'S STILL AN
OPPORTUNITY FOR UM COMMUNICATIONS. WE'RE SO TIRED. OPTING OUT IS NOT REALLY AN OPTION FOR MANY OF US. JUST THIS MORNING OUR ROUTE ROUTES RUN 40 TO 45 MINUTES LATE.
THANK YOU. IGLESIA GARCIA. OKAY, UP NEXT YOU. SHOW CHERYL. I JUST WANT TO KNOW FOR THE RECORD THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED
BY COUNCILOR BIGBANG AS WELL AS COUNCILOR FITZGERALD. UM AND AFTER PUBLIC TESTIMONY IF YOU GUYS ARE INTERESTED YOU'RE MORE THAN WELCOME TO DO A STATEMENT. ALL RIGHT. CHERYL ALWAYS GREAT TO SEE YOU.
ALWAYS A. >> PLEASURE SAID THAT CHERYL. CHERYL BUCKLEY RIGHT YEAH. ALL RIGHT YOU GOT TWO MINUTES. YOU OKAY? SO I EXPECT YOU TO.
HANDLE IT. >> MY NAME IS CHERYL BUCKMAN. LIFELONG RESIDENT OF SOUTH BOSTON, A PARENT LEAD AT THE DEVIL IN DORCHESTER IN A PARENT TO A SEVENTH GRADER IF THE BATSON ACADEMY I'M HERE
BECAUSE. THE CURRENT. >> STATE OF TRANSPORTATION IS NOT. A LOGISTICAL HICCUP. IT'S A SYSTEMIC FAILURE, UH. COMPROMISING THE SAFETY AND STABILITY OF OUR FAMILIES FOR A
STUDENT NAVIGATING. UH. >> AUTISM, ADHD AND ANXIETY, CONSISTENCY IS A NECESSITY, NOT A LUXURY. WHEN A BUS IS LATE, SKIPS A STOP OR FAILS TO SHOW UP, IT DESTROYS THE STABILITY REQUIRED
FOR MY SON TO SETTLE IN AND LEARN. THIS YEAR THE FAILURES HAVE REACHED A TOTAL BREAKING POINT. I HAVE FREQUENTLY BEEN FORCED TO PAY FOR LIFTS JUST TO GET MY
SON TO AND FROM SCHOOL. RECENTLY WHILE I WAS SIDELINED BY SURGERY, MY SON'S FATHER HAD TO TAKE HIM BY A RIDE SHARE BECAUSE THE BUS MADE IT ON AN UNEXPECTED DETOUR TO STOP IN
EAST BOSTON. THIS DIDN'T JUST MAKE MY SON LATE FOR SCHOOL IT MADE HIS FATHER A HALF AN HOUR LATE FOR. WORK. WHEN BEEPS FAILS, THE FINANCIAL
AND PROFESSIONAL BURDEN FALLS ENTIRELY ON US PARENTS. BEYOND THE LOGISTICS THERE ARE MATTERS OF SAFETY. MY SON'S BUS THIS YEAR WAS INVOLVED IN TWO SEPARATE MINOR
ACCIDENTS THIS YEAR, WHILE THE CHILDREN WEREN'T PHYSICALLY HURT UM HURT THEY WERE LEFT VISIBLY SHAKEN. NO PARENT SHOULD HAVE TO WONDER IF THEIR CHILD'S BUS IS IF
THEIR CHILD IS SAFE THE MOMENT THAT THEY STEP ONTO A YELLOW BUS. I HAVE RECORDED THESE DELAYS IN OUT-OF-POCKET COST AND I'M CALLING ON THE CITY COUNCIL TO
CONDUCT A FULL INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO IDENTIFY EXACTLY WHERE THESE BREAKDOWNS OCCUR. MANDATE A REAL TIME
COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL SO PARENTS ARE NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY OF DELAYS OR DIVERTED ROUTES. ESTABLISH A REIMBURSEMENT FUND FOR PARENTS FORCED TO PAY FOR PRIVATE TRANSPORTATION WHEN TWO
FAILS TO. PROVIDE. OUR CHILDREN CAN'T LEARN IF THEY CAN'T GET TO SCHOOL SAFELY AND ON TIME. I URGE YOU TO HOLD BP'S ACCOUNTABLE. THANK YOU. GOOD JOB.
THANK YOU SHARON AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSISTENT ADVOCACY OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS YOU HAVE BEEN SUCH A STRONG VOICE AND SO WE LIKE TO HEAR IT. SO THANK YOU AND I'M SORRY THAT
YOU'RE GOING THROUGH ALL OF US. ALWAYS THANK YOU. YEAH AND I'M GOING TO SWITCH THINGS UP A LITTLE BIT UM, JUST BECAUSE I WANT TO BE MINDFUL OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE IN PERSON TESTIFYING UH, EVERY
VOICE IS IMPORTANT, BUT IF YOU'VE TRAVELED ALL THE WAY HERE, THEN I DO THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE ACCOMMODATIONS FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE IN PERSON WHILE YOU'RE SITTING IN THE LAP
OF LUXURY AT HOME IN YOUR ZOOM, YOU'RE GOING TO WAIT ONE SECOND LONGER. SO I'M GOING TO MOVE ON TO IN-PERSON. UM, WE HAVE MARY FRANCES RIVERA. UM, YOU ARE.
NEXT IN PERSON RIGHT OVER THERE . YEAH. AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. UM, AND THE PERSON WHO'S UP NEXT ON ZOOM IS MILDRED. SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR GRACE AND FOR YOUR PATIENCE. WE'RE MOVING ON TO PUBLIC
TESTIMONY INDOOR. OKAY, GREAT. >> I JUST START WHENEVER. YEAH. OKAY. >> ALL RIGHT. DON'T MEAN IT. >> OKAY. GOOD MORNING. HELLO. THANK YOU. HI, DAN. HOW ARE YOU DOING? UH, MY NAME IS MARY FRANCES. I'M A MOM. I'M AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT.
I'M ALSO AN ARTIST. SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK. I WANT TO START OUT BY SAYING THAT I'M JUST REALLY GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL AND PROUD THAT MY CHILD IS A STUDENT, SO I WANTED
TO START OUT WITH THAT. UM I HAVE A LOT OF RESPECT FOR EVERYBODY DOING THIS WORK DAY IN DAY OUT. YOU KNOW THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY I'M HERE BECAUSE THIS YEAR IN PARTICULAR THE TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES HAVE
BEEN UNLIKE ANYTHING WE'VE EXPERIENCED BEFORE. THIS MORNING THE BUS WAS 45 MINUTES LATE SO WE HAVE UM FRESH OFF THE PRESSES. UM AND I AND MY CHILD HAVE BEEN
IN FOR FIVE YEARS AND THREE YEARS RELYING ON THE MORNING AND THE AFTERNOON BUSSES. UM, AND THIS YEAR HAS JUST BEEN FREQUENT DELAYS AND ALTHOUGH TRANSPORTATION SOUNDS LIKE A
LOGISTICAL ISSUE WITH TO LEARNING ISSUE IT'S A FAMILY STABILITY ISSUE AND IT'S A SCHOOL CLIMATE ISSUE. UM, THIS YEAR BOTH THE MORNING AND THE AFTERNOON SERVICE HAS BEEN I'VE BEEN SAYING RELIABLY
UNRELIABLE UH, WHEN BUSSES ARRIVE LATE OR THEY DON'T ARRIVE AT ALL THE STUDENTS START THEIR DAY ALREADY INTERRUPTED. THEY MISS INSTRUCTIONAL TIME. THEY ARRIVE STRESSED OUT. UM, THEY'RE FORCED TO CATCH UP EVEN BEFORE THE DAY STARTS.
UM, AT THE END OF THE DAY THE SCHOOLS ARE HOLDING STUDENTS. THERE'S NO PRE-PLANNED PROGRAMING. UM, AND IT PUTS ADDITIONAL STRAIN ON ALREADY STRETCHED STAFF AND THE KIDS ARE REALLY UM, IN UNCERTAINTY WONDERING
WHO'S GOING TO PICK THEM UP AT THE END OF THE DAY. UM, THIS IS BECOMING VERY UNSUSTAINABLE. UM, FOR EXAMPLE, A SMALL GROUP OF US THREE FAMILIES SPEND EVERY SUNDAY NIGHT COORDINATING
OUR SCHEDULES SO THAT WE HAVE MORNING AND AFTERNOON PICKUPS COVERED IN CASE AND WHEN AND IF THE BUS DOESN'T SHOW UP. UM, SO WE'RE ESSENTIALLY BUILDING OUR OWN BACKUP TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM TO GET
OUR KIDS TO AND FROM SCHOOL. UM, THIS AFFECTS OUR ABILITY TO WORK UM, AS A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER AND MAINTAIN STABILITY IN OUR HOUSEHOLD. UH, I SHARE THIS NOT TO PLACE BLAME BUT JUST TO HIGHLIGHT THE
URGENCY OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AND FOR US TO ALL WORK TOGETHER TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF, UM, ALL OF THESE DISRUPTIONS. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU. TWO MINUTES. >>. >> WE'LL WE'LL. ALL RIGHT.
THANK YOU FOR THAT. AND IF THERE'S ANYONE HERE. ELSE, UH, SIGNED UP FOR IN PERSON, MAKE SURE YOU, UH, MAKE IT KNOWN. ALL RIGHT, SO WE'RE GOING TO
MOVE ON BACK TO, UM, ZOOM. MILDRED LEWIS, GOOD MORNING. OH. >> GOOD MORNING. HI. >> MY NAME IS MILDRED LEWIS. I AM A MOTHER.
TO TWO CHILDREN HERE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I'M A SOCIAL WORKER WHO HAS SERVED IN BOSTON FOR THE PAST TEN YEARS FROM BABIES TO OUR ELDERLY.
UH, MY YOUNGEST MY OLDEST GOES TO SCHOOL AT HORACE MANN SCHOOL FOR THE HEART OF HEARING A DEAF FORMERLY IN AUSTIN, NOW IN CHARLESTOWN WHILE MY YOUNGEST
IS HERE LOCALLY IN DORCHESTER. MIND YOU, HORACE MANN IS THE ONLY SCHOOL WHERE SIBLINGS CAN'T GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL SHE COULDN'T GO TO CHARLES MY YOUNGEST AND MY OLDEST CAN GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL TOGETHER
OKAY THAT'S ONE ISSUE. HOWEVER THE MORNING FAILURES FOR MY DEAF HARD OF HEARING CHILD AFFECTS THE EDUCATION
OF THE SECOND HOW AND WHY. TOO MANY TIMES I HAVE SENT PROOF AND SCREENSHOTS OF ACTUAL PICKUP TIMES THAT'S ONLY ON ONE PHONE. THAT'S NOT EVEN ON TWO PHONES, NOT EVEN FOR THE FOURTH SCHOOL
YEAR. THERE ARE A PLETHORA. OF DAYS. WHERE I HAVE TO WAKE UP AT 530 IN THE MORNING TO SEE IF THERE
IS GOING TO BE TRANSPORTATION. NINE TIMES OUT OF TEN THERE IS A DELAY. IS THERE A NOTIFICATION SENT OUT? NO, NOT UNLESS A PARENT CALL
TWO TRANSPORTATION THEN THEY'LL SEND OUT A NOTIFICATION. BY THAT TIME IT'S ALREADY TIME TO PICK UP AND GET TO GET THE OTHER CHILD READY FOR SCHOOL. SO IF ONE CHILD IS LATE THE
RIPPLE EFFECT IS DAMAGING. THERE HAS BEEN THE FAILURE OF LOSS OF EQUIPMENT OF BUS MONITORS NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEARING AIDS AND COCHLEAR THAT
NO YOU CANNOT JUST THROW AWAY A HEARING AIDS IT IS NOT EASILY REPLACEABLE. THERE IS THE UH LOSS OF TIME. OTHER PARENTS HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT REGARDING EMPLOYMENT BECAUSE
WHEN THE RIPPLE EFFECT HAPPENS I NOW HAVE TO TAKE TWO CHILDREN TO TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. MORNING TRAFFIC THEN GET TO WORK. SO AS A PERSON WITH CHRONIC ILLNESS THIS UH ALSO IMPACTS MY
PTO AND ACTUALLY MY TIME TO ACTUALLY TAKE CARE OF MYSELF AND I HAVEN'T WHICH IS WHY MY MY HEALTH IS NOW WORSE. I'VE ASKED MANY TIMES WHY CAN'T
SCHOOLS REQUEST BACKUP BUSSES IF YOU KNOW A WHOLE SCHOOL BUS IS NOT GOING TO BE THERE FOR A CHILD'S ROUTE. ? AND WHY ARE STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS GUARANTEED
TRANSPORTATION AS PART OF OUR RIGHTS TO EDUCATION? ALL RIGHT, WELL. WHY IS IT WHEN I COMMUNICATE TO THE BUS DRIVER THE NEEDS OF THE HOUSE THEY'RE NOT MET?
THANK YOU. IF WORKS MEANT TO WORK TOGETHER FOR A CHILD'S GOOD, CAN WE PLEASE DO IT? YEAH. THANK YOU MILDRED. THANK YOU AND I'M SORRY.
ALL RIGHT. I BELIEVE THAT WAS ALL FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY VIA ZOOM FOR NOW. OKAY. IF YOU ARE TUNING IN TO THIS AWARD WINNING EPISODE
OF TRANSPORTATION AND YOU WANT TO TESTIFY, MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO, UM, SIGN UP. ALL RIGHT. SO I WANT TO, UM, YOU THERE'S A DANIELLE. BRINKMAN.
>> ALL RIGHT. YES. HI. >> SORRY, I JUST GOT. THE INVITE. UM, THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS TODAY VERY MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. I APOLOGIZE I'M NOT AS ORGANIZED. SOME OF THE OTHER SPEAKERS I WASN'T.
PLANNING TO TALK. UM, BUT I WAS REALLY MOVED AFTER THE MARCH 24TH MEETING WHERE I WAS JUST LEFT WITH THE FEELING THAT NOT ENOUGH IS BEING DONE TO FIX THE RELIABILITY OF THE BUS FROM
THAT MEETING FROM THE 24TH TODAY MY DAUGHTER'S BUS HAS BEEN CANCELED OR MORE THAN 40 MINUTES LATE 43% OF THE TIME. SO THAT'S PRETTY EXTREME.
UM, ADDING TO THAT THE SAFETY CONCERN THAT HASN'T EVEN BEEN BROUGHT UP YET. THAT BUS SAYS MY DAUGHTER DIDN'T GET ON IT. I HAVE NOT RECEIVED AN ABSENTEE CALL. I'VE NOT RECEIVED A LATE CALL. SO RIGHT NOW MY DAUGHTER'S
UNACCOUNTED FOR. I WAS THERE TO PUT HER ON THE BUS SO I KNOW SHE GOT ON THE BUS. I'M FAIRLY CONFIDENT SHE GOT OFF AND GOT IT AT SCHOOL, BUT I CAN'T IMAGINE IF I WAS A PARENT THAT DIDN'T HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY TO WAIT AND MAKE
SURE MY KID GOT ON THE BUS. THERE'S NO TRACKING OF HER RIGHT NOW THAT THERE'S PEERS WHO JUST HAVE TO LET THEIR KIDS GO TO THE CORNER AND HOPE THEY MAKE IT ON THE BUS. THAT SAID, I WAS 26 MINUTES
LATE AND TO BE 45 MINUTES LATE AND THROUGH ALL OF THAT BECAUSE IT'S LESS THAN AN HOUR LATE, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE COUNTED AS A SUCCESS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF THE BUS AND IT'S NOT THIS IS NOT SUCCESS
HAVING TO DRIVE IN ALL THE TIME, HAVING TO BE LATE TO WORK AN HOUR ALL THE TIME IS NOT SUCCESSFUL AND IT'S WHY FAMILIES AREN'T STAYING IN THE CITY. YOU KNOW I GET ASKED CONSTANTLY WHEN ARE YOU MOVING TO THE
SUBURBS? I THINK IT'S REALLY HARD TO DEFEND THAT WHEN I DON'T HAVE A BUS TO TAKE MY KID TO SCHOOL HALF THE TIME I DON'T HAVE TO PICK UPS THIS OVER THE LAST WEEK AND I UNDERSTAND DATA.
I WAS A MATH MAJOR. I KNOW YOU KNOW WE LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE AND IT SAYS 1 TO 2% OF THE RIDES AREN'T WORKING BUT WHEN A SINGLE ROUTE IS I THINK
THE CONSERVATIVE NUMBER WE'VE GOTTEN IS SOMETHING LIKE A 20% FAILURE RATE WHEN MY EXPERIENCE IS THAT IT'S MUCH MORE THAN THAT IF A SINGLE ROUTE A VERY VOCAL ROUTE IS EXPERIENCING THAT ONE.
I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S JUST US WE'VE HEARD FROM OTHER ROUTES IT'S NOT JUST US AND TWO THAT HITS THIS. THERE'S SOME SORT OF SYSTEMIC ISSUE THAT'S NOT BEING ADDRESSED. YOU CANNOT LOOK AT 2% 1% OVER
AN ENTIRE SYSTEM AND SAY HOW ARE WE BIG PICTURE GOING TO FIX THIS? NO, YOU NEED TO. >> LOOK AT THE ROUTES THAT ARE CONSTANTLY FAILING. AND ASK WHY. IS THAT. AND HOW IS THAT THEN EXTENDED TO THE OTHER ONES? IN OUR SITUATION IT SEEMS TO BE
LARGELY AN ISSUE WITH THE BUS. THAT BUS DOES NOT WORK. IT IS A LEMON. IT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. IT SEEMS LIKE A SIMPLE FIX THAT THEN THAT WOULD FREE UP THE BACKUP BUSSES TO THEN GET THE OTHER SCHOOLS. THANK YOU.
THIS IS MY GUESS BECAUSE THERE'S NOT TRANSPARENCY INTO WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND WHY WE'RE SO CONSISTENTLY AN ISSUE AND WHY NOTHING'S BEING DONE TO FIX THAT. THANK YOU.
AND FINISH THAT THOUGHT AND THEN THAT'S IT. I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY AND YOU KNOW RIGHT NOW THE THRESHOLD I THINK IS AN HOUR IS WHEN THEY CONSIDER IT LATE IT'S ONLY A SIX HOUR SCHOOL DAY THAT IS WAY
TOO LONG FOR KIDS TO BE MISSING AND THAT OUR DELAY IS SUPPOSED TO COME WITH A $500 PENALTY FROM THE NEWS ARTICLE RECENTLY. THAT'S 1.7 MILLION THAT WE SHOULD HAVE ALREADY GOTTEN BACK
FOR PENALTY AND FEES THAT I DON'T THINK IS BEING COLLECTED. SO THERE'S THAT TOO. THANK YOU DANIELLE. . >> THANK YOU. AND AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE TUNING. >> IN I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT PUBLIC TESTIMONY. IS ONE OF.
THE MOST CHALLENGING THINGS TO FACILITATE BECAUSE PEOPLE COME HERE WITH SO MUCH TO UNPACK. AND THE FACT THAT WE ONLY HAVE TWO MINUTES FOR IT I THINK IS A
BIG CHALLENGE. AND SO I WANT TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR PATIENCE AS WE NAVIGATE UH, BALANCING VOICE. AND SO UH, THANK YOU FOR THOSE
WHO SHOWED UP TO SPEAK, UM, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE HERE TO DO IS TO LISTEN. AND SO COUNCILOR MURPHY AS THE LEAD SPONSOR, ARE YOU INTERESTED IN READING SOME OF THESE INTO THE RECORD? IF YOU WOULD. LIKE, LET ME. YES. >> THANK YOU.
AND HOW MANY DO WE HAVE? UM. THERE'S TWO I THINK SIX. BUT I'LL. >> READ QUICK. WHY DON'T YOU GIVE ME THREE AND MAYBE THREE OKAY. AND THAT WAY I HAVE A SPEEDY. THANK YOU. YOU FASTER THAN ME.
SO THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO CAME IN PERSON, THOSE WHO GOT THE LINK AND ZOOMED IN AND MANY REACHED OUT AND ASKED IF WE WOULD READ THEIR TESTIMONY INTO
THE RECORD. SO HEY EVERYONE REMEMBER MY POST ABOUT THE BUS THAT SHOWED UP HOURS LATE? THE BUS HASN'T HAD AN ASSIGNED DRIVER IN WEEKS. THERE ARE TWO WHEELCHAIR
STUDENTS ONE STUDENT WHO NEEDS MEDICAL CARE AT A DESIGNATED TIME AND ONE STUDENT HAS LIMITED COMMUNICATION. THAT BUS STILL HAS NOT ARRIVED AT FENWAY HIGH SCHOOL. THE CURRENT TIME IS 6 P.M.
DISMISSAL IS AT 330 AND APPARENTLY THE BUS JUST LEFT THE FREEPORT YARD. THE HEY THE BUS STILL HAS UM PICKED UP A DOOR TO DOOR SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENT ONE IS IN A WHEELCHAIR.
IT IS NOW 602. SO THAT WAS TWO SEPARATE DAYS AT FENWAY HIGH. MARA SENT IN HER TESTIMONY YESTERDAY AND HER OPENING
SENTENCE WAS THE IRONY IS NOT LOST ON ME THAT AS I FINISH WRITING THIS WHILE STANDING WITH MY THREE CHILDREN WAITING FOR A SERIOUSLY DELAYED BUS, THEY ALREADY KNOW THEY ARE MISSING BREAKFAST AT SCHOOL
TODAY AND WILL NOT ARRIVE IN TIME FOR THE START OF THE SCHOOL DAY. SO AS SHE WAS TYPING HER TESTIMONY FOR US YESTERDAY, HER KIDS WERE ALL WAITING OFF THE SCHOOL. BUS AND IT'S BEEN SAID MANY
TIMES BUT AS A PARENT AND A FORMER TEACHER THE MORNING TIME I WOULD SAY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. PART OF. >> THE DAY. FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING AND JUST SETTING YOURSELF UP FOR A GOOD DAY. SO IT'S IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR
ALL OF OUR KIDS. ESPECIALLY THOSE. WHO HAVE. YOU KNOW. >> UM. IEPS THAT ARE REQUIRING THEM SERVICES MANY OF THOSE SERVICES THAT DO. >> COME. IN IN THE MORNING AND THEY MISS IT. SO IMAGINE WAKING UP TO AN ALERT LIKE THE ONE ABOVE A
LITTLE DISRUPTIVE BUT MANAGEABLE ESPECIALLY ESPECIALLY IF YOU WORK FROM HOME AND CAN TELL YOUR CHILDREN NOT TO WALK TO THE BUS STOP YET. SO I WON'T READ THIS WHOLE ONE RIGHT NOW, BUT I THINK THE MESSAGE THAT I'M HEARING LOUD
AND CLEAR AND HAVE FOR YEARS IS THAT. THOSE WHO ARE HERE TODAY OFTEN PREFACE IT IS SAYING I AM PRIVILEGED. I MAY BE. >> ABLE. TO BE ON A GROUP CHAT OR HAVE
FRIENDS OR NEIGHBORS OR HAVE THE ABILITY TO BE LATE OR SHARE THE RESPONSIBILITY WITH MY HUSBAND OR A NEIGHBOR. SO MANY STUDENTS. SO I DO OFTEN TELL PARENTS TO PLEASE RAISE YOUR CONCERNS
BECAUSE YOU'RE LIFTING THE VOICES. THIS IS AN EQUITY ISSUE. OF SO MANY. FAMILIES SO NO. I WANT TO BE I. >> WANT TO KNOW THAT WE HAVE ONE MORE. THANK YOU FOR REACHING OUT. I'M WRITING IN HOPES THAT YOU MAY ASSIST IN GETTING US
PARENTS SOME ANSWERS REGARDING THE CONSISTENTLY LATE BUS FOR THE NIPPON SIT AREA STUDENTS, BUS 0 TO 3 IS LATE AT LEAST THREE DAYS A WEEK SOMETIMES MORE. THIS BUS IS NOT 5 OR 10 MINUTES
LATE TODAY IT WAS ONE HOUR AND 18 MINUTES LATE FOR PICKUP. THIS IS COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE AND PLACES UNDUE STRESS AND INCONVENIENCE ON BOTH THE PARENTS AND THE STUDENTS. I HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND
THEY ARE VERY RESPONSIVE IN EXPLAINING WHY THE DRIVER WAS LATE, BUT IT DOESN'T OFFER A SOLUTION. MY FIFTH GRADER HAS RESORTED TO TAKING THE TRAIN WITH THEIR OLDER BROTHER AND A FEW FRIENDS, BUT I DON'T ALWAYS
FEEL COMFORTABLE DOING THAT. MY NAME IS CAROL GARCIA. I'M THE MOTHER OF AMELIA WHO WAS AN 11TH GRADE STUDENT WHO RECENTLY TRANSFERRED TO CHARLESTOWN HIGH SCHOOL AND SHE HAS DOOR TO DOOR TRANSPORTATION.
MY BIGGEST COMPLAINT THIS YEAR IS THE INCONSISTENCY OF THE BUS. EARLIER IN THE SCHOOL YEAR THERE WERE MORNINGS WITH LATE OR EVEN NO BUS AT ALL AND AT ONE POINT TRANSPORTATION SAID THAT DRIVERS WERE OUT ON TRAINING.
IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME TO HAVE DRIVERS COMPLETING TRAINING DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR . THERE WERE ALSO MANY AFTERNOONS WITH NO DRIVERS IN THE AFTERNOON FORCING EITHER MYSELF OR MY HUSBAND TO DRIVE ACROSS THE CITY TO PICK UP OUR
DAUGHTER. JUST LAST WEEK THE REGULAR DRIVER OF MY DAUGHTER'S BUS WAS OUT FOR TWO DAYS AND HER STOP WAS SKIPPED ALTOGETHER FORCING US TO DRIVE HER TO CHARLESTOWN . THANK YOU TO THE CITY
COUNCILORS FOR SHEDDING LIGHT ON THIS ISSUE. OUR FAMILY HAS THE CAPABILITY TO GET OUR DAUGHTER TO SCHOOL, BUT I KNOW THERE ARE MANY OTHER STUDENTS THAT DON'T HAVE THAT LUXURY. THANK YOU. >> ALL RIGHT. SO I'M JUST GOING TO READ.
THE TESTIMONY. I WILL NOT ADD ANY ADDITIONAL I JUST FOCUS UM JUST FOR THE RECORD IT IS A IT IS A WRITTEN TESTIMONY AND IT SHOULD UH
REFLECT THE PERSON'S VOICE HERE. SO THIS IS WRITTEN TESTIMONY ON HEARING ON CHRONIC SCHOOL BUS DELAYS FROM RAMSEY TO HER.
UM AARON RAMSEY EXCUSE ME, TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I'M A ROSSENDALE RESIDENT AND A PROUD PARENT OF THREE CHILDREN AT THE RAFAEL HERNANDEZ SCHOOL GRADES
K-2 THIRD AND FIFTH THIS YEAR. . OUR OLDEST DAUGHTER HAS BEEN TAKING THE SCHOOL BUS SINCE HER FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN SEVEN YEARS AGO NOW SINCE THAT TIME,
DPS TRANSPORTATION HAS CONSISTENTLY BEEN THE MOST FRUSTRATING AND DISAPPOINTING PART OF OUR EXPERIENCE AS A FAMILY. I'M WRITING TODAY TO VOICE MY
SUPPORT FOR THE CONCERNS BEING RAISED IN THIS HEARING AND TO ASK FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO THE FOLLOWING ISSUES SINCE THE RETURN FROM FEBRUARY BREAK
UM UH. UH UH I WAS ACTUALLY. 2025 OUR CHILDREN SCHOOL BUS HAS BEEN COMPLETELY UNCOVERED FOR. OVER ONE HOUR DELAYED ON SEVEN
INDIVIDUAL OCCURRENCES WHICH COMES OUT TO OVER 15% OF SCHEDULED RIDES. THIS DATA POINT DOESN'T EVEN INCLUDE THE OTHER INSTANCES
OF LESS SEVERE DELAYS, UNCHARITABLE BUSSES OR FAULT COMMUNICATION FROM THE ZOOM APP . BEHIND EACH OF THESE DISRUPTIONS ARE FAMILIES SCRAMBLING TO COVER FOR
TRANSPORTATION FAILURES. WE HAVE TRIED TO BE PATIENT BUT YEAR AFTER YEAR WE RECEIVE APOLOGIES AND. VARIOUS VERSIONS OF JUSTIFICATIONS WITHOUT ANY
REAL MEANINGFUL CHANGE. WHERE IS. ACCOUNTABILITY HERE WE RECENTLY LEARNED THAT THE DISTRICT HAD THE ABILITY TO FIND TRANSFERS
$500 FOR EACH INSTANCE OF NO SHOW. OR SIGNIFICANTLY DELAYED BUSSES . WHY IS THAT NOT HAPPENING IN A TIME OF BUDGET CUTS, THAT'S
ALMOST $2 MILLION LEFT ON THE TABLE THAT COULD OTHERWISE BE SERVING OUR STUDENTS. FAMILIES ARE MISSING WORK, JUGGLING OTHER CHILDCARE ARRANGEMENTS AND OTHERWISE
FLEXING THEIR LIVES AROUND A. LACK OF RELIABILITY. FOR SOMETHING OUR PEERS AND OTHER DISTRICTS TAKE FOR GRANTED. IF THE DISTRICT WON'T TAKE THE
MONEY, SHOULDN'T WE AT LEAST BE COMPENSATING THE PARENTS WHO ARE. >> THE. ONES BEARING THE BRUNT OF THE FAILURES HERE, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE MOST IMPACTED I.E. LOST
WAGES MISSING WORK WE HAVE LONG BEEN ASKING TRANSPORTATION TO INCLUDE A DATA POINT IN THEIR EVALUATION METRICS THAT CAPTURES THE FAMILY EXPERIENCE OF HAVING STUDENTS ON THE BUS.
YET WE HAVE SEEN NO MEANINGFUL CHANGE HERE. THIS IS NOT A MEANINGFUL DATA POINT BUT TIMELINESS IS IMPORTANT. BUT THE. >> DATA CAPTURED. >> BY THE DISTRICT AS. WE UNDERSTAND IT DOESN'T CAPTURE THE. NUANCE I.E..
HOW LONG HAVE WE HAVE TO WAIT WHEN WE GET WHEN. WE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR. INFORMATION? >> WHEN A BUS ISN'T TRACKING BEING TOLD A BUS IS UNCOVERED ONLY TO SEE THAT. IT'S ACTUALLY. ON THE WAY WITH SHORT NOTICE.
CONFLICTING REPORTS ABOUT BUSSES BEING GIVEN TO FAMILIES AND SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS, ETC. WE ARE EAGER TO. UH, PARTNER WITH THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO IMPROVE SERVICES FOR ALL KIDS
ACROSS THE DISTRICT. NOT ONLY OUR OWN AND WE WOULD LIKE TO. BE ALLIES. THROUGH THIS PROCESS. YET WE NEED TO SEE ACCOUNTABILITY. UM WHEN THE SYSTEM CONTINUES TO.
FAIL OUR KIDS ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE MOST VULNERABLE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND ATTENTIVENESS TO THIS MATTER RESPECTFULLY AND REINS ME TO HER. UM OF ROSLINDALE.
UM RESIDENTS OKAY. WE HAVE. TWO TWO MORE. UH. >> THIS IS FROM REBECCA MCGEE. SHE'S A. TEACHER OF THE DEAF.
UM, AT THE DEAF UM UH, HORSEMAN SCHOOL. >> FOR THE. DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING. UH, WRITTEN TESTIMONY REGARDING EMERGENCY HEARING ON DOCKET 0374. FOR THE RECORD, DEAR. CHAIR. >> MEJIA AND MEMBERS OF THE
COMMITTEE. I'M AN ELEMENTARY. TEACHER AT THE HORACE MANN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND. >> HARD OF HEARING. I AM WRITING TO PROVIDE TESTIMONY. REGARDING THE SYSTEMIC. TRANSPORTATION FAILURES. CURRENTLY DEPRIVING OUR.
STUDENTS OF THEIR LEGAL RIGHT. TO A FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC. EDUCATION FOR OUR STUDENTS. A SCHOOL BUS DELAY ISN'T JUST AN INCONVENIENCE IT IS A DENIAL .
OF ACCESS AT HORACE MANN THE CLASSROOM IS A SPECIALIZED LANGUAGE RICH. ENVIRONMENT THAT MANY OF. >> OUR. STUDENTS CANNOT ACCESS ANYWHERE ELSE. WHEN A STUDENT. MISSES THE MORNING.
ASL ANNOUNCEMENT. TO GO TO CLASS, THEY. AREN'T JUST MISSING A WORKSHEET THEY'RE MISSING. HOURS OF CRITICAL COMMUNICATION. AND SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION. THAT CANNOT BE QUOTE UNQUOTE
MADE UP. WITHOUT DEDICATED. INTERVENTION UNDER INDIVIDUALS . WITH DISABILITIES. EDUCATION ACT. TRANSPORTATION IS A MANDATED QUOTE UNQUOTE RELATED.
SERVICE. >> WHEN THE TRANSPORTATION FAILS, THE. DISTRICT FAILS TO PROVIDE A FREE. APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION. THE CURRENT INFRASTRUCTURE. PLACES AN. IMPOSSIBLE BURDEN. >> ON FAMILIES.
LAST MONTH ONE OF. MY STUDENTS WAS. LEFT WAITING FOR THE BUS THAT. ARRIVED HOURS AFTER IT WAS PROMISED AND AT FIRST THE ZOOM APP PROVIDED NO DATA. THE MOTHER CALLED THE DISTRICT
SPANISH LANGUAGE LINE REPEATEDLY. BUT NO ONE ANSWERED. THE STUDENT BEGAN WAITING AT 5 A.M. FOR HIS. 6 P.M.. >> PICKUP.
BY 630 THE APP PREDICTED A 7:15 A.M. PICKUP BECAUSE THE PARENTS HAD TO LEAVE FOR WORK, THE. STUDENT CONTINUED. >> TO WAIT ALONE. THEY EVENTUALLY. WENT INSIDE. COLD AND DISCOURAGED.
BY 915, 3.5 HOURS AFTER THE INITIAL WAIT BEGAN AND TWO HOURS AFTER THE BUS WAS PROMISED, THE BUS FINALLY ARRIVED. BEING DEAF, THE STUDENT COULD
NOT HEAR A HONK AND NO ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEM OTHERWISE THEY MISSED AN ENTIRE DAY OF SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION BECAUSE QUOTE
UNQUOTE THE SYSTEM SIMPLY DIDN'T SHOW UP FOR THEM. THIS ALSO SENDS A MIXED MESSAGE TO OUR STUDENTS AND FAMILIES ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE AND VALUE OF SCHOOL. WE NEED THESE KIDS.
HERE EVERY DAY. IT IS A KEY GOAL OF BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS, THE HORACE MANN. SCHOOL AND EVERY TEACHER ACROSS THE CITY. BUT WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT THE
SYSTEM SHOWING UP LITERALLY. >> FOR OUR STUDENTS. OUR TIME AND ENERGY SHOULD BE SPENT ON INSTRUCTION, NOT TRACKING DOWN TRANSPORTATION TO GET THE STUDENTS, THE STUDENTS ,THE SERVICES THEY NEED AND
ARE LEGALLY ENTITLED TO. AS YOU DELIBERATE ON DOCKET 0374, I URGE THE COUNCIL TO DEMAND THE FOLLOWING. THIS IS WHERE WE'RE ALL GOING TO TAKE NOTES Y'ALL.
THE LANGUAGE ACCESS ACCOUNTABILITY IMMEDIATE 100%. STAFFING FOR MULTILINGUAL TRANSPORTATION. LINES DURING ALL. ACTIVE TRANSIT HOURS A A
PARENTS PRIMARY LANGUAGE. SHOULD NEVER. >> BE A BARRIER. TO THE CHILD'S ACCESS TO SCHOOL OR SAFETY. NUMBER TWO APP RELIABILITY A FORMAL AUDIT OF THE ZOOM APP'S
REAL. TIME DATA. WE MUST END THE PRACTICE OF QUOTE UNQUOTE TURNING OFF THE TRACKING FOR TROUBLESOME OR DELAYED ROUTES. FAMILIES NEED A SYSTEM THAT
COMMUNICATES REAL TIME INFORMATION TO MAKE DECISIONS TO GET THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL . THIRD, AUTOMATIC CREDITS. SHOULD MHM. I'VE BEEN SAYING.
THIS FOR FIVE YEARS FAMILIES AND. >> I BELIEVE THEY DO. GET SOME SORT OF CREDIT. BUT WE. NEED THIS TO BE FORMALIZED. FAMILIES SHOULD BE REIMBURSED OR CREDITED FOR UBER LYFT RIDES
WHEN THEY SHOW THE DEDICATION UM TO GETTING THEIR CHILD TO SCHOOL THAT THE CITY HAS NOT CONSIDERED STORY A SERVICE THE DISTRICT MUST IMPLEMENT A SYSTEM THAT AUTOMATICALLY
TRIGGERS SERVICE CREDITS FOR ANY STUDENTS. WHO MISSES IEP MANDATED. INSTRUCTIONAL TIME DUE TO TRANSPORTATION. FAILURES. >> FOR HMS STUDENTS, THESE CREDITS MUST BE REDEEMABLE FOR
SESSIONS WITH ASL FLUENT EDUCATORS OR THERAPISTS WHO CAN ACTUALLY RECOVER THE SPECIFIC LINGUISTIC. AND ACADEMIC GOALS. I CANNOT BE AT THIS. HEARING IN PERSON. BECAUSE I WILL BE IN THE CLASSROOM EDUCATING.
OUR STUDENTS. I HOPE THAT OUR MORNING MEETING ALL. >> OF MY. STUDENTS ARE THERE WITH. ME RATHER THAN WAITING ON A. CURB FOR A BUS THAT IS INCOMING. RESPECTFULLY REBECCA MCVIE.
SORRY I WENT OFF SCRIPT FOR A QUICK SECOND BUT. UM GOING BACK. THIS IS. >> THE LAST ONE AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO MOVE. ON TO THE, UH, ADMINISTRATION. AND TWO MORE PEOPLE LOGGED IN.
OKAY, DEAR, THIS IS FROM. LAUREN GREENBERGER. DEAR BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL. TRANSPORTATION LEADERSHIP AND. CITY OFFICIALS WE ARE WRITING AS BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOL PARENTS
TO FORMALLY ESCALATE ONGOING AND. UNRESOLVED TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION FAILURES THAT CONTINUE TO. DISRUPT OUR STUDENTS. ABILITY TO. >> GET TO AND FROM SCHOOL SAFELY AND.
RELIABLY DESPITE. REPEATED OUTREACH AND. MONTHS OF. REQUESTS, THESE ISSUES PERSIST AND HAVE BEEN PLACED AN UNSUSTAINABLE BURDEN ON FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS.
ONE BUS. B150 TRACKING. SYSTEM FAILURES. TECHNOLOGY AND. >> DRIVERS DEPENDENT THE MORNING BUS TRACKER FOR OUR ROUTE HAS BEEN TURNED OFF OR NONFUNCTIONAL.
FOR APPROXIMATELY. FOUR MONTHS. >> ON A. REGULAR BASIS. DESPITE REPEATED REQUESTS FOR IT TO BE ENABLED. FAMILIES HAVE BEEN TOLD THAT THE TRACKER COULD NOT BE TURNED
ON YET IT REMAINS UNAVAILABLE OR UNRELIABLE. WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE TRACKING SYSTEM RELIES ON DRIVER ISSUED TABLETS AND WHEN THOSE TABLETS MALFUNCTION OR FAIL TO CONNECT,
DRIVERS HAVE NO ALTERNATIVE METHODS TO ACTIVATE OR DISPLAY TRACKING. THIS CREATES A SYSTEM THAT IS BOTH TECHNOLOGY DEPENDENT AND DRIVEN AND DRIVER DEPENDENT
WITH NO BACKUP PROTOCOL WHEN DEVICES FAIL AS A RESULT, FAMILIES ARE LEFT WITHOUT VISIBILITY EVEN WHEN BUSSES ARE RUNNING. THIS LACK OF RELIABLE TRACKING MAKES IT EXTREMELY DIFFICULT
FOR FAMILIES TO PLAN SAFELY, PARTICULARLY DURING. EARLY MORNING. HOURS AND INCLEMENT WEATHER. TWO AFTER NOON BUS.
487 FAILURES AND HOLIDAY DISRUPTIONS THIS IS THIS HAPPENED THROUGHOUT. THE MONTH OF DECEMBER. FAMILIES EXPERIENCE REPEATED AFTERNOON TRANSPORTATION FAILURES. INCLUDING MULTIPLE.
DAYS WHEN NO. AFTERNOON BUS WAS PROVIDED AT ALL. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS FAMILIES WERE INFORMED. ONLY THROUGH PHONE CALLS. FROM THEIR SCHOOL THAT THERE WOULD BE NO.
AFTERNOON BUS SERVICE DURING THESE. INCIDENTS NO PUSH NOTIFICATIONS WERE. SENT OR RECEIVED. THROUGH THE ZOOM. >> APP. LEAVING FAMILIES. WITHOUT TIMELY OR OFFICIAL TRANSPORTATION UPDATES.
SCHOOL FORCED TO STEP. IN UM TO FILL COMMUNICATION GAPS AND THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN HANDLED BY THE TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM. THESE FAILURES WERE ESPECIALLY. COMMON IN THE DAYS BEFORE. >> AND AFTER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.
RESULTING IN LAST MINUTE DISMISSAL CHANGES. FAMILIES SCRAMBLING. >> TO ARRANGE PICKUPS WITH LITTLE NOTICE, STUDENTS. EXPERIENCING CONFUSION. STRESS AND UNCERTAINTY AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL DAY THREE.
INCONSISTENT PUSH. NOTIFICATIONS THE NOTIFICATIONS TO THE ZOOM APP ARE. INCONSISTENT AND UNRELIABLE. SOME FAMILIES RECEIVE. ALERTS WHILE OTHERS DO NOT EVEN WHEN.
ENROLLED AND USING THE SAME SYSTEM. AS SEEN IN DECEMBER. CRITICAL CANCELLATIONS AND DELAYS WERE NOT COMMUNICATE. COMMUNICATED THROUGH THE APP AT ALL. UNDERMINING CONFIDENCE. IN THE PLATFORM AND. LEAVING FAMILIES.
WITHOUT ESSENTIAL. INFORMATION FOR PARENT LED COORDINATION IS NOT SUSTAINABLE DUE TO THESE ONGOING FAILURES, PARENTS CREATED A PARENT.
LED WHATSAPP GROUP TO COORDINATE MORNING DROP OFFS AND. AFTERNOON PICKUPS. SHARING REAL TIME UPDATES AND ALERTS ONE ANOTHER WHEN BUSSES
ARE DELAYED OR DO NOT ARRIVE. WHILE THIS HAS HELPED FAMILIES PROVIDE ONE SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER, IT HAS UM DEMANDING, STRESSFUL AND UNSUSTAINABLE.
IT REQUIRES MONITORING AND EMOTIONAL LABOR FROM. PARENTS AND PLACES. THE RESPONSIBILITIES ON FAMILIES TO COMPENSATE FOR SYSTEMIC. FAILURES IN TRANSPORTATION AND
COMMUNICATION. THIS BURDEN IMPACTS. BOTH CAREGIVERS. AND STUDENTS AND. >> SHOULD NOT BE NECESSARY TO. ENSURE CHILDREN GET. TO AND. >> FROM. SCHOOL SAFELY. COLLECTIVELY THESE THESE ISSUES
POINT OUT TO SYSTEMIC. BREAKDOWNS IN TRANSPORTATION. TECHNOLOGY. >> COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS AND OPERATIONAL RELIABILITY. FAMILIES HAVE RAISED THESE CONCERNS REPEATEDLY THROUGH APPROPRIATE. CHANNELS, YET.
>> MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS. >> HAVE NOT OCCURRED. WE ARE REQUESTING. THE FOLLOWING A. CONSISTENTLY FUNCTIONING BUS TRACKING. SYSTEM WITH BACKUP PROTOCOLS
WHEN TABLETS FAIL IMMEDIATE AND RELIABLE. ACTIVATION OF TRACKING FOR. EQUITABLE ROUTES. EQUITABLE AND DEPENDABLE DELIVERABLE DELIVERY OF PUSH
NOTIFICATIONS TO ALL ENROLLED FAMILIES. CLEAR COMMUNICATION. PROTOCOLS WHEN SERVICE DISRUPTIONS OCCUR INCLUDING REDUNDANCY WHEN TECHNOLOGY
FAILS. TRANSPORTATION EXCUSE ME TRANSPARENT CONTINGENCY PLANNING FOR KNOWN HIGH RISK PERIODS SUCH. AS HOLIDAYS. A CLEAR POINT OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND.
TIMELINE FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION BOSTON FAMILIES DEPEND ON SAFE ,PREDICTABLE. AND TRANSPARENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS. WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST PROMPT
ATTENTION TO THESE ISSUES AND A WRITTEN RESPONSE OUTLINING NEXT STEPS. SINCERELY LAURA GREENBERG. AND SO THANK YOU. UH, AND. >> I. ALSO WANT TO NOTE FOR THE
RECORD THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED UM, BY COUNCILOR CULPEPER. UM, THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. UH. WE HAVE JUST GONE THROUGH PUBLIC. TESTIMONY AND FOR THOSE WHO ARE
HERE NORMALLY WE HAVE A COMMUNITY PANEL AND THE COMMUNITY PANEL HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES. WE'RE DOING THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT LEADING WITH PUBLIC
TESTIMONY. THERE ISN'T A TIME FOR US TO GO BACK AND FORTH WITH COMMUNITY. SO THEREFORE WE'RE USING OUR TIME DIFFERENTLY IN THIS INSTANCE JUST FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO ARE TUNING IN.
THIS IS DEFINITELY BEING DONE DIFFERENTLY AND THAT IS WHY BECAUSE WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PEOPLE GET HEARD. AND I SEE THAT WE HAVE TWO MORE PEOPLE.
LOGGED ON VIA ZOOM. JAMAR LEE. >> AND JENNIFER. AND I. >> ALSO WANT. >> TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE BEEN JOINED. BY COUNCILOR FLYNN.
AND AFTER THESE NEXT TWO WE'RE GOING TO MOVE INTO THE ADMINISTRATION PANEL. JAMAR LEE.
AND JENNIFER. GOING ONCE. JUST.
>> AND SO WHILE WE WAIT FOR THE NEXT PERSON JUST TO PREP THE ADMINISTRATION IS YOU KNOW, WE'D LOVE TO I'M HAPPY THAT YOU WERE HERE TO LISTEN TO
TESTIMONY. I LOVE TO SEE UM IF YOU COULD INCORPORATE. SOME RESPONSES TO WHAT YOU. HEARD JUST BECAUSE IN THE EYE. IN THE SPIRIT OF MOVING WITH A
SOLUTION FOCUS HEARING I LIKE TO START BRAINSTORMING ON WHAT YOU NEED FROM US TO EXECUTE. OKAY. JUST ALL RIGHT JENNIFER. HELLO. >> MY NAME IS JENNIFER WARD.
I'M A PARENT OF TWO STUDENTS. I AM THE SCHOOL'S BACKPACK REPRESENTATIVE AND THE SCHOOL SITE COUNCIL MEMBER AT THE JOSEPH LEE SCHOOL IN DORCHESTER ,WHICH HAS THE LARGEST AUTISM STRAIN IN BOSTON.
A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF OUR SPECIALIZED EDUCATION STUDENTS RELY ON DOOR TO DOOR TRANSPORTATION. AT OUR SFD MEETING LAST NIGHT WE DISCUSSED THE FACT THAT OUR SCHOOL IS MISSING THE DC
BENCHMARK FOR ATTENDANCE AND OUR PERCENTAGE OF CHRONICALLY ABSENT STUDENTS IS INCREASING. TRANSPORTATION IS ONE CONTRIBUTOR TO THIS PROBLEM. SCHOOL PERSONNEL CONFIRMED THIS MORNING THAT THIS HAS BEEN THE
WORST YEAR FOR TRANSPORTATION LATELY. EVERY DAY THERE IS AT LEAST ONE BUS THAT DOES NOT SHOW UP AFFECTING MANY STUDENTS PER DAY. WE KNOW THAT THE DISTRICT HAS DATA. WHAT I AM NOT HEARING ARE
SOLUTIONS. TRANSDEV IS NOT ADEQUATELY PLANNING TO HAVE A SUFFICIENT NUMBER OF SUBSTITUTE DRIVERS ARE BACKUP BUSSES WHEN BUSSES BREAK DOWN. WE NEED REAL SOLUTIONS WHEN
TRANSDEV FAILS TO PROVIDE CONTRACTED SERVICES. MANY PARENTS ARE RELYING ON UBER TO GET THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL AND THIS HAS BECOME FINANCIALLY UNSUSTAINABLE.
UM THE CONTRACT IS SUPPOSED TO FIND THIS TRANSIT AT $500 PER MISS ROUTE. IN THE OLD DAYS WE HAD BOOKS OF TAXI VOUCHERS THAT WE COULD USE IMMEDIATELY. THIS MONEY COULD BE DEVOTED TO PROVIDING TAXI VOUCHERS OR UBER
CREDITS TO FAMILIES WHO MUST RELY ON THESE NEEDS TO GET THEIR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL. UM THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR HOLDING THIS TESTIMONY. THANK YOU JENNIFER.
UM AND JAMAR LEE.
IT MIGHT BE EMILY. ARE THEY ON THAT? NOT NO. OKAY.
ALL RIGHT. WE'RE MOVING ON. UM, AND I BEFORE WE DO ONE THING THAT I WANT TO ADD THAT I
DID NOT HEAR UM, I KNOW THEY TALKED ABOUT THE MULTI LINGUAL ,UM, SUPPORT FOR NATIVE LANGUAGE SPEAKERS. I ALSO WANT TO NOTE FOR THE
RECORD THAT WE HAVE FOLKS WHO ARE UNDOCUMENTED AND THERE HAS BEEN SOME CONCERNS AROUND HOW THEY APPLY FOR REIMBURSEMENT. SO JUST WOULD LIKE TO HEAR HOW
WE'RE DEALING WITH THAT ISSUE. ALL RIGHT. SO THE ADMINISTRATION YOU HAVE . THE GOAL.
IS UM AND WE'RE GOING TO DO I'M GOING TO GIVE MY COLLEAGUES THE FIRST JUST SO THAT EVERYBODY PREPARES THEMSELVES FOR THIS ROUND. THE FIRST ROUND I'M GOING TO ALLOW UM EACH COLLEAGUE TO ASK
FOR I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU SEVEN MINUTES FOR YOUR FIRST ROUND. THE SECOND ROUND IF YOUR LIGHT IS ON YOU'RE GOING TO GET FIVE MINUTES. OKAY. JUST SO THAT WE PREPARE OURSELVES SO THAT YOU USE YOUR
TIME WISELY. UM, WITH THE ADMINISTRATION. OKAY. FIRST ROUND, SEVEN MINUTES. SECOND ROUND FIVE. OKAY. BUT THE SECOND ROUND IS JUST IF YOU HAVE YOUR LIGHTS ON, YOU GO . ALL RIGHT, EVERYBODY GOT IT.
OKAY. >> ALL RIGHT. >> ADMINISTRATION, YOU HAVE 20 MINUTES. THANK YOU. >> COUNCILOR. UH, MY NAME IS DAN ROSENGARD. I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BP'S TRANSPORTATION JOINT HERE TODAY.
UH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR JACKIE HAYES. I JUST WANT TO START BY THANKING EVERYONE FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY. THIS IS, I THINK, A REALLY IMPORTANT OPPORTUNITY TO TO
CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION AROUND SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION IN BOSTON AND PARTICULARLY I WANT TO THANK, UM, YOU KNOW, THOSE PARENTS AND FAMILIES WHO SHARED THEIR TESTIMONY TODAY.
WE REALLY LOOK FOR EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE CAN TO HEAR FEEDBACK DIRECTLY FROM FAMILIES, EVEN WHEN THAT FEEDBACK IS HARD TO HEAR. AND I'M JUST REALLY
APPRECIATIVE OF AND HUMBLED BY THE FOLKS WHO SHARED THEIR EXPERIENCES TODAY. UM WE DO HAVE A BRIEF PRESENTATION TODAY. IT WILL DEFINITELY NOT RUN THE FULL 20 MINUTES.
UM UM YOU KNOW, AIM TO KEEP IT TO TEN OR FEWER BUT WE WANT TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT ON OUR OPERATION, OUR RECENT PERFORMANCE AND CHALLENGES AND ALSO I'M GOING TO DO MY BEST TO
RESPOND TO MANY OF THE POINTS RAISED IN PUBLIC TESTIMONY UH, THROUGHOUT BUT PLEASE CERTAINLY ANY THAT I MISS LET'S MAKE SURE WE TALK ABOUT THOSE AS WELL. UH AND THEN AFTER WE REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO ANY QUESTIONS
THAT YOU ALL HAVE AND THE CHANCE TO DISCUSS FURTHER. SO IF WE JUMP TO UM, A COUPLE SLIDES UP THESE UM I THINK MAYBE YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO DO THAT ALSO.
YEP. >> GREAT. >> UM, SO EVERY SCHOOL DAY APPROXIMATELY 625 BUSSES ARE ON THE ROAD TRANSPORTING APPROXIMATELY 19,000 BOSTON STUDENTS TO AND FROM SCHOOL.
THESE STUDENTS RELY ON THE BUS TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ON TIME FOR BREAKFAST, MAKE SURE THEY AREN'T MISSING TIME IN THE CLASSROOM AND TO GET TO SPORTS GAMES, FIELD TRIPS AND EXTRACURRICULARS.
TRANSPORTATION MUST BE SAFE. IT MUST BE RELIABLE AND ON TIME AND IT MUST BE COST EFFECTIVE. OUR TEAM WORKS INCREDIBLY HARD TO PROVIDE THE BEST POSSIBLE SERVICE FOR STUDENTS, FAMILIES
AND SCHOOLS. AND I WANT TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY AT THE BEGINNING TO HIGHLIGHT THE WAYS IN WHICH THOSE FAMILIES CAN REACH US. FAMILIES CAN REACH OUT TO OUR CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM THROUGH
OUR HOTLINE. THE NUMBER IS (617) 635-9520. THEY CAN EMAIL US AT SCHOOL BUS AT BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS.ORG AND THEY CAN SUBMIT A TICKET ON
OUR SUPPORT PORTAL. AND THE LINK IS UH ON THE SLIDES AND ON OUR WEBSITE. UH LAST YEAR WE INTRODUCED THE ZOOM TECHNOLOGY WHICH SITS AT
THE HEART OF OUR OPERATION. EVERY BUS IS EQUIPPED WITH A TABLET THAT PROVIDES THE DRIVER WITH GPS DIRECTIONS AND ALLOWS THEM TO MARK STUDENTS AS PICKED UP AND DROPPED OFF AT EACH STOP ALONG THE ROUTE.
AND WE STRONGLY ENCOURAGE ALL FAMILIES TO DOWNLOAD THE ZOOM APP. TO VIEW THEIR STUDENTS BUS ASSIGNMENT TO TRACK RIDES IN REAL TIME TO RECEIVE AUTOMATED
ETAS IN THE CASE OF DELAYS TO RECEIVE ALERTS WHEN THE BUS IS ARRIVING WHEN THEIR STUDENT IS PICKED UP AND DROPPED OFF. ZOOM AS WELL AS OUR HOTLINE IS AVAILABLE IN ALL OF THE
LANGUAGES. AND OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS EFFORTS SUCH AS ZOOM AND THE RIDERSHIP PROCEDURE HAVE ALLOWED US TO BEGIN RIGHTSIZING THE TRANSPORTATION OPERATION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY
YEARS. WE'VE REDUCED THE NUMBER OF DAILY ROUTES BY ABOUT 3% COMPARED TO LAST YEAR. THIS YEAR THAT HAS LED TO INCREASED EFFICIENCIES THAT HAVE MEANT BOTH IMPROVED
ON-TIME PERFORMANCE AND COST EFFICIENCIES TO REDUCE SPENDING ON TRANSPORTATION AND GET MONEY BACK IN THE CLASSROOM. AND ZOOM NOTIFICATIONS CAN BE PERSONALIZED BY EACH PERSON ON
THEIR PHONE. AND IF YOU'RE HAVING ANY ISSUES WITH THAT AND WITH RECEIVING ALERTS, PLEASE DO CALL IN TO OUR HOTLINE AND OUR TEAM CAN SUPPORT. NOW I LIKE TO BRIEFLY UH, TALK
THROUGH OUR RECENT PERFORMANCE AND SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN AND THAT WE HEARD FROM PUBLIC TESTIMONY. SO STARTING WITH ON-TIME PERFORMANCE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
MEASURES THE PROPORTION OF BUSSES THAT ARRIVE TO SCHOOL ON TIME EACH DAY. IT'S ONE OF THE PRIMARY METRICS THAT WE USE TO EVALUATE OUR PERFORMANCE. I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE TO ADDRESS ONE OF THE POINTS
RAISED IN PUBLIC TESTIMONY. WHEN WE CALCULATE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE, ANY BUS THAT ARRIVES AFTER THE START OF THE SCHOOL DAY IS COUNTED AS LATE. SO THOSE BUSSES THAT ARE LATE
BUT NOT AN HOUR LATE ARE ABSOLUTELY COUNTED AS NEGATIVE IN THE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE. AN HOUR LATE IS AN ADDITIONAL CUTOFF FOR WHAT WE CALL A BLOWN TRIP WHICH HAS KIND OF FURTHER
UM SEVERITY AND CONSEQUENCES ATTACHED TO IT IF YOU. >> WILL. AT THE START OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. ON-TIME PERFORMANCE WAS THE HIGHEST ON RECORD FOR BEEPS IN BOTH THE MORNINGS AND AFTERNOON . THOSE HIGH LEVELS CONTINUED
THROUGHOUT THE FALL. WE SAW A DECLINE IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY AS STREETS AND TRAFFIC WERE IMPACTED BY THE TWO HISTORIC STORMS THAT HIT BOSTON THIS WINTER AND SO FAR IN
MARCH, OTP HAS RETURNED TO HIGH LEVELS AVERAGING 93% IN THE MORNING AND 88% IN THE AFTERNOON FOR MARCH. THOSE ARE AGAIN HISTORICALLY HIGH LEVELS COMPARED TO WHERE
WE HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST. AND IN A SYSTEM THAT HAS REALLY FAILED STUDENTS FOR FAR TOO LONG, YOU KNOW THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN INCREASING OTP OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS
HAS BEEN HARD WON AND HAS LED TO THE STRONGEST BUS PERFORMANCE ON RECORD FOR BEEPS AND AT THE SAME TIME WE ABSOLUTELY KNOW THAT THE JOB IS
NOT COMPLETE AND THIS IS NOT NEARLY ENOUGH EVEN AT THAT 95% TARGET LEVEL. NEARLY A THOUSAND STUDENTS WOULD BE ARRIVING LATE TO SCHOOL EVERY DAY.
AND IF YOU ARE A STUDENT ON ONE OF THE BUSSES THAT IS CONSISTENTLY ARRIVING LATE, THE SYSTEM IS FAILING YOU. WHETHER OTP IS 95% OR 99%. AND I THINK WE HEARD REALLY
POWERFUL TESTIMONY FROM MANY OF THOSE FAMILIES UH, TODAY. AND I KNOW THAT EVERY TIME I HEAR ONE OF THOSE STORIES IT'S A IT'S A POWERFUL REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE
WHO SHARED WHAT WE ARE PROUD OF THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE IN RECENT YEARS. WE WILL NOT AND CANNOT REST UNTIL EVERY STUDENT WHO RELIES ON THE BUS CAN FEEL CONFIDENT THAT IT'S GOING TO GET THEM TO
SCHOOL SAFELY ON TIME AND READY TO LEARN. A SECOND REALLY IMPORTANT METRIC OF OUR PERFORMANCE IS BUS COVERAGE.
AND THIS I THINK IS, YOU KNOW, REALLY GOING TO SPEAK TO SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HEARD ABOUT FROM MANY OF THE FAMILIES TODAY. SO THE TWO CHARTS ON THIS SLIDE HERE AND I APOLOGIZE I APOLOGIZE THAT THEY'RE A LITTLE
SMALL I'M SURE FOR FOLKS LOOKING AT IT ON THE TV. UM, BUT THESE CHARTS SHOW THE PERCENTAGE OF SCHEDULED TRIPS WHICH HAVE BEEN UNCOVERED WHICH MEANS THAT THERE WAS NOT A DRIVER OR A VEHICLE AVAILABLE
AT THE SCHEDULED TIME BY MONTH THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR THE MORNING AND AFTERNOON OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, UNCOVERED TRIPS CAN BE CAUSED BY A NUMBER OF FACTORS.
THESE INCLUDE DRIVER SHORTAGES, ABSENTEEISM, MECHANICAL FAILURES WITH OUR BUSSES OR INCIDENTS ALONG THE ROUTE WHICH CAN PREVENT A BUS FROM COMPLETING THEIR SCHEDULED TRIP WHEN A BUS IS UNCOVERED.
WE COMMUNICATE THAT INFORMATION TO IMPACTED FAMILIES AND SCHOOLS RIGHT AWAY THROUGH A PHONE CALL TO SCHOOLS AND A PUSH NOTIFICATION IN THE ZOOM APP TO FAMILIES. AND WE WILL ALWAYS WORK TO PROVIDE A BACKUP BUS TO ANY
STUDENTS WHO NEED IT. WE WILL NOT EVER LEAVE A STUDENT BEHIND WITHOUT A BUS. THAT SAID, I ALSO ABSOLUTELY MUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THOSE COVERING BUSSES AND THOSE
BACKUP BUSSES ARE OFTEN SIGNIFICANTLY LATE AND AFTER. YOU KNOW, MANY FAMILIES HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THE TIME TO COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS. ALSO I THINK AT THIS POINT IN
TIME I WANT TO MAKE SURE TO UM NOTE IN RESPONSE TO A FEW OF THE POINTS WE HEARD REIMBURSEMENT IS AVAILABLE FOR FAMILIES OF STUDENTS WITH
DISABILITIES WHO EXPERIENCE, UH, DISRUPTION IN THEIR BUS SERVICE. SO STUDENTS WHO HAVE UH TRANSPORTATION AS A RELATED SERVICE IN THEIR IEP IF THEY IF THAT FAMILY TRANSPORTS THEIR
STUDENT TO AND FROM SCHOOL ON THEIR OWN BECAUSE THE BUS WAS UNCOVERED OR SIGNIFICANTLY LATE OR SOME OTHER REASON THEY ARE ELIGIBLE FOR REIMBURSEMENT. UM, YOU KNOW, AND THERE'S INFORMATION ON OUR WEBSITE ON
HOW TO APPLY FOR THAT. AND COUNCILOR MEJIA, UH, UNDOCUMENTED FAMILIES ALSO THERE IS A MECHANISM FOR THEM TO TO WORK WITH OUR TEAM TO APPLY FOR REIMBURSEMENT THERE. SO I DON'T WANT THAT TO BE A BARRIER TO ANYBODY APPLYING FOR
THIS. UM. >> COMING BACK TO THE SLIDE AND LOOKING AT SOME OF THE DATA OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS WE HAVE BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL IN KEEPING UNCOVERED TRIPS TO A
MINIMUM. FEWER THAN 0.2% OF SCHEDULED TRIPS WERE UNCOVERED OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS STARTING THIS PAST DECEMBER. HOWEVER, WE HAVE SEEN A SHARP
INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF UNCOVERED TRIPS EACH DAY. THIS IS IN CONTRAST TO OTHER AREAS OF OUR OPERATION WHERE WE HAVE CONTINUED TO SEE STEADY INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE CONTINUED THROUGH THIS
YEAR AND THIS UPTICK IN UNCOVERED TRIPS REALLY REPRESENTS A VERY CONCERNING REGRESSION IN PERFORMANCE THAT WE, YOU KNOW, HAVE BEEN AND ARE TAKING VERY SERIOUSLY.
IMMEDIATELY UPON SEEING THIS TREND, UH, WE BEGAN WORKING VERY CLOSELY WITH OUR VENDOR TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WAS HAPPENING AND WHAT IS BEING DONE TO URGENTLY ADDRESS IT.
WE HAVE TAKEN A NUMBER OF STEPS ALREADY TO TO TRY TO COMBAT THIS AND IMPROVE PERFORMANCE. THESE INCLUDE ROUTE CONSOLIDATION TO REDUCE DAILY DEMAND ON THE SYSTEM, INCREASING DRIVER HIRING AND
TRAINING. RIGHT NOW THERE ARE ABOUT 25 DRIVERS IN TRAINING WHO SHOULD BE COMING OUT SHORTLY AND HOLDING OUR VENDOR ACCOUNTABLE TO BRINGING UH REGIONAL LEADERSHIP ON SITE WHO HAVE
BEEN ONSITE AND ARE COMMITTED TO STAYING ON SITE UNTIL WE SEE IMPROVEMENT, PARTICULARLY IN SOME OF THE AREAS OF UH, THE VENDORS, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION WHERE THEY'VE
BEEN UNDERPERFORMING. NONETHELESS AND CERTAINLY IN SPITE OF THESE STEPS UM, AND DESPITE CONTINUING TO SEE HIGH ON TIME PERFORMANCE AND IMPROVEMENT ACROSS OTHER AREAS
OF OUR OPERATION, WE KNOW THAT ,UM, THIS IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SEEN IN MARCH SOME IMPROVEMENTS SO FAR AND UH, UNCOVERED TRIPS IN THE MORNING ARE HALF WHAT THEY WERE
THE LAST THREE MONTHS IN MARCH AND UNCOVERED TRIPS IN THE AFTERNOON HAVE RETURNED TO THOSE HISTORICAL LEVELS OF 0.2% OF SCHEDULED TRIPS BEING UNCOVERED. BUT AGAIN THIS IS THIS IS NOT
ENOUGH. WE MUST CONTINUE TO NOT JUST GET BACK TO WHERE WE WERE BUT KEEP RAISING THE BAR FURTHER FOR STUDENTS. UM SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO DEMAND THOSE IMPROVEMENTS AND WE WILL MAKE SURE THERE'S
ACCOUNTABILITY FOR EVERY TRIP BEING COVERED EVERY DAY. AND FINALLY I JUST WANT TO UM ALSO MAKE SURE TO PROVIDE A BRIEF UPDATE ON ATHLETICS
TRANSPORTATION. I KNOW THIS IS A TOPIC THAT WE'VE TALKED QUITE A BIT ABOUT AS WELL. UM, BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN AN AREA WHERE YOU KNOW, HAS STRUGGLED FOR SO MANY YEARS UM, FOR A
LONG TIME NEARLY 5% OF SCHEDULED ATHLETICS TRIPS WENT UNCOVERED EACH SEASON AND YOU KNOW, STRANDING STUDENT ATHLETES UNABLE TO ATTEND GAMES UH, SINCE MAKING SOME SOME
REALLY SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL CHANGES TO HOW THIS WORK WAS UH, SCHEDULED AND. AND RUN LAST WINTER, WE'VE SEEN SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THIS AREA. UH, SO FAR THIS SCHOOL YEAR
WE'VE SEEN ALMOST 100% COVERAGE IN THIS SPACE WITH JUST ONE ATHLETICS TRIP IN SEPTEMBER THAT WENT WITHOUT COVERAGE. NONETHELESS, YOU KNOW, ALSO WE KNOW THAT UM, JUST COVERING THE TRIP IS NOT 100% OF THE WAY
THERE. WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IT IS ON TIME AND THAT ANY SERVICE ISSUES ARE ADDRESSED AS WELL. AND THEN JUST IN CLOSING, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT I ALWAYS WANT TO COME BACK TO WHY DO WE DO THIS WORK
AND WHO ARE WE DOING IT FOR? KNOW WE ARE HERE TO SERVE AND SUPPORT THE STUDENTS AND FAMILIES OF BOSTON. YOU KNOW THOSE STUDENTS RELY ON THE SCHOOL BUS TO GET THEM TO
AND FROM SCHOOL. WE HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN RELY ON IT AND WE WILL. SO WITH THAT SAID I YOU KNOW. UM CAME IN WELL UNDER 20
MINUTES AND WANT TO OPEN IT UP AND LOOK FORWARD TO ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU. ALL HAVE. >> THANK YOU. >> ALL RIGHT. >> GOOD JOB. AND YOU GUYS KNOW BP'S KNOW THAT I DON'T LIKE POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS BUT EVERY ONCE IN
A WHILE I'LL MAKE THOSE EXCEPTIONS. I KEEP THEM SHORT. LIKE THAT'S GOOD. GOOD MODELING BEHAVIOR AND A WHITE. MAKE SURE YOU LET EVERYBODY KNOW BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT? I'LL TELL YOU WHY.
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION. THEY'RE GOOD BECAUSE THEY KEEP YOU GUYS FOCUSED. BUT I THINK THAT WHEN YOU GUYS ARE ABLE TO SPEAK FROM YOUR HEART AND JUST REALLY HELP US UNDERSTAND, THEN IT BECOMES
MORE HUMAN, RIGHT? I THINK THAT THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ARE IMPACTING PEOPLE'S LIVES IN WAYS THAT I THINK, UM REQUIRES
US TO. MOVE IN THIS CHAMBER A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY WHEN IT COMES TO UNPACKING THE ISSUE. RIGHT. SO I JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO BRING YOUR FULL SELF. OKAY. >> ALL RIGHT.
SO YOU'RE NOT GOING TO SAY MUCH YOU KNOW. YOU KNOW WHAT I'M SAYING I'M. I THINK WHEN IT'S ALL RIGHT IT'S ON. UM I HAVE BEEN WORKING IN
TRANSPORTATION FOR. SIX YEARS SINCE THE PANDEMIC AND I ALSO HAVE KIDS WHO TAKE THE BUS AND I UNDERSTAND VERY DEEPLY THE IMPACT OF NOT BEING ABLE TO KNOW IF YOU'RE GOING TO
BE ABLE TO GET TO WORK ON TIME OR BE ABLE TO BE FOCUSED WHEN YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO BE YOUR BEST FOR YOUR WORK AND YOUR JOB AND HOW HARD THAT IS AS A PARENT. UH, THE DAILY OPERATIONS OF THE
FAMILY ARE REALLY COMPLICATED AND I I. >> DON'T. REFER TO IT THAT I DON'T REFER TO IT THAT WAY LIGHTLY. I THINK THAT THIS IS JUST ONE AREA THAT REMINDS ME EVERY DAY
OF HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT WE GET IT RIGHT SO PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE SCHOOL BUS. THE GOAL IS TO ACTUALLY NOT BE SOMETHING THAT SOMEBODY HAS TO THINK ABOUT EVERY DAY AND ESPECIALLY FOR OUR STUDENTS WHO THIS IS THEIR ONLY OPTION
OF GETTING TO AND FROM SCHOOL. AND ESPECIALLY FOR OUR STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. THE TESTIMONY TALKING ABOUT THAT EXPERIENCE OF MISSING THE MORNING MEETING OR MISSING
THOSE ANNOUNCEMENTS I WAS AN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER A LONG TIME AGO AND I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS FOR KIDS TO BE THERE AND START THE DAY RIGHT AND BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY AND EVERY
ONE OF THOSE. UH. >> AREAS OF TESTIMONY THAT WERE SHARED, HEARD AND ARE THE REASON THAT WE'RE SHOWING UP AND CONTINUING TO TRY TO IMPROVE THIS EVERY SINGLE DAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. I KNOW YOU WEREN'T SLATED TO
SPEAK BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO AND I'M GOING TO SET SOME SOME GUIDANCE IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THIS SO THAT THERE'S NO CONFUSION.
SO EACH COUNSELOR COLLEAGUE WILL HAVE SEVEN MINUTES FOR QUESTIONS. AND THE BEST WAY FOR US TO GET THE ANSWERS IS TO ALLOW, YOU KNOW, LET PEOPLE TO COMPLETE
THEIR. THOUGHTS BEFORE YOU MOVE ON TO THE NEXT QUESTION. UM, AND JUST KNOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A SECOND ROUND. SO IF YOU DON'T GET THROUGH IT THE FIRST TIME YOU'LL YOU'LL BE
HERE FOR THE SECOND OKAY. SO UM AND YOU WILL START WITH THE LEAD SPONSORS AND UM COUNCILOR MURPHY YOU HAVE SEVEN
MINUTES. THANK YOU. UM. >> THANK YOU AGAIN TO. THE FAMILIES. WHO CAME ON OR HERE IN PERSON TO JUST SHARE THEIR STORIES. IT'S WHY I DO MY JOB AND WHY.
LIKE I SAID, I FILED THIS HEARING ORDER BACK IN FEBRUARY . SOME JUST SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. DO WE HAVE DATA THAT'S CORRELATING? THE BUS IS IN THE CHRONIC
ABSENTEEISM. AND COULD YOU ALSO ANSWER THE DIFFERENT METRICS YOU USE WHAT IS. CONSIDERED A LATE BUS? IT SEEMS LIKE YOU HAVE DIFFERENT LEVELS. >> OF WHAT LEAD IS CONSIDERED. YEAH. >> YES COUNSELOR. UM SO WE DID WORK WITH THE
DEPARTMENT OF OPPORTUNITY YOUTH EARLIER THIS SCHOOL YEAR TO LOOK AT EXACTLY YOUR FIRST QUESTION ON WHETHER TRANSPORTATION DELAYS AND COVERAGE IS CORRELATED TO ABSENTEEISM.
WE DID NOT SEE ANY SIGNIFICANT, UH, CORRELATION BETWEEN THOSE TWO METRICS, BUT I THINK THAT DEMONSTRATES NOT THAT THE BUS ISN'T HAVING AN IMPACT ON FAMILIES, BUT THAT WE ARE
SHIFTING THE BURDEN OF GETTING THE STUDENT TO SCHOOL FROM TRANSPORTATION TO FAMILIES, WHICH IS NOT WHAT WE WANT TO DO AND IS NOT OKAY. RIGHT. >> BECAUSE I HEARD YOU SAY MANY TIMES ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE. UM, BUT.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY'RE WAITING FOR ANOTHER BUS. IT OFTEN MEANS THEY GET DROPPED OFF AT NANA'S HOUSE OR STAY HOME SOMETIMES ALONE. SO I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE. BUT YEAH. >> WHAT METRICS ARE WE USING TO. CONSIDER IT LATE?
YEAH. >> SO, UM, A BUS IN ORDER FOR A BUS TO BE ON TIME IN THE MORNING THE BUS NEEDS TO BE THERE BY THE BEFORE THE START OF THE SCHOOL DAY. SO BEFORE THE BELL AND IN THE
AFTERNOON IT HAS TO BE THERE BY TEN MINUTES AFTER THE BELL WHICH IS WHEN BUSSES ARE SCHEDULED TO LEAVE THE SCHOOL. WE ALSO SO WHEN WE'RE WHEN THE ON TIME PERFORMANCE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE ON THE SLIDES AND
BASICALLY WHENEVER WE TALK ABOUT THAT THAT'S THE METRIC THAT WE'RE USING. WE ALSO TRACK UH PERCENT OF BUSSES THAT ARE 15 MINUTES LATE AND PERCENT OF BUSSES THAT ARE 30 MINUTES LATE TO HELP
IDENTIFY NOT JUST, YOU KNOW, ON TIME BUT HOW MANY BUSSES ARE. SO IF A BUS IS ONE MINUTE LATE . ,WHO'S TRACKING. LIKE HOW WERE YOU GETTING THAT DATA? YEAH. >> UH, SO UM THROUGH THROUGH
GPS INFORMATION COMING DIRECTLY FROM THE BUS AND SO WITHIN THE ZOOM APP THERE'S YOU KNOW, EACH TABLET IS TRANSMITTING GPS INFORMATION UM, BACK TO YOU KNOW, BACK TO OUR SYSTEM AND
AND TO AND AND TO FAMILIES. FAMILIES CAN ACTUALLY SEE THIS THEY CAN SEE THEIR WHOLE RIDE HISTORY. THERE'S ALSO A SECONDARY UM GPS TELEMATICS UNIT ON DEVICE ON THE BUS.
IT'S CALLED A GEOTAB UNIT WHICH PROVIDES BACKUP INFORMATION IN THOSE CASES WHERE THE TABLET DOESN'T WORK. WE'RE NOT RELYING ON THE SECRETARY IN THE PAST TO LIKE REPORT IT'S ALL DIGITAL. THERE WAS. >> A THERE WAS A TIME WHEN
SCHOOLS SCANNED IN OR FAXED IN . THESE WERE MY LATE BUSSES FOR THE DAY AND IF WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM YOU WE ASSUMED YOU WERE ALL ON TIME. YOU KNOW THAT IS NOT HOW WE DO IT NOW.
SO WHEN WE HAVE 93% MORNING PERCENTAGE THAT'S 1330 STUDENTS WHO ARE NOT GETTING. PICKED UP ON TIME AND IN THE
AFTERNOON 88% MEANS 2280 STUDENTS EVERY SINGLE DAY ARE NOT GETTING HOME ON TIME. I MEAN. >> I WE COULD UM BOTH BOTH ARE BAD RIGHT IN THE MORNING IT'S INTERFERING WITH FAMILIES.
GETTING OFF TO WORK AND KIDS GETTING TO START THEIR DAY RIGHT. BUT IN THE AFTERNOON, ESPECIALLY OUR OLDER STUDENTS, WE. HEAR TOO OFTEN THAT THEY'RE MISSING WORK. AFTER SCHOOL. SOMETIMES THEY NEED TO GET HOME
TO BABYSIT YOUNGER SIBLINGS. SO I. >> MEAN THAT'S THOUSANDS OF STUDENTS EVERY SINGLE DAY AND THAT'S THE BEST WE GOT. WE ALSO WE'RE DOWN 800 LESS STUDENTS ON OUR BUSSES. WE'RE AT 19,000 RIDERS IS OUR
TRACK UM THROUGH THE FEW BEEPS BUDGET HEARINGS WE'VE HAD SO FAR $200 MILLION BUDGET. FOR TRANSPORTATION THAT'S
$10,526.32 WE'RE SPENDING PER STUDENT ON A BUS AND THOUSANDS OF THEM ARE NOT GETTING RELIABLE OR SERVICE AT ALL. SO HOW DO WE. DEFEND THAT? >> LIKE WHAT DO WE SAY ABOUT
THAT? NO, I THINK IT'S UM IT'S IT'S INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. AND THIS IS A SYSTEM THAT HAS UNDERPERFORMED FAMILIES FOR
BASICALLY ITS ENTIRE EXISTENCE AND. FOR WHAT OUR WORK NOW OUR WORK. >> IS NOT DONE UNTIL, YOU KNOW, 100% OF THOSE FAMILIES CAN RELY ON THE BUS. UM, OUR I THINK OUR FOCUS OVER
THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS WHICH IS YOU KNOW, THE PERIOD THAT THAT JACKIE AND I HAVE BEEN HERE AND THAT THAT WE CAN REALLY SPEAK TO HAS BEEN ON HOW DO WE MAKE CONSISTENT, STEADY INCREMENTAL
IMPROVEMENTS OVER TIME? THAT CHANGE HAS NOT COME FAST ENOUGH. IT WILL NEVER COME FAST ENOUGH. TURNING AROUND A SYSTEM OF THIS SIZE TAKES TIME AND I THINK OUR
FOCUS WILL CONTINUE TO BE ON HOW DO WE MAKE THOSE STEADY INCREMENTAL CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENTS AND ALWAYS MAKE SURE WE'RE TRENDING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. BUT ABSOLUTELY IT IS THE CASE
THAT IT IS NOT IT IS NOT FAST ENOUGH. AND IT MAY NOT BE ABLE TO BE FAST ENOUGH. IS THERE DATA ON. THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE JUST STOPPED OR I KNOW MANY FAMILIES
AND AS A TEACHER ALL THOSE YEARS MANY FAMILIES WERE ASSIGNED A BUS BUT JUST NEVER TOOK IT SO THEY WERE DROPPED OFF. HOW MANY FAMILIES HAVE JUST SUCH LITTLE FAITH IN THE SYSTEM THAT THEY DON'T EVEN OPT IN TO
THE BUS THAT THEY ARE. LEGALLY OFFERED? WE HAVE THE RIDERSHIP PROCEDURE HAS GIVEN US MORE INFORMATION THERE. WE GO. >> SO WE WANT TO HEAR YOU. YOU.
THE RIDERSHIP PROCEDURE HAS GIVEN US MORE INFORMATION ABOUT FAMILIES WHO ARE OPTING OUT, BUT AT THIS TIME WE DON'T ALSO COLLECT WHY A SPECIFIC FAMILY IS OPTING OUT AND THEY DO OPT OUT FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.
SOME OF THEM SOME FAMILIES DO TELL US WHEN THEY SEND IN THEIR OPT OUT. WE DECIDED TO WALK THIS YEAR. WE'RE DRIVING THIS YEAR. IT IS IT'S ANECDOTAL. SO BUT WE KNOW SOME FAMILIES HAVE OPTED OUT BECAUSE THEY
DON'T TRUST TRANSPORTATION TO BE RELIABLE FOR THEM AND THEY'VE MADE OTHER ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENTS AND THAT THAT IS ALSO NOT POSSIBLE FOR EVERYONE. TO DO. >> UM SO WE CAN'T WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC DATA ON WHAT THE BREAKDOWN IS OF FAMILIES WHO
ARE OPTING OUT FOR WHICH SPECIFIC REASON. IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WERE TRYING. >> TO. GET OR. IS IT JUST SOMETHING YOU KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE? YEAH I. I THINK IT IS AND I THINK UM
MANY OF THE FAMILIES THAT SPOKE UM TALKED ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF GETTING SOME SORT OF METRIC ON THE FAMILY EXPERIENCE. I THINK, YOU KNOW. UH. >> A LOT OF THOSE FAMILIES ARE PART OF THAT GROUP OF STUDENTS
AT THE HERNANDEZ WHO HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY, VERY DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED THIS YEAR. WE'VE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THOSE FAMILIES AND GETTING THEIR FEEDBACK AND THAT IS ABSOLUTELY OUR GOAL IS TO FIGURE OUT WHAT
IS THE RIGHT WAY TO GET THAT UM ,KIND OF TO INCORPORATE A METRIC AROUND FAMILY EXPERIENCE. UM, WE DON'T HAVE IT YET BUT IT IS A GOAL. THANK YOU. >> THEN WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK TO A SECOND ROUND IF YOU
HAVE ONE I'M GOING TO GO NEXT TO COUNCILOR FLYNN. SIMILARLY YOU HAVE SEVEN MINUTES. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UM I WANT TO APOLOGIZE THIS MORNING I WAS AT THE BOSTON
TECHNICAL ACADEMY WITH SUPERINTENDENT SKIPPER FOR A TOUR MEETING. SO I DO APOLOGIZE FOR BEING LATE. UM, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS IMPORTANT, UH, HEARING COUNCIL ME HERE.
FAMILIES AND STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES HAVE HAD TO ENDURE THE UNCERTAINTY AS TO WHETHER THEIR BUS WOULD ARRIVE A HALF HOUR LATE AND I WILL AID OR IF IT WOULD ARRIVE AT ALL.
WE CAN'T CONTINUE TO NORMALIZE THE CHRONIC DISRUPTION FOR OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITY, DISREGARD THE SAFETY OF OUR CHILDREN OR EVEN DOWNPLAY THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS THAT THIS HAS ON STUDENTS.
BOSTON IS A WORLD CLASS CITY AND OUR CHILDREN DESERVE BETTER . I THINK WE ALL AGREE ON THAT. UM I. READ I READ IN THE CONTRACT THAT BPA IS ABLE TO FIND
TRANSDEV FOR UM LATE ARRIVAL TO SCHOOL FOR NOT PICKING STUDENTS UP AT ALL IS THAT GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON THAT. IS THAT ACCURATE? YES. >> AND HAVE HAVE WE FIND
TRANSDEV YET FOR UM BEING LATE OR NOT PICKING STUDENTS UP. YEAH. >> COUNCIL I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ASKING THAT QUESTION. UM AND IF IT'S OKAY I'LL JUST TAKE A MINUTE TO SURE SPEAK TO IT.
UM THE I THINK THE WATCHWORD OF OF OUR WORK OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS HAS BEEN CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TAKING A SYSTEM THAT HAS NOT WORKED AND MAKING IT A LITTLE BIT BETTER EACH
YEAR. I THINK WE RESTRUCTURED THE ENTIRE VENDOR CONTRACT TO HELP ALIGN INCENTIVES AND TRY TO MAKE SURE TO DO THAT. WE HAVE SEEN SIGNIFICANT
IMPROVEMENT IN MANY AREAS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS AND WE HAVE HAD A VERY I THINK, COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH TRANSDEV TO DRIVE THAT WORK. WE SAW A REGRESSION IN COVERAGE
IN DECEMBER. THIS HAS NOT LIKE WE HAVE NOT TAKEN THIS LIGHTLY. THIS LED TO IMMEDIATE KIND OF ESCALATE ESCALATION ON OUR PART AND OUR WORK WITH TRANSDEV
TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. THEY HAVE DONE A LOT OF WORK. THEY HAVE UM COMMITTED A LOT OF. RESOURCES THAT WEREN'T HERE IN THE PAST. HOWEVER, IT HAS NOT BEEN ENOUGH AND IT HAS NOT BEEN FAST ENOUGH.
SO ACTUALLY AT THE END OF FEBRUARY WE DID UH INFORM TRANSDEV THAT GOING FORWARD, YOU KNOW, DESPITE THE OTP BEING HIGHER THAN IT'S EVER BEEN WE WE WILL BE UM ASSESSING
LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR UNCOVERED TRIPS FROM. WE HAVEN'T DONE THAT YET. UH WE HAVE NOT PRIOR WHICH IS THAT IS CORRECT. WE HAD NOT PREVIOUSLY. WE HAVE INFORMED THEM THAT FOR MARCH AND GOING FORWARD.
WE WILL BE OKAY. WE SHOULD BE DOING THAT CONSISTENTLY. WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING THAT FOR UM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CONTRACT IN MY OPINION. UH LET ME LET ME ASK A QUESTION.
WHEN A BUS IS PICKING UP STUDENTS AT THE SCHOOL AT THE AT THE END OF THE DAY OR EVEN DROPPING THEM OFF THE THE ARM OF THE BUS YOU KNOW THE RED THE
RED UM, THAT GOES OUT TO TELL UH VEHICLES NOT TO DRIVE PAST THAT THAT SCHOOL BUS. UM, IS THAT ALWAYS OPERATIONAL ?
DO WE KEEP TRACK OF HOW MANY TIMES SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS HAVE REPORTED THAT THE, UM UM IS NOT WORKING? UH, SO EACH DAY.
OF THE MORNING SHIFT AND THE AFTERNOON SHIFT BEFORE A DRIVER LEAVES THE BUS YARD, THEY DO SOMETHING CALLED A CIRCLE CHECK WHERE THEY WALK AROUND THE BUS AND IDENTIFY ON A LIST OF. UM A LIST OF CRITERIA THAT ALL
THE SAFETY EQUIPMENT ON THE BUS IS FUNCTIONAL IF THEY IDENTIFY. >> UH. NONFUNCTIONAL EQUIPMENT, THEY HAVE A DOCUMENT THAT THEY FILL OUT TO GIVE TO MAINTENANCE AN ISSUE LIKE THE STOP ARM NOT FUNCTIONING IS ABSOLUTELY SOMETHING THAT'S TRACKED AND WOULD BE REPORTED TO
MAINTENANCE IF IT WERE AN ISSUE. UM, AND THEN THERE'S A SYSTEM FOR HOW MAINTENANCE WOULD THEN TRACK AND RESOLVE THAT AND THE SO. WE COULD LOOK FOR REPORTS
SPECIFICALLY OF STOP ARM RELATED ISSUES. UM BUT WE ARE AWARE THAT STOP ARMS EVEN WHEN DEPLOYED ARE OFTEN UM NOT HONORED. IT'S SOMETHING. >> WE'RE WORKING ON. YEAH I THINK THAT'S AN ISSUE
THAT THAT I ACTUALLY HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH COUNCIL UH PEPEN ON IS DOING MORE ENFORCEMENT OF ANY VEHICLE THAT DISREGARDS
UM THE SAFETY OF SCHOOL CHILDREN AND JUST GOES AROUND. UM, AROUND A SCHOOL BUS WHEN THEY WHEN THEY STOP ARM IS DOWN. WE NEED WE NEED TO DO MORE ENFORCEMENT THE BOSTON PLACE
SOMETHING I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO WORK ON. BUT I GUESS MY POINT IS HAVE ANY OF THESE STOP ANY OF THESE BUSSES LEFT THE YARD WHEN THE
STOP UM WAS IN OPERATION? IT'S I'M SORRY. THAT'S NOT DATA I HAVE WITH ME TODAY THAT I. >> WOULD KNOW I WOULD HAVE THAT. UM YEAH, WE WOULD HAVE TO, UM,
INSPECT THE INFORMATION IN THE THE MAINTENANCE SYSTEM, THE MAINTENANCE THAT A BASE. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT AS JACKIE SAID AND JUST TO MAKE VERY CLEAR LIKE IF THAT WERE IDENTIFIED DURING THE CIRCLE
CHECK PROCESS, YOU KNOW, THAT BUS WOULD. NOT I. >> KNOW I KNOW THAT BUT I'M SAYING IF IF IT WAS KNOWN THAT THAT STOP UM WASN'T WORKING, DID THAT BUS STILL LEAVE THE
YARD TO DO THEIR ROUNDS AND AND COME BACK IN AND GO BACK OUT AGAIN AND PICK THE STUDENTS UP? UM, AT WHAT POINT DID THE BUS DRIVER, UM, NOTIFY DPS THAT THE
STOP UM WAS NOT WORKING? WAS THAT BUS TAKING OFF THE OFF THE ROAD TO GET FIXED OR DID WE JUST LET THAT BUS CONTINUE ITS ROUTE.
SO DPS UM WOULD IS NOT PART OF THAT THAT PROCESS DIRECTLY IN THE MOMENT IF A DRIVER IDENTIFIES SOMETHING LIKE THIS STOP ARE NOT WORKING IT WOULD BE REPORTED AT THAT TIME TO DISPATCH SO THAT THEY COULD BE
ASSIGNED WHAT WE CALL A BACKUP BUS SO THEY COULD TAKE AN ALTERNATIVE BUS OUT INSTEAD OF THE BUS THAT HAD THE ISSUE THAT WAS IDENTIFIED. THERE'S ALSO MAINTENANCE STAFF AT THE YARD, SOME ISSUES THEY'RE ABLE TO RESOLVE IN REAL
TIME AND THEN. THEN THAT BUS WOULD BE ABLE TO LEAVE. BUT THAT IS ONE OF THE EXAMPLES OF WHEN A BACKUP BUS WOULD BE USED. UM A BUS SHOULD NOT BE LEAVING THE YARD WITH ANY IDENTIFIED SAFETY ISSUES UNRESOLVED.
WELL FOR THE RECORD, UH, MADAM CHAIR, CAN I GET A, UH MY QUESTION WOULD BE MY QUESTION WOULD BE, UM, HAVE HAS ANY BUS LEFT THE SCHOOL YARD? UM WHAT THE STOP.
UM. NOT OPERATIONAL WAS IT NOTE OF WAS IT REPORTED PROPERLY TO BEEPS? UM WHAT ACTION DID IT BEEPS
EVEN WHEN IT WAS NOTICED AT SCHOOLS THAT THE STOP UM WASN'T WORKING. WHAT DID BEEPS STILL WHEN THE STOP UM WASN'T WORKING WAS IMMEDIATELY PULLED OR DID IT
CONTINUE THEIR ROUNDS? THAT'S FOR THE RECORD AND, UM, I'M RESPECTFULLY ASKING ANSWERS TO THOSE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FLYNN.
AND DON'T GET ALARMED. ADMINISTRATION I ACTUALLY HAVE UPGRADED A PUBLIC TESTIMONY TO A COMMUNITY PANEL. IT'S NOT LOST ON ME THAT, YOU KNOW, WE USUALLY HAVE COMMUNITY
FOLKS. SO IF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY FOR A COMMUNITY MEMBER, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ALSO UTILIZE THIS TIME TO DO THAT.
UM AND I WANT TO THANK YOU. YOU DID NOT UH YOU DID NOT SIGN UP FOR ALL OF THIS. BUT I THINK IN THE INTEREST OF HAVING A FULL CONVERSATION, YOU KNOW, MY COLLEAGUES COULD BENEFIT FROM HEARING.
DIRECTLY FROM PARENTS WHO ARE. ALSO EXPERIENCING, UM, SOME OF THESE DIFFICULTIES. SO AS WE'RE CONTINUING TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE FIX IT, MAYBE HEARING FROM YOU. ALL FROM PARENTS COULD BE A GOOD PART OF THE WAY.
UM, SO THANK YOU. FOR THAT. >> ALL RIGHT. >> SO I'M GOING TO GO ON NEXT TO THE SECOND EXCUSE ME, THE THIRD CO-SPONSOR WHO IS COUNSELOR FITZGERALD THEN COUNCIL PRESIDENT UH BREADON
FOLLOWED BY COUNCILOR. WEBER. >> THEN BANG AND THEN CULPEPER. I'M JUST GIVING YOU THE LAY OF THE LAND SO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE ON DECK. AND UP NEXT, COUNSELOR FITZGERALD, YOU HAVE SEVEN MINUTES. THANK YOU. CHAIR. >> UH, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING
HERE, GUYS. I REALLY DO APPRECIATE IT. UH, DAN. DO WE THINK THIS IS MORE. BECAUSE WHEN WE GET THE FEEDBACK AND I'VE TALKED TO YOU BEFORE AND THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS ANSWERING THE PHONE AND RESPONDING APPROPRIATELY
QUICKLY AS YOU ALWAYS DO AS I'M SURE I KNOW TO MANY OF US, UM. YOU THINK IT'S MORE A SYSTEMIC ISSUE OR IS IT SORT OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHEN I. >> LOOK ON YOUR YOUR GRAPH HERE ABOUT UH THE CAUSED BY A NUMBER
OF UNCOVERED TRIPS ARE CAUSED BY A NUMBER OF FACTORS INCLUDING DRIVER ABSENTEEISM, BUS MECHANICAL ISSUES, ENHANCED SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES THAT HAVE LED TO MORE DRIVERS UNAVAILABLE TO DRIVE.
UM. I MEAN I UNDERSTAND. >> THOSE. ARE ALL THINGS BUT THE DRIVER ABSENTEEISM THAT'S A HARD ONE TO CONTROL, RIGHT? BECAUSE IT'S JUST AN INDIVIDUAL SAYING UH, I'M SICK. >> OR I DON'T FEEL LIKE WORKING
TODAY. IS IT MORE IS THAT THE ISSUE WHEN. BUSSES WHEN BUS ROUTES ARE MISSED OR DO YOU THINK IT'S MORE OF THE LARGER SYSTEM AS A WHOLE BECAUSE FROM WHAT I'VE UNDERSTOOD IS IT'S MORE LIKE.
HEY THIS THIS INDIVIDUAL. DECIDED TO JUST BANG IN TWO DAYS IN A ROW AND THAT MORNING AND THERE'S NOT ENOUGH OF A HEADS UP AND SO YOU'RE LEFT SCRAMBLING AND LEFT SCRAMBLING IS THAT DO YOU THINK.
THAT'S MORE OF THE ISSUES ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS OR IS IT. >> MORE OF A ROOTED SYSTEMIC ISSUE OVERALL? YEAH I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION, COUNSELOR. >> I THINK THAT I THINK IT'S BOTH I THINK THAT WHEN WHEN WE LOOK AT THE ON-TIME PERFORMANCE
IN BOSTON AND COMPARE IT TO OTHER PEER DISTRICTS, WE SEE THAT WE COMPARE VERY FAVORABLY FOR THE MOST PART WHERE I THINK THAT BOSTON HAS SOME UNIQUE
CHALLENGES IS BECAUSE. OF ALL OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF THE SYSTEM THE CONTRACTS, HOW THE ROUTE ASSIGNMENT WORKS WHEN THERE ARE ISSUES THOSE ISSUES OFTEN
DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECT THE SAME BUSSES DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY AND THAT CAN BE REALLY TOUGH FOR THOSE FAMILIES WHERE EVEN IF YOU KNOW 9394 HOWEVER MANY PERCENT OF BUSSES ARE RUNNING ON TIME, THERE ARE
FAMILIES ON BUSSES THAT ARE IMPACTED 20 PLUS TIMES IN THE YEAR LIKE WE HEARD FROM A NUMBER OF FAMILIES TODAY. AND I THINK THAT THAT IS THAT IS A STRUCTURAL ISSUE THAT'S KIND OF BUILT INTO THE WAY THAT
THIS SYSTEM OPERATES RIGHT NOW. YEAH. AND I THINK THAT TRACKS I THINK A LOT OF THE FAMILIES THAT I HEAR FROM IT SEEMS TO BE THE SAME FAMILIES SO WOULD BE THE SAME BUS ROUTE NUMBER, SAME DRIVER AND JUST POTENTIALLY
SOMEONE WHO IS EITHER RUN INTO SOME REALLY HARD TIMES OR IS NOT WILLING TO WORK AS HARD AS WE ARE EXPECTING THEM TO TO HAVE WORKED. WHAT IS THE. REPERCUSSION AND PLEASE ADD ANYTHING ELSE IF YOU WOULD LIKE. >> BUT WHAT IS ALSO THE.
REPERCUSSION FOR DRIVERS? UM LIKE. >> WHAT IS THE THRESHOLD? I KNOW IF I HAVE YOU HAVE X AMOUNT OF SICK DAYS AND I'M GOING OVER THEM RIGHT. IF I'M A TEACHER IF I'M IN ANY OTHER PROFESSION. DO WE HOW DO WE. HOLD THESE DRIVERS ACCOUNTABLE
THAT THEY CAN'T JUST CONTINUE TO BANG IN ONE MORNING AND PUT UH, YOU KNOW, TENS OF FAMILIES IN A IN A SPIRAL? SO I DO WANT TO JUST SAY FIRST OFF. THE THE BUS DRIVERS WHO WORK ON
THE BOSTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS CONTRACT WORK INCREDIBLY HARD. THEY HAVE A REALLY HARD JOB. THEY'RE UP AT THE YARDS DESPITE WHATEVER THE WEATHER MAY BRING UP, BE IT A LOT OF COLD OR EXTREME HEAT OR EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN.
AND UM AND JUST LIKE ALL OF US THEY DO PERIODICALLY NEED SICK TIME. THEY NEED UM THE TIME WITH THEIR FAMILIES. PEOPLE HAVE NEEDS AND WHAT WE
WE SEE BECAUSE WE ARE NOT THEIR EMPLOYER SO WE DO NOT DPS DOES NOT DIRECTLY UH MANAGE OR. TRAIN OR WOULD. NOT DO ANY OF THE STEPS OF A DISCIPLINED PROCESS. BUT WHEN WE WE DO SPEAK WITH
TRANSDEV ABOUT IT EXTENSIVELY TO MAKE SURE THEY ARE DOING THEIR PART AND THE REALITY IS IS SOME OF THE WAYS THAT THE THE WORK RULES ARE STRUCTURED MAKE IT SO THAT WHEN PEOPLE
HAVE NORMAL FAMILY OBLIGATIONS ,NORMAL HUMAN NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO BE SICK AND BE OUT OF WORK AND KEEP. YOU KNOW THE. >> PEOPLE THEY WORK WITH SAFE THAT THE STRUCTURES DO NOT ACCOUNT ALWAYS CORRECTLY FOR
HOW THAT IMPACTS. THE THE BIGGER SYSTEM IN WHICH THEY ARE PART OF. AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSED ON FIXING FOR MANY YEARS. BUT THOSE PROBLEMS DEVELOPED OVER. MANY, MANY.
YEARS AND NEGOTIATING THEM TO DIFFERENT RESOLUTION TAKES A VERY LONG TIME. UM, WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS ON IT. AND WE'VE WE'VE SEEN SOME REAL
SOLID PROGRESS AROUND HOW. UM THOSE PARTICULARLY AROUND LIKE THE LEAVE SYSTEM AND HOW THAT OPERATES TO HELP MAKE IT MORE RELIABLE FOR THE PEOPLE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT FOR IMPACTED BY THE PERSON NOT BEING THERE.
UM. >> BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE FOCUS ON AND I'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON WITH TRANSIT SINCE YOU KNOW ,THE FIRST DAY WE CAME IN. YOU KNOW. UNDERSTOOD. I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR NO WAY WAS I DISPARAGING THE WORK
OF ANY OF THE OTHER OF THE BUS DRIVERS. BUT IN SOME OCCASIONS PEOPLE. CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SYSTEM AND I GUESS I WAS ASKING IF THERE ARE PARTICULAR. ROUTES THAT KEEP SEEING THIS ISSUE. WHAT ARE.
>> THE REPERCUSSIONS TO THAT INDIVIDUAL THAT SAY HEY, YOU'VE NOW. BANGED IN X AMOUNT OF TIMES OVER X AMOUNT OF TIME AND THAT IS. >> I MEAN WHAT IS IN THE CONTRACT. >> THAT SAYS I GUESS I'M ASKING. WHAT THE WHAT IS THE THRESHOLD BEFORE.
>> IT SOMETHING SAYS SO WE MIGHT HAVE TO TALK TO OR MAN WE MIGHT HAVE TO TALK TO YOU AND YOU KNOW TALKED ABOUT YOUR YOUR WORK EFFICIENCY HERE. JUST JUST LIKE FOR ANY EMPLOYER THERE ARE SPECIFIC NUMBER
OF PTO DAYS THAT YOU CAN TAKE. UM IN OUR CONTEXT IT'S A LITTLE THE DRIVER CONTRACT IS A LITTLE MORE NUANCE. SOME ARE AT THE DISCRETION OF THE EMPLOYEE, SOME AT THE DISCRETION OF UH NEED APPROVAL .
UM AND. THE THERE ARE DISCIPLINARY SYSTEMS THAT TRACK FOR ANY UM EXCESSIVE USE OF THAT AMOUNT OF TIME. UM DO WE KNOW THE AMOUNT OF TIME. YEAH IT'S.
YEAH IT'S IT'S FIVE PTO DAYS. UM AND THEN BUT THEY'RE. PRETTY THE WAY THE DISCIPLINE SYSTEM TRACKS WITH THAT ALSO DEPENDS ON HOW THEY'RE TAKEN. UM IF YOU CALL OUT VERY LATE
FOR EXAMPLE, TO CLOSE TO A SHIFT RIGHT FOR SOMEBODY TO QUICKLY BE ABLE TO COVER IT THAT IS DIFFERENT. ALTHOUGH PEOPLE DO HAVE EMERGENCIES THAT HAPPEN AT THE LAST MINUTE. >> I'M NOT. DISPUTING THAT. >> GET IN A CAR ACCIDENT ON YOUR WAY TO WORK. YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU WERE GOING
TO BE LATE OR MISS WORK. UM UH BUT THEY DO LOOK THEY HAVE SYSTEMS NOW TO TRACK PATTERNS THAT MIGHT SUGGEST ABUSE OF TIME OFF. UM, AND THOSE SYSTEMS ARE
INCREASINGLY ROBUST. IT IS ALSO A VERY LARGE SYSTEM WITH ABOUT 1300 EMPLOYEES UNDER TRANSDEV. UM. >> SO THEY ARE INCREASINGLY IMPROVING THEIR ABILITY TO FOLLOW. THE MANAGEMENT SIDE CONTRACT
RATES EFFECTIVELY TO ADDRESS WHEN THERE ARE ISSUES THAT THAT PEOPLE NEED COACHING OR MAYBE THIS ISN'T THE RIGHT FIT FOR EMPLOYMENT FOR THEM. I ALSO KNOW IT TAKES ABOUT 12 WEEKS FOR SOMEONE TO BECOME A
DRIVER WHO HAS NOT BEEN A DRIVER BEFORE SO IF THERE ISN'T IF SOMEBODY IS LEAVING IT'S A LONG TIME TO BRING NEW DRIVERS ONLINE. DO WE HAVE DO WE HAVE. >> A. BENCH OF DRIVERS? YEP. >> THERE ARE UH WE HAVE A GROUP OF STANDBY DRIVERS.
IT'S OVER 100 DRIVERS WHO ARE AVAILABLE TO HELP COVER ROUTES ON A GIVEN DAY. UM, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME HEADWINDS BUFFETING THE NUMBER OF DRIVERS THAT WE HAVE. UM, WHICH HAVE. UNEXPECTEDLY REDUCED THE. NUMBER OF DRIVERS.
AND WE ARE CONTINUING. TO UM. WORK WITH TRANSDEV TO TO TRAIN. NEW DRIVERS TO FILL THOSE SLOTS TO HELP UM BOLSTER BACK UP THE AVAILABLE WORKFORCE. GREAT. >> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR
TIME. THANK YOU CHAIR. ABSOLUTELY AND AGAIN IF YOU ARE STILL HAVE OUTSTANDING QUESTIONS YOU HAVE A SECOND ROUND. UM JUST SO NOT FOR THE RECORD
DON'T FEEL RUSHED. YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER SEVEN FIVE MINUTES COMING YOUR WAY. SO I'M GOING TO TRY TO SEE IF THIS WORKS AND THEN COUNSELOR.
PRESIDENT UH BREADON, YOU HAVE SEVEN MINUTES. THANK YOU. MADAM CHAIR AND GOOD MORNING. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. I REALLY, TRULY APPRECIATE IT. WE'VE TALKED MANY TIMES. DANIEL. >> UM. I APPRECIATE HOW DIFFICULT THIS
SITUATION IS FOR EVERYONE CONCERNED. UM. >> I WANT TO REALLY ELEVATE THE CONCERNS I HAVE ABOUT THE EDISON. UM. >> I KNOW IT'S IT'S A LITTLE IT'S A 3:00 DISMISSAL AT THE EDISON.
UM, AND, UH, I HEAR REGULARLY LIKE I AT THE. UM THE FOLKS OVER THERE HAVE ME ON SPEED DIAL SO I KNOW I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON ON A DAILY
BASIS, BUT, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY HAVE COMPILED DATA THEY THERE'S ONE NINE DISTRICT I'VE UNCOVERED BUSSES BETWEEN FEBRUARY 4TH AND
FEBRUARY 25TH ON COVERED BUSSES . UM BETWEEN DECEMBER 8TH AND MARCH 30TH THERE WERE 27 ON COVERED INCIDENTS ON 61 SCHOOL
DAYS. UM AND THE UNCOVERED RATE AT THE EDISON IS 3.5%. THAT MEANS THE BUS JUST DOESN'T TURN UP EVER. UH. >> THE UNCOVERED RATE
DISTRICTWIDE IS 1.6%, SO THAT'S TWICE AS FREQUENTLY THE BUS DOESN'T TURN UP AT THE EDISON THAN THAN THE AVERAGE ACROSS THE DISTRICT. SO AND THEN THE OTHER THING A
PART OF THAT IS THAT, UH, THERE'S A COUPLE OF BUSSES IN PARTICULAR THE AVERAGE DAILY IS 36.6 MINUTES. UH IT'S A BUS THAT CARRIES 60 STUDENTS.
SO THAT'S UH THE MAXIMUM DELAY IS 183 MINUTES WHICH IS THREE HOURS. I THINK THAT'S THREE HOURS. UM, THE ON-TIME UH, PERFORMANCE IS 14% LIKE THAT'S AN ABYSMAL
PERFORMANCE. I KNOW THEY'VE ACTUALLY CHANGED THE NUMBER ON THE BUS WOULD NOT BE 492. IT'S BEEN CHANGED TO IT WAS B154 BUT.
UM I DON'T KNOW UM I KNOW LAST YEAR IN THE LAST SCHOOL YEAR THE PERFORMANCE WAS MUCH BETTER I THINK THEY SAID THAT MAYBE FIVE DAYS OUT OF THE WHOLE YEAR THAT THEY HAD A BIG PROBLEM. BUT THIS YEAR IT'S ALMOST EVERY
WEEK THEY HAVE ISSUES. SO AND THEN THE OTHER THE OTHER SCHOOL THE OTHER BUSSES UH THE HITCHES TO 5 TO 0 AVERAGE DAILY IS NINE MINUTES BUT THE MAXIMUM
DELAY IS 132 MINUTES. SO THAT'S 30. UM 30 THAT'S TWO UH TWO HOUR DELAY. UH THE PROBLEM IS THEN THAT THE STAFF AT THE SCHOOL HAVE A HUGE PROBLEM.
TODAY WAS MASS TESTING. BUSSES WERE RUNNING LATE, STUDENTS WERE STRESSED. UM, YOU HAVE TO COME IN TO SCHOOL, GET YOUR BREAKFAST AND GO TO GO TO A ROOM AND TAKE A
TEST AND THEN YOU WONDER WHY KIDS AREN'T DOING WELL ON TESTS. IT'S SUCH A SORT OF HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT ALMOST FOR KIDS. UH, AND THEN KIDS GET VERY STRESSED IF THEY'RE FIND OUT
THAT THEY'RE BUSSES AND COME ON IN THE EVENING THEY'RE CRYING, THEY'RE UNDERSTAFFED ON THE STAFF HAVE TO STAY LATE. THE LETTER SAYS STAFF HAS STAYED OVER THERE DISMISSED 8 P.M. IN THE EVENING AFTER
STARTING AT SEVEN IN THE MORNING. >> OR WHATEVER. AND THAT'S AFTER THAT'S FIVE HOURS AFTER DISMISSAL. UM. >> THEY GET VERY LITTLE NOTICE THAT A BUS HAS BEEN CANCELED. IT MIGHT BE A FEW MINUTES THAT THEY HAVE TO AND THEN THEY HAVE
TO SCRAMBLE AND TRY AND NOTIFY PARENTS. THERE'S NO RESOURCES. TO SUPPORT THE. STUDENTS WHO ARE LEFT STRANDED IN SCHOOL. UM, THERE'S NO TO PUT THE KIDS UH, ON THESE BUSSES TEND TO BE
NOT THE SMALL BUSSES THAT ARE THE BIG 60 KIDS ON THE BUS. SO UM AND THE OTHER THING THAT'S HAPPENING IS THE STAFF ARE BURNING OUT BECAUSE THEY THEY HAVE NO IDEA WHEN THEY'RE GOING TO GET HOME. THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THE BUS GOING TO COME TO. HALF AN HOUR IS GOING TO COME
IN THREE HOURS. SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS THE SOLUTION. I KNOW IT'S A PARTICULAR CONCERN AND ALL THESE OTHER CONCERNS ACROSS THE CITY, BUT. WHAT IS THE SOLUTION FOR
ADDRESSING THE ISSUE AND WHAT EXACTLY IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE EDISON? WHY IS IT UH TWICE AS FREQUENT THAT THEY HAVE UNCOVERED RATES THAN OTHER THAN THE DISTRICT
AVERAGE? YEAH. >> NO, I REALLY. APPRECIATE THAT, COUNSELOR. AND THANK YOU FOR ALWAYS ELEVATING YOU KNOW, THE CONCERNS WHEN YOU ARE HEARING THEM BECAUSE IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR US TO TO HEAR DIRECTLY WHAT'S WHAT'S
HAPPENING AND THE IMPACT IT'S HAVING. UM I. THINK YOU'RE GOING BACK A LITTLE BIT TO TO WHAT I WAS SAYING IN RESPONSE TO WHEN IT COUNSELOR FITZGERALD'S QUESTIONS. I THINK THE. THERE ARE. >> A COUPLE DIFFERENT
STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES WITHIN THE WAY THAT ROUTES ARE ASSIGNED AND DRIVERS BID ON WORK THAT MEAN THAT WHEN THERE ARE KNOW CHALLENGES WITH
COVERAGE LIKE WE'VE SEEN THIS YEAR, UM, THOSE CHALLENGES ARE OFTEN DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTING CERTAIN ROUTES AND CERTAIN BUSSES. YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DO WE HAVE
MORE ROUTES THAT NEED STANDBY DRIVERS THAN THERE ARE STANDBY DRIVERS AVAILABLE. THE WAY THOSE ROUTES ARE ASSIGNED IS THROUGH A BIDDING PROCESS THERE. UM, AND OFTENTIMES IT IS THE
CASE THAT FOR WHATEVER REASON WHETHER IT'S THE HOURS THE PAY ASSIGNED TO A ROUTE, THE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION. BUS TYPE PREFERENCE FOR WHATEVER REASON CERTAIN ROUTES
ARE OFTEN LESS DESIRABLE IN THAT BIDDING PROCESS. AND SO WHEN WE'RE IN THESE PERIODS WHERE WE SEE UNCOVERED ROUTES HAPPENING ON A FREQUENT BASIS, IT'S OFTEN THE SAME
ROUTES EVERY DAY THAT ARE GOING NOT BID ON AND ENDING UP UNCOVERED. UM AND SO THAT IS WHY I THINK THAT WE SEE, YOU KNOW, THAT DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACT IN CERTAIN ROUTES OR CERTAIN
SCHOOLS LIKE THE EDISON YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE KIND OF SPEAKING TO OKAY, WHAT ARE WE DOING? WHAT IS THE SOLUTION? I THINK THERE'S THERE'S THE IMMEDIATE FIX WHICH IS MAKING SURE THAT THERE ARE ENOUGH
DRIVERS ACTIVE AND IN THE SYSTEM RIGHT NOW THAT THE VEHICLES ARE WELL MAINTAINED AND READY TO GO AND THAT WE ARE NOT HAVING ANY UNCOVERED BUSSES RIGHT NOW. I THINK THAT YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN TAKING THESE ESCALATORY
STEPS WITH TRANSDEV. I THINK THE RIGHT THINGS ARE HAPPENING. WE ARE SEEING THOSE NUMBERS COME DOWN BUT WE WILL HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE LIKE I SAID AND WE ARE BEGINNING TO ASSESS DAMAGES IN MARCH TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE NUMBERS GET TO ZERO
RIGHT. NOW LONG TERM WE HAVE TO RIGHTSIZE THIS SYSTEM AND WE HAVE TO MAKE BOSTON PUBLIC. SCHOOLS TRANSPORTATION.
WORK FOR ALL FAMILIES. UM THE RIDERSHIP PROCEDURE. >> WAS ONE STEP HERE. YOU KNOW, WE'VE. SEEN A. REDUCTION OF OVER 1000 STUDENTS FROM THE BUS SCHEDULE SINCE IMPLEMENTING THAT.
THESE ARE STUDENTS WHO BY AND LARGE. PROBABLY WEREN'T RIDING BEFORE . >> AND AREN'T RIDING NOW BUT THEY'RE NOW NOT TAKING UP SPACE ON THE ROUTES. YOU KNOW, THAT HAS REDUCED THE DEMAND ON THE SYSTEM BY 3%. WE'RE PROJECTING KIND OF A.
FURTHER REDUCTION IN SYSTEM DEMAND OF. 3 TO 4%. >> NEXT YEAR. UM, YOU KNOW, DUE TO THE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND LONG TERM FACILITIES PLANNING AND SOME OF THE INTERNAL WORK. WE'RE DOING. BUT I THINK. LONG TERM.
YOU KNOW, THE FIX FOR THIS SYSTEM IS HOW DO WE MAKE SURE EVERY STUDENT HAS A SEAT CLOSE TO HOME AND THAT. WE'RE REDUCING. REDUCING THE NEED FOR TRANSPORTATION ACROSS THE CITY AND MAKING SURE THAT THOSE STUDENTS WHO DO NEED THE BUS
CAN RELY ON IT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU COMES FROM HERE. THANK YOU. >> UM, I I DO HAVE A QUESTION BEFORE I MOVE ON TO MY NEXT COLLEAGUE YOU TALKED ABOUT UM,
THE HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE IN TERMS OF POTENTIAL FINES. I'M CURIOUS, HAVE YOU HAD AN ACCOUNTING, UH, MECHANISM TO SEE HOW MUCH MONEY PARENTS ARE
PUTTING OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET. OR WAGES THAT HAVE BEEN LOST? WHO'S COMPENSATING. THE YOU. KNOW, IS THAT BILL GOING TO BE PASSED ON TO TRANSIT?
UM OR IS THE DISTRICT WHO WHO'S TAKEN ON THAT CHARGE? YEAH I I APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION, COUNCILOR. UM, I THINK THAT THE IMPACT ON FAMILIES IS GOING TO BE SO YOU
KNOW, DIFFERENT AND THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS THAT A FAMILY CAN BE IMPACTED ON THIS SOMETIMES IT MAYBE IT'S FINANCIAL SOMETIMES IT'S JUST TIME OUT OF THEIR DAY. THE ADDED STRESS THAT COMES
WITH HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT THIS EVERY DAY OR YOU KNOW WHAT'S UP WITH YOUR OTHER FAMILIES ON SUNDAY NIGHT TO MAKE A PLAN FOR THE WEEK? UM, I THINK THAT YOU KNOW, NUMBER ONE THING THAT WE
DEFINITELY NEED TO DO IS FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE. CAPTURE ALL OF THAT. FAMILY FEEDBACK AS A NEW METRIC. FOR OUR OPERATION? UM, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE I HAVE A SPECIFIC ACCOUNTING NUMBER FOR YOU.
I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW ONE WE I DON'T HAVE IT WITH ME, BUT ONE NUMBER WE. WE COULD TRACK IS HOW MUCH HAVE FAMILIES SUBMITTED FOR REIMBURSEMENT DUE TO TRANSPORTATION SERVICE DISRUPTIONS. GREAT SUMMARY.
WHEN IT'S MY TURN I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO GIVE ME, UH, SOME SORT OF THE ESTIMATE IN TERMS OF AS AN ENTREPRENEUR AND AS A BUSINESS PERSON POTENTIALLY AND
MAYBE WHAT YOU'VE HEARD FROM SOME OF THE OTHER PARENTS THAT ARE YOU'RE ORGANIZING COLLECTIVELY WHAT THAT POTENTIAL DOLLAR AMOUNT COULD LOOK LIKE SO THAT WE CAN START FACTORING THAT INTO THE
CONVERSATION AS WELL. SO IF YOU COULD START WORKING ON THAT WHEN IT'S MY TURN I'M GOING TO ASK YOU THAT QUESTION. SO I'M PREPARING. YOU FOR IT. . >> ALL RIGHT SO I'M GOING TO GO TO COUNSELOR. WEBER THEN. FOLLOWED BY. COUNSELOR BANG AND I SEE THAT
CULPEPER. HAS LEFT. COUNSELOR WEBER. YOU HAVE SEVEN. >> MINUTES OKAY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CHAIR. UM. UH. >> I YOU. KNOW. >> IN TERMS OF, UH, THE. MISSING BUSSES, LATE BUSSES I
FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, WE WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHEN. THERE'S SOMEBODY SICK AND THEY CAN'T MAKE IT WHEN THERE'S A PATTERN AT A SPECIFIC SCHOOL. >> AND I THINK. YOU'VE HEARD. >> FROM SEVERAL COUNSELORS ABOUT THAT LIKE IN MY DISTRICT
LAST YEAR I THINK IT WAS THE JFK UH AND THAT THAT WAS A CONSTANT. ISSUE THIS. >> YEAR THE HERNANDEZ UH, HAS. JUST YOU KNOW. HEARD SOME UH, CALLS ABOUT THE CURLEY BUT.
IN TERMS OF LIKE. WHERE THIS IS HAPPENING REPEATEDLY IN ONE SCHOOL. LIKE WHAT? LIKE I GUESS. WHAT ARE THE THE PATTERNS THAT. >> YOU'RE. SEEING THAT CAUSED THAT?
ONE OF THE PATTERNS WHERE IT'S HAPPENING FREQUENTLY AT A SPECIFIC SCHOOL BECAUSE SOMETIMES THIS IS NOT SPECIFIC TO THOSE SCHOOLS YOU'VE MENTIONED BUT YOU ASKED FOR TYPES OF BACK PATTERNS. YEAH I GUESS THE ALTERNATIVE IS
IS JUST ALL OF YOU KNOW EACH SCHOOL HAS A UNIQUE PROBLEM OR IS THERE SOMETHING THAT. YOU KNOW COMING UP AGAIN AND AGAIN? SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO SPEAK. >> FOR YOU. UM, SO. ONE ONE FACT PATTERN THAT WE'RE
WORKING ON WITH TRANSDEV RIGHT NOW IS A FACT PATTERN WHERE A DRIVER IS OUT ON LEAVE SO THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE AT WORK FOR A FOR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF DAYS BUT BECAUSE OR THEY HAVE UH SOME KIND
OF ACCOMMODATION WHERE THEY CAN'T DRIVE A PARTICULAR PART OF A ROUTE BUT THE WAY THAT THAT PART OF THE ROUTE CAN BE BID OUT DOES NOT ALLOW FOR CONSISTENT COVERAGE.
SO IT'S KIND OF GETTING IN THE WEEDS. BUT LIKE THAT IS A REALLY COMMON ISSUE WHERE WE SEE A SCHOOL IMPACTED OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. THE DRIVER IS OUT OR NOT
AVAILABLE FOR THAT ROUTE AND AND TRANSDEV KNOWS THAT. BUT BECAUSE. >> OF THE LIMITATIONS OF HOW WORK IS ASSIGNED CANNOT GET A CONSISTENT DRIVER EVERY DAY ON THAT ROUTE. AND THAT IS A REALLY COMMON
FACT PATTERN OF A SCHOOL THAT'S IMPACTED OVER AND OVER. AGAIN AND. MAYBE JUST. >> TO LIKE. >> PUT A. >> VERY. SPECIFIC EXAMPLE ON THAT. I THINK EARLIER IN THE YEAR, UM. WE WERE IN CLOSE COMMUNICATION ABOUT A GROUP OF FAMILIES AT
THE HENNIGAN WHO HAD A BUS, UH, ROUTE THAT WAS BEING. FREQUENTLY UNCOVERED FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. YOU KNOW. >> THAT BUS. >> ROUTE THAT DRIVER. WAS UM OUT FOR A. PERIOD OF. >> TIME DUE TO YOU KNOW AND I. DON'T KNOW THE SPECIFICS, BUT
THERE WAS A. PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THAT. DRIVER WAS GOING TO BE OUT. DURING THAT TIME. THAT BUS HAD TO. GO UP FOR BID. THE STANDBY. BID EVERY. >> SINGLE DAY. IT WAS FREQUENTLY. NOT SELECTED FOR WHATEVER REASON.
>> YOU KNOW THIS WAS NOT A DESIRABLE ROUTE. IN THAT. >> STANDBY BID. IT WAS UNCOVERED CONSISTENTLY DURING. >> THAT PERIOD OF. TIME AND THEN WHEN THAT DRIVER. RETURNED TO WORK IT HAS RETURNED TO WORKING VERY WELL. AND SO THAT'S KIND OF AGAIN
IT'S KIND OF IN THE WEEDS BUT THAT IS THE. KIND OF. >> THE TYPE OF REASON THAT CAN LEAD TO THESE FOCUS TARGETED ISSUES. AND WHAT HAVE YOU. UH I MEAN HAVE YOU SAID ANYTHING TO TRANSDEV ABOUT
THIS? YOU KNOW, UM LIKE I GUESS WHAT HAVE YOU TOLD TRANSDEV TO DO IN THESE SITUATIONS? SO I JUST WANT TO UNDERSCORE THAT IN THAT CASE IT ISN'T THAT
THE DRIVER DID SOMETHING WRONG . THEY'RE THE THEY WERE THEY HAD GIVEN NOTICE THAT THEY WOULD BE OUT. >> BUT WHAT WOULD. THE PROBLEM OF WHAT HOW TO SOLVE THAT IS COMPLICATED BECAUSE THERE'S LIMITATIONS ON
BEING THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THE WAY THE WORK IS COVERED BECAUSE THAT IS DICTATED BY THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BETWEEN TRANSDEV AND THE BUS DRIVERS. SO THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT ANYONE HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
CHANGE AND SHOULD NEVER CHANGE. UNILATERALLY BECAUSE THAT'S A NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT BETWEEN THOSE TWO PARTIES AND IT IS SOMETHING THAT HAS COME UP IN BARGAINING. THE PARTIES HAVE NOT YET BEEN
ABLE TO COME TO A DIFFERENT AGREEMENT ON HOW THAT PROCESS WILL WORK. UM, AS FAR AS ON THE SIDE OF TRANSDEV, WHAT WE DO IS WE MEET WITH THEM FREQUENTLY AND AND THE PUSH THERE IS TO MAKE
SURE THAT THEY ARE USING ALL THE TOOLS. AVAILABLE TO. THEM. >> UM. >> TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE ONLY GRANTING THOSE TYPES OF LEAVES OR ACCOMMODATIONS UNDER APPROPRIATE CIRCUMSTANCES CONSISTENT WITH APPLICABLE FEDERAL MASSACHUSETTS LAW. OKAY.
>> AND SO UNDER OUR CONTRACT WITH TRANSIT, ARE THERE BENCHMARKS. FOR ON. TIME AND UNCOVERED BUSSES AND WHAT ARE WHAT ARE THOSE. YEAH. >> UM YEP. SO UNDER THIS CONTRACT. >> WE'VE BUILT IN UH BOTH
PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES SO FINANCIAL INCENTIVES FOR UH HITTING CERTAIN ON TIME BENCHMARKS UH, THERE'S INCENTIVES. ASSOCIATED WITH HITTING. >> UH, 92% ON TIME PERFORMANCE ON. A UH. REGULAR BASIS OVER. >> THE COURSE. >> OF A QUARTER.
AND UH, 95% ON TIME PERFORMANCE . UM, THOSE BENCHMARKS WERE ESTABLISHED BECAUSE UH, 92% WAS THE. UM THE. BIAS THAT HAD BEEN HIT
PREVIOUSLY PRIOR TO DEVELOPING THIS CONTRACT. UM OVER ANY EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME. AND THEN THERE'S. ALSO UH. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES, UH, THAT CAN BE ASSESSED FOR. WHAT'S CALLED BLOWN.
TRIPS, WHICH IS ANY TRIP WHICH DOES. >> NOT. RECEIVE COVERAGE OR RUNS MORE THAN AN HOUR LATE. OKAY. >> AND SO LIQUIDATED DAMAGES ARE WHEN WE AGREE TO A DOLLAR FIGURE FOR A VIOLATION I BELIEVE DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS
AMOUNT IS OR. IT'S $500 PER. INSTANCE OF A BUS RUNNING. UH UNCOVERED OR RUNNING MORE THAN AN HOUR LATE? OKAY. >> AND THEN THEY'RE NOT I ASSUME IF 92% UH AND. WE'RE LIKE.
93% IN THE MORNING AND 80% IN THE AFTERNOON, WE'RE NOT THEY'RE NOT MEETING THE BENCHMARKS. NOT NOT YET AND THAT'S THEY ARE CONSISTENTLY MEETING IT IN THE. MORNING BUT NOT. IN THE AFTERNOONS. AND SO THAT'S YOU KNOW. BEEN ONE BIG.
>> WE ARE WE HAVE SEEN. ON-TIME PERFORMANCE IN THE AFTERNOON THIS YEAR STEADILY INCREASING AND HIGHER THAN WE'D SEEN IT IN PAST YEARS BUT IT'S NOT QUITE AT THAT. BENCHMARK OKAY.
AND THEN I GUESS I JUST HOW MUCH ARE WE PAYING TRANSDEV UH TO UM EACH YEAR AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT CLOSE TO $200 MILLION BUDGET FOR BUSSES I
ASSUME MOST OF THAT GOES TO THE DRIVERS AND YOU KNOW BUT WHAT ARE WE PAYING FOR MANAGEMENT OF THE SYSTEM. YEP YEP. SO UM UNDER THE. THE TRANS DEV CONTRACT THE YELLOW BUS VENDOR CONTRACT
WE'VE CONTRACTED WITH THEM TO. PROVIDE UH. HIRING TRAINING, YOU KNOW, DISPATCHING MANAGEMENT, EMPLOYMENT. >> OF. THE BUS DRIVERS. UH, TO PROVIDE UM.
DISPATCH SAFETY. OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF ALL OF THE SCHOOL BUSSES AND. SOME OTHER FUNCTIONS. THAT I'M I'M SURE. FAILING TO NOTE RIGHT. NOW. >> UM, UNDER. >> THE STRUCTURE OF THAT.
CONTRACT THERE ARE CERTAIN. COSTS THAT. >> ARE DRIVEN BY THE VOLUME OF SERVICE THAT DPS ROUTES AND ASSIGNS. THOSE COSTS ARE. LARGELY REIMBURSABLE. >> TO DPS. SO THESE ARE THINGS. >> LIKE DRIVER. WAGES, FUEL UH, THINGS THAT ARE
GOING TO DEPEND ON HOW MANY BUSSES WE ROUTE. AND THEN THERE IS A MANAGEMENT FEE. THAT GOES TO TRANSDEV. FOR THEIR. MANAGEMENT OF THIS SYSTEM AND THE 1300 EMPLOYEES THAT WORK THERE.
UH THAT MANAGEMENT FEE. IS UH. 21 A. >> LITTLE OVER $21 MILLION FOR. FY 26. OKAY. >> UM. THANK YOU. YEAH. >> DO YOU WANT TO FOLLOW UP? NO THANK. >> YOU CHAIR. ALL RIGHT SO WE'RE GOING TO
MOVE ON NOW TO COUNSELOR BUT THANK YOU. UH THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AND THANK YOU TO TRANSPORTATION FOR BEING HERE. EVERY SINGLE TIME I REACH OUT
TO DAN OR JACKIE OR CARLA. IT'S ALWAYS BEEN A VERY RECEPTIVE RESPONSE AND NOTHING BUT HELPFUL DESPITE OBVIOUSLY BEING REGARDS TO A CHALLENGING SITUATION WHICH IS WHY I'M I'M
HAPPY TO SEE MARY FRANCES HERE IN PERSON. MANY OTHER DISTRICT FIVE RESIDENTS WHO WHO I KNOW HAVE SPEAK UP WHO HAVE SPOKEN UP BEFORE DURING PUBLIC TESTIMONY UM IT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY
I'VE BEEN SO JUST TRY TO BE STRONG ADVOCATE FOR TRANSPORTATION, WHY I'M ALWAYS REACHING OUT TO YOUR OFFICE BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF MY PARENTS IN MY DISTRICT DO EXPERIENCE IF IT'S EITHER
TARDINESS OR DRIVERS RUNNING A STOP SIGN WHICH IS WHERE I WAS ABLE TO MEET MARY FRANCES AT THE CORNER OF ALBANO IN WASHINGTON STREET IN ROSLINDALE . SO IT'S JUST THERE'S ALWAYS STRONG ADVOCACY REGARDING
TRANSPORTATION. SO I JUST WANTED TO START OFF WITH SAYING THAT, UM, IN TERMS OF THE QUESTION THAT I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON TODAY, COUNCILOR UM, TO MY
COUNCIL COLLEAGUES KIND OF ALREADY STARTED IT WHERE I'VE NOTICED THAT WHENEVER I GET COMPLAINTS ABOUT A BUS TIMING IT'S ALWAYS ABOUT THE SAME BUSSES. THAT'S JUST THE TRUTH.
UM, IT'S IT'S VERY RARE WHEN IT'S A RANDOM BUS OR IT'S ESPECIALLY WITH THE BUS THAT GOES TO THE HERNANDEZ SCHOOL AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER BUS THAT COMES TO MIND. I GO TO THE BROOK SCHOOL, UH, THAT STARTS IN HYDE PARK.
THEY GO TO THE BROOK SCHOOL IN ROSLINDALE. THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT I CAN FIND MY EMAILS AND I KNOW THAT WE'VE ALREADY HAD CONVERSATIONS
ABOUT UH BUS DRIVERS TAKING THE TIME OFF OR THEY HAVE PTO AND THEY'RE THEY'RE GREAT BY THE WAY, I HAVE I KNOW I REPRESENT A LOT OF PARENTS THAT TAKE THE BUS, BUT I ALSO REPRESENT A LOT OF PEOPLE'S BUS OR BUS DRIVERS
THAT LIVE IN MY DISTRICT AND I'VE BEEN ABLE TO HEAR THINGS FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE AS WELL. SO WHAT I WANTED TO KNOW IS WHEN YOU REALIZE THAT THERE IS A CONSISTENT PATTERN OF BUSSES
GOING INTO THE DROP OFF OF PICKUP LOCATIONS LATE, WHAT IS THE CONVERSATION LIKE WITH. TRANSDEV AND. >> THE BUS DRIVERS TO FIGURE OUT HEY WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS BUS DRIVER? DO WE NEED MORE SUPPORT? IS IT A BUS ISSUE? IS IT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I'VE
HEARD CONCERNS ABOUT ALSO SOME ELECTRIC BUSSES NOT BEING CHARGED PROPERLY OR IS THERE A LOT OF THINGS COMING TO THE CONVERSATION? SO I WONDER WHAT'S THE FOLLOW UP LIKE BECAUSE I KNOW A LOT OF IT IS NOT ON YOUR PLATE.
IMMEDIATELY I KNOW THAT. I REPRESENT A BUS YARD TOO IN GREENVILLE WHERE A LOT OF THE SITUATIONS HAPPEN AT THE BUS YARD AND THEN WITH WITH TRANSDEV. SO A LOT OF THINGS. ARE HAPPEN IMMEDIATELY ON THE GROUND BEFORE IT GETS TO YOUR
OFF TO. >> YOUR OFFICES. WONDERING WHAT'S THE FOLLOW UP LIKE AMONGST ALL OF YOUR DEPARTMENTS? WHAT'S THE TYPE. OF COMMUNICATION. >> THAT YOU ALL HAVE? YEAH NO I UM REALLY APPRECIATE THAT COMES THAT QUESTION COUNSELOR AS WELL AS YOUR YOU
KNOW, YOUR ADVOCACY. UM, FIRST I WANT TO QUICKLY NOTE JUST WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT UM, DRIVER ABSENTEEISM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S ON THE SAME PAGE THAT THERE ARE SO MANY
DIFFERENT REASONS THAT A DRIVER MIGHT BE ABSENT AND ONLY ONE OF THOSE REASONS IS AN UNEXCUSED ABSENCE. RIGHT? THERE'S PTO, THERE'S SCHEDULED TRAINING, THERE'S MEDICAL LEAVES. THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT
THINGS. AND I THINK SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THIS IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT SOUND LIKE DRIVER ABSENTEEISM IS JUST EVERYONE NOT SHOWING UP TO WORK AND IT'S YOU KNOW, THAT HAPPENS SOMETIMES NOT ANYONE HERE
NECESSARILY. BUT UM, YOU KNOW, IF AND WHEN THAT HAPPENS IT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. BUT THERE I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE. YOU KNOW THAT'S NOT CONVEYED IN ANY WAY. UM, NOT SUGGESTING THAT ANYONE
HERE IS UM. BUT THEN SPECIFIC TO LIKE ROUTES THAT ARE CONSISTENTLY UM ,YOU KNOW, HAVING CHALLENGES
UH, THE WAY THAT WE TRY TO ADDRESS THAT IS THAT WE HAVE UM WE HAVE A DAILY UH WE CALL IT A 1030 OPERATIONS MEETING BETWEEN DPS AND TRANSDEV AT THAT
MEETING WHERE UM WE'RE LOOKING AT BOTH OVERALL ON-TIME PERFORMANCE FOR THE DAY BUT ALSO DIVING IN ON THE THE ROUTES AND THE BUSSES THAT ARE HAVING THESE ACUTE ISSUES.
SO WE HAVE A YOU KNOW, AN ON-TIME PERFORMANCE DASHBOARD THAT WE LOOK AT TOGETHER. ONE OF THOSE THINGS IS IT HIGHLIGHTS THE TOP TEN, YOU KNOW WORST PERFORMING ROUTES COMING OUT OF EACH BUS YARD AND
THAT GIVES US A CHANCE TO DRILL DOWN AND SAY WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH EACH OF THESE, WHAT DO WE NEED TO DO? AND EACH ONE OF THOSE THINGS WHERE LIKE EVERY BUS THAT RUNS ON TIME MAYBE IS A LIKE EVERY
BUS THAT IS HAVING CHALLENGES IS HAVING DIFFERENT CHALLENGES . SO IT'S NOT ONE ANSWER, ONE SOLUTION FOR EACH ROUTE. YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS. IS IT A UM YOU KNOW, A ROUTING
CHALLENGE? IS IT A VEHICLE CHALLENGE? IS IT SOMETHING HAPPENING WITH THE THE DRIVER OR THE MONITOR OR THE STUDENTS? YOU KNOW, THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS AND THEN WE TRY TO COLLABORATE AND PROBLEM SOLVE. >> FOR THAT OKAY.
UM I DON'T THINK THAT I WANTED TO FLAG FOR YOU ALL IS WHAT I HEAR FROM SOME PARENTS IS BY THE TIME THEY GET THE NOTIFICATION THAT THE SCHOOL THAT THEY NEED TO GO PICK UP THEIR CHILD AT SCHOOL BECAUSE
THERE'S NO COVERAGE IT'S SOMETIMES IT'S LIKE 30 OR AN HOUR AFTER THE FACT THAT THEY'VE ALREADY FOUND OUT FROM THEIR OWN CHILD. UM, MEANING THERE IS A SITUATION WHERE THEY'RE WAITING AT A SCHOOL FOR OVER AN HOUR
BEFORE THE PARENT FIGURES OUT THAT THERE'S NO SCHOOL BUS COVERAGE FOR THAT. I KNOW THAT THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN BROUGHT UP TO ME. I WONDER, UH, WHAT'S THE LACK WHAT'S WHAT'S THE TIMING LIKE
WHEN YOU ALL FIGURE OUT IF THE BUS IS GOING TO BE COVERED OR NOT? HOW DO YOU GUYS LET THAT KNOW TO THE SCHOOL AND THEN EVENTUALLY HOW DOES THAT GET TO THE PARENTS? BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S CAUSED A LOT OF STRESS TO THE PARENTS ARE JUST LIKE HEY WHERE'S THE BUS? WHERE'S MY KID? YEAH.
>> UM SO AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH SHIFT SO STARTING AT UH 5:15 A.M. EACH MORNING AND 12:30 P.M. IN THE AFTERNOON, IT'S WHAT'S CALLED THE STANDBY BID PROCESS. SO THIS IS WHERE THE ROUTES
THAT DO NEED A SUBSTITUTE DRIVER THAT DAY ARE BID ON BY STANDBY DRIVERS ONCE THAT PROCESS FINISHES, WHICH IS NORMALLY AROUND 6 A.M. IN THE MORNING AND ABOUT 1:30 P.M. IN THE AFTERNOON, ANY BUSSES AT
THAT POINT IN TIME THAT DON'T HAVE COVERAGE WE WOULD IMMEDIATELY COMMUNICATE THAT UH TO FAMILIES THROUGH A PUSH NOTIFICATION IN ZOOM AND TO SCHOOLS THROUGH A PHONE CALL.
AND THEN ONGOING THROUGHOUT THE SHIFT WE TRY TO STAY IN CLOSE COMMUNICATION WITH SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES ABOUT ANY CHANGES. SO YOU KNOW THOSE BUSSES THAT MAYBE ARE STARTING THE SHIFT WITHOUT COVERAGE DISPATCH IS
WORKING TO IDENTIFY OH MAYBE THIS DRIVER CAN PICK UP THIS ROUTE AFTER THEY FINISH THEIR SCHEDULED WORK OKAY ASSIGN THAT THEN COMMUNICATE OUT THAT OKAY THIS IS NOW COVERED. AND ON THE FLIP SIDE MAYBE YOU KNOW THIS BUS WAS HALF WAY
THROUGH ITS ROUTE AND THEN IT BROKE DOWN OR GOTTEN AN ACCIDENT OR WHATEVER HAPPENED FOR YOU KNOW, TEMPORARILY WE DON'T HAVE COVERAGE FOR THE NEXT TRIP. LET'S MAKE SURE THE SCHOOL AND FAMILY KNOWS THAT WHILE WE WORK
ON SENDING A BACKUP US THERE. BEFORE MY TIME ENDS, I WANT TO JUST ASK A FOLLOW UP QUESTION IN REGARDS TO MY FIRST QUESTION WHICH IS IF IF YOU SEE A CONSISTENT PROBLEM WITH ONE
OF THE BUSSES, IS THERE EVER A SITUATION WHERE YOU FIND A DIFFERENT BUS OR A DIFFERENT BUS DRIVER OR WORK WITH WITH THE DRIVER WITH WITH TRANSIT FOR THE YARD TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE CHANGE THE WHOLE SETUP
FOR THAT BUS ROUTE SPECIFIC BECAUSE IF WE'RE JUST WAITING FOR THE BUS DRIVER TO EITHER HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH TRAIN STAFF, I WONDER WHAT'S THE PROCESS THERE? YEAH. >> SO THAT EXACT PROCESS THAT.
THAT THAT ROUTE EFFECTIVELY BELONGS TO THAT DRIVER FOR THE YEAR THEY'VE BEEN ON IT. >> OH IT'S ABOUT. HOW SO THERE'S AN ANNUAL BID PROCESS. SO THAT IS THE BASELINE REALITY OF THAT ROUTE. SO THE WAY THAT THAT ROUTE
COULD LEAVE THAT DRIVER IS UM IS VERY SPECIFICALLY LAID OUT AND UM IT ISN'T SOMETHING THAT . BEATS OR TRANSIT CAN JUST. UNILATERALLY DICTATE IT HAS TO BE DONE CONSISTENT WITH THAT
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT BECAUSE THAT ROUTE IS THAT DRIVERS. DO WE KNOW IF I'M. >> SORRY. COUNCIL CHAIR, DO WE KNOW IF TARDINESS IS ONE OF THE FLAGS? UM YES. BUT TARDINESS ALONE WOULD NOT RESULT IN A DRIVER LOSING THEIR
ROUTE. A DRIVER WOULD REALLY NOT LOSE THEIR OUT UNLESS THEY WERE PROBABLY TERMINATED FROM THE SYSTEM ENTIRELY OR IF THEY WERE ON LONG TERM LIKE IF THEY'RE OUT FOR A LONG TIME THEN A
ROUTE CAN BE COVERED. THEY CAN BE OUT FOR A LONG TIME FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS INCLUDING DISCIPLINE. UM BUT BUT ROUTES CAN NOT JUST BE TAKEN UNILATERALLY FROM A DRIVER.
AND IF IF THE TARDINESS WAS DUE TO AN IDENTIFIED SCHEDULING ISSUE MEANING THE SCHEDULE THAT HAD CREATED DIDN'T ALLOW IT TO BE ON TIME, THEN WE WOULD MAKE A CHANGE. BUT THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, MANY
OTHER REASONS A BUS COULD BE TARDY ALSO. OKAY, I KNOW MY TIME IS UP AND I WANT TO THANK THE CHAIR FOR ALLOWING ME TO ASK THAT LAST QUESTION THERE AT THE END I WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS THIS CONVERSATION WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT BUT ALSO WITH MY
PARENTS OF MY DISTRICT THAT ARE HERE AND HAVE TESTIFIED. SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR HOLDING THIS SPACE. APPRECIATE YOU ALL. THANK YOU. >> UM, AND BEFORE COUNCIL CULPEPPER GOES I, I
NEED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND UH, THE ANSWER THAT WAS PROVIDED TO COUNCILOR PEPPING BECAUSE MY ASSUMPTION IS IT'S LIKE AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP, RIGHT? LIKE IF YOU STAY IN OF AN
ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP, YOU THERE HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF AT SOME POINT YOU REALIZE THAT IT'S NO LONGER HEALTHY. RIGHT? AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF
THERE'S BEEN CONSISTENT UM ISSUES WITH VERY SPECIFIC ROUTES. AND SCHOOLS CONSISTENTLY AT
WHAT POINT DOES BP LITERALLY PUT THEIR FOOT DOWN AND SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? AND YOU COULD WAIT UNTIL IT'S MY TURN TO ANSWER. BUT I NEED YOU ALL TO THINK
ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I DON'T THINK THAT THE ANSWER THAT WAS PROVIDED I UNDERSTAND THERE'S SOME COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ISSUE. I UNDERSTAND SOME OF THOSE DYNAMICS BUT WHAT I AM HAVING A
HARD TIME UNDERSTANDING IS HOW WE CAN ALLOW PEOPLE TO CONTINUE TO BE LATE OR TO DISREGARD OR TO CREATE MORE HARDSHIP FOR OUR
FAMILIES AND THAT NO ONE IS REALLY STEPPING UP TO DEFEND OUR FAMILIES. AND THAT'S KIND OF LIKE HOW I'M FEELING RIGHT NOW FROM THE ANSWER THAT I'M SITTING WITH.
AND I DON'T THINK THAT THAT IS THE RIGHT ANSWER. MAY I RESPOND NOW? SURE. OKAY. UM NO I APPRECIATE YOU RAISING THAT. AND UM.
SO I THINK THAT YES, WE HAVE TO OPERATE WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THE CONTRACT ALL OF THOSE THINGS WE CANNOT AND NOBODY CAN UNILATERALLY IGNORE ANY
OF THOSE. WE HAVE SAID VERY CLEARLY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO HAVE UNCOVERED BUSSES. WE HAD BEEN SEEING CONSISTENT,
STEADY IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. IT'S THE FIRST TIME REALLY IN HISTORY THAT WE'VE SEEN SUSTAINED IMPROVEMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION. WE ARE CONTINUING TO SEE THAT I THINK ACROSS THE BOARD WITH OUR
ON-TIME PERFORMANCE. BUT STARTING IN DECEMBER WE DID SEE THAT REGRESSION IN COVERAGE. WE YOU KNOW, HAVE WORKED IN COLLABORATION. >> THE LAST FEW MONTHS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RIGHT STEPS ARE BEING TAKEN TO ADDRESS THAT.
BUT WE HAVE SAID VERY CLEARLY AS OF THE BEGINNING OF MARCH ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. WE WILL BE ASSESSING LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR THE FIRST TIME NOT JUST UNDER THIS CONTRACT BUT UNDER PRIOR CONTRACTS AS WELL
FOR CONTINUED UNCOVERED BUSSES. OKAY THANK YOU FOR THAT AND I'M GOING TO GO NOW TO COUNSELOR CULPEPPER. UH, JUST I'M NOTING FOR THE RECORD THE FOLKS WHO STILL HAVE
QUESTIONS YOU WILL HAVE A SECOND ROUND OF FIVE MINUTES SO DO NOT FEEL CUT OFF. YOU WILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. SO YOU'RE. TELLING ME I HAVE 12 MINUTES.
BUT NOT IN THIS ONE SITTING? OKAY, WE'RE DIVIDING IT UP. MORNING, DAN AND JACQUELINE I WANTED TO PICK UP WHERE
COUNCILOR PEPEN LEFT OFF REGARDING THE BUSSES NOT BEING PROPERLY CHARGED. AND SO FROM WHAT I UNDERSTAND I'M NOT SURE THE BUSSES ARE NOT
BEING PROPERLY CHARGED AND MY CONVERSATION WITH BUS DRIVERS IS THAT THEY'RE SO YOU'RE PURCHASING A LOT OF ELECTRIC BUSSES RIGHT?
WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE BUSSES ARE ELECTRIC AND WHAT PERCENTAGE ARE STILL GAS? UH SO OUR BUSSES HAVE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF. FUEL EITHER.
ELECTRIC DIESEL OR PROPANE. UM EACH OF THOSE FUEL TYPES THE. MODEL YEARS WITH THOSE SPECIFIC BUSSES GET A DIFFERENT AMOUNT OF RANGE. UM FOR THE DIESEL BUSSES THEY GET THE LONGEST RANGE.
UM THERE. ARE A VARIETY OF MODEL. YEARS OF THE PROPANE TYPE. THE EARLIER YEARS HAVE A LOWER RANGE THAN THE LATER YEARS. AS THE TECHNOLOGY IMPROVED THAT TECHNOLOGY. CAME INTO. >> THE FLEET STARTING AROUND
2016 AND THEN ELECTRIC ARE THE NEWEST TYPE UM THE EARLIER MODELS HAVE. >> A. LOWER RANGE AND THE LATER MODELS UM. THEY'RE STARTING TO GET LONGER RANGES. WE'RE STILL VERY EARLY IN. WHAT'S THE PERCENTAGE OF THE
RANGE FOR THE EARLIER ELECTRIC BUSSES. SO THE EARLIER ELECTRIC BUSSES GET. UM AND HOW SO. >> THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS HERE. IT DEPENDS HOW. THEY ARE DRIVEN.
WHAT TELL ME THE RANGE. SO SO THEY THEY CAN GET UP TO 100. MILES IN RANGE. BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU OFTEN SEE IN REALITY YOU SEE CLOSER TO 50 MILES IN RANGE RIGHT.
IT'S A LET ME SO 50 MILES FOR A BUS THAT HAS TO GO 75 TO 100 MILES FOR THE MORNING, THEY'LL RUN OUT OF THE THE CHARGE AND
THEN THEY HAVE TO BE CHARGED FOR THE AFTERNOON. SO UH OUR OUR BUS. ROUTES. UM I THINK. OUR BUS ROUTES AVERAGE.
UH 60 OR FEWER MILES TYPICALLY FOR THEIR ENTIRE DAY. SO IT WOULD BE. BUT THAT'S NOT. RELATIVELY RARE FOR. A ROUTE TO HAVE 75 MILES FOR JUST THE MORNING IF YOU KNOW,
THOSE WOULD PRIMARILY BE JUST UH, OUT OF DISTRICT ROUTES GOING OUTSIDE THE CITY OF BOSTON. AND IN THOSE CASES THOSE WOULD NOT BE ASSIGNED TO AN ELECTRIC BUS. SO FOR THE BUS THAT LEAVES
WASHINGTON STREET BY NUBIAN, UM ,THAT GOES ALL THE WAY TO OAK SQUARE. HOW MANY MILES IS THAT? IT WOULD DEPEND ON THE SPECIFIC ROUTE IN THE STOPS ALONG THE WAY.
BUT UM, ALL OF THE BUSSES AT WASHINGTON STREET ARE A MIX OF DIESEL AND PROPANE. LET ME GET BACK TO MY QUESTION REGARDING THE ELECTRIC BUSSES. SO THE ELECTRIC BUSSES WHEN THEY RUN OUT IN THE MORNING IF
THEY'RE GOING ON A ROUTE THAT 60 MILES IN THEY ONLY HAVE 50 MILES, THEY'RE GOING TO RUN OUT OF ELECTRIC ELECTRICITY. THEN YOU HAVE TO BRING ON ANOTHER ELECTRIC BUS TO FILL THAT ROUTE. YEAH.
>> SO NO BUS WOULD BE SCHEDULED FOR A ROUTE THAT IT'S NOT UH YOU KNOW THAT IT IS A COMPLETE. BUT THAT'S WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW. SO THEY COMPLETE LET'S SAY THEY
DO COMPLETE THE 60 MILES THEN THEY RUN OUT OF ELECTRICITY. WHAT HAPPENS FOR THE AFTERNOON IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE ELECTRICITY? SO THERE AREN'T.
ROUTES WITH WE DON'T ASSIGN BUSSES WE ASSIGN BUSSES TO ROUTE. >> NO THE QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE'S BECAUSE YOU DO I'VE TALKED TO THE BUS DRIVERS. LET ME JUST TELL YOU WHAT ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS WAS.
THEY SAID FIRST OF ALL THEY'RE BUYING THE CHEAP US THEY'RE NOT BUYING THE ROLLS-ROYCES. THEY'RE NOT BUYING THE BENTLEYS OF ELECTRIC BUSSES. THEY'RE BUYING THE PLYMOUTH AND THE PONTIACS THE THE LOWER
LEVEL OF THE BUSSES. THAT'S THE FIRST THING THEY COMPLAINED ABOUT AND THEN THEY SAID THE BUSSES RUN OUT OF UH THE CHARGE FOR THE MORNING AND
SO THEY HAVE TO BRING ON A NEW BUS FOR THE CHARGE FOR THE AFTERNOON. THAT'S WHAT THE BUS DRIVERS ARE TELLING ME BECAUSE THEY'RE THE ONES THAT DRIVING THE BUSSES. MY QUESTION IS WHAT HAPPENS IN
THE SCENARIO WHERE A BUS RUNS OUT OF THE CHARGE DURING THE MORNING? WHAT HAPPENS FOR THE AFTERNOON? SO I'LL JUST ANSWER THAT QUESTION WHEN A BUS RUNS OUT OF FUEL REGARDLESS OF FUEL.
TYPE IT FIRST OFF SHOULD NOT. HAPPEN BECAUSE BEFORE THAT. BUT BUT IT DOES HAPPEN WHAT HAPPENS? MY QUESTION IS FOR THAT AFTERNOON WHAT HAPPENS. IF A BUS RUNS OUT OF FUEL.
AND IS NOT ABLE TO BE FUELED MIDDAY BETWEEN AFTERNOON AND. P M. A DIFFERENT BUS WOULD BE ASSIGNED FOR THE AFTERNOON HALF OF THE RUN. IF THAT. BUS WERE TO RUN OUT OF FUEL WHILE ITS IN ITS ROUTE, IT WOULD NEED TO BE TOWED BACK TO
THE YARD. THAT HAPPENS. SOMETIMES ACROSS. >> EACH OF OUR TYPES OF FUEL. IT IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN BUT IT HAPPENS WITH DIESEL. PROPANE AND ELECTRIC BUSSES AND. >> PART OF THE WAY IT DOESN'T HAPPEN IS BECAUSE DRIVERS. >> ARE SUPPOSED TO CHECK THE
AMOUNT OF FUEL IN A BUS. BEFORE THEY LEAVE AND NEVER. LEAVE THE. >> YARD IF THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FUEL TO CORRECT IT. AND WHAT'S. THE PROTOCOL FOR SIGNING THAT BUS WHEN THAT BUS CAN'T DO THE AFTERNOON SHIFT?
WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL TO ASSIGNING A BUS OR THE REPLACEMENT BUS? YEAH SO WHAT'S. >> THE PROTOCOL. AGAIN I JUST WANT TO. MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR THAT NO BUS ROUTES. NO NO NO NO. BUT HERE'S A QUESTION WHAT'S
THE PROTOCOL WHEN YOU HAVE TO SIGN AND ANOTHER BUS WHEN THAT MORNING BUS HAS EITHER RUN OUT OF ELECTRICITY PROPANE OR THE CHARGE.
WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR ASSIGNING ANOTHER BUS. SO NO BUS ROUTES ARE ASSIGNED TO BUSSES THAT CAN'T COMPLETE THOSE ROUTES OKAY IF A BUS IS NOT IF THE BUS IS NOT FUELED WHEN THE DRIVER IS COMPLETING
THEIR CIRCLE. CHECK AT THE START OF THE ROUTE, THE DRIVER SHOULD BE. IDENTIFYING THIS BUS DOES NOT HAVE ENOUGH FUEL FOR ME TO COMPLETE THE ROUTE THIS MORNING OR AFTERNOON.
THEY WOULD THEN REPORT THAT TO DISPATCH AND DISPATCH WOULD SAY OKAY DON'T TAKE THIS BUS, TAKE. THIS BACK UP. BUT WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL IS THAT'S A PROBLEM THAT'S THE PROTOCOL. THEY WOULD SAY DON'T TAKE THIS
BUS THAT SO WHAT'S A PROTOCOL FOR DETERMINING WHAT BUS THEY WOULD TAKE. SO YOU JUST CAN'T SAY TAKE THIS BUS. WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR DETERMINING WHAT THIS BUS IS.
YEAH SO. THE TRANSDEV MAINTENANCE TEAM HAS WHAT THEY CALL A SPARE LIST. UH THEY HAVE A LIST OF THEY PROVIDE EVERY DAY TO OPERATIONS . THESE ARE THE BACKUP BUSSES THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
FOR SERVICE TODAY. THEN DISPATCH IF A DRIVER. CORRECTLY REPORTS. >> THAT. A BUS THEIR ASSIGNED BUS CANNOT BE TAKEN OUT, THEN DISPATCH WOULD TAKE ONE OF THE BUSSES OFF THE SPARE LIST AND ASSIGN THAT TO THEM INSTEAD.
DOES THAT BUS DRIVER THEN GO TO USE THAT SPARE BUS OR IS THERE ANOTHER DRIVER THAT USES THAT SPARE PARTS? THE FIRST. DRIVER WHO WOULD USE THE SPARE BUS.
SO HE WOULD LEAVE THAT BUS THEN GO BACK TO THE YARD THEN USE THAT SPARE BUS. SO HE. >> SHOULDN'T. WITH THAT HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE YARD. BECAUSE HE OR SHE. NEVER SHOULD HAVE LEFT IN THE FIRST. PLACE IF THE ORIGINAL BUS
WASN'T FULLY FUELED. BUT AGAIN THIS SHOULD BE VERY RARE AND NO BUS ROUTES ARE ASSIGNED TO BUS TYPES THAT CAN'T COMPLETE. >> THE ROUTE. OKAY, BUT THAT'S WHAT THE DRIVERS ARE REPORTING THAT THEY
HAVE THE BUS THE BUSSES THAT YOU'RE BUYING NOW ARE THE CHEAPER BUSSES THAT DON'T HAVE THE LONG RANGE CHARGE AND THEY'RE RUNNING OUT OF CHARGE. SO THAT'S WHAT THE BUS DRIVERS ARE REPORTING.
THE UM. >> AND SO THAT'S JUST INFORMATION I WANT TO GIVE YOU SHARING. INFORMATION I JUST WANT TO GIVE YOU INFORMATION THAT THE BUS DRIVERS ARE SAYING THAT YOU'RE BUYING THE PREMISE OF THE
ELECTRIC BUSSES, NOT THE ROLLS-ROYCES AND THOSE ARE NOT THE ONES THAT ARE REALLY NEEDED . AND I DO HAVE YOU KNOW. YOU'RE LATE FOR YOUR SECOND ROUND. THANK YOU. >> WE'RE ALMOST READY TO GO. CAN CAN I HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY
JUST TO SHARE A LITTLE INFORMATION ON HOW WE PURCHASE BUSSES? I THINK IT'S RELEVANT TO THE. COUNSELOR'S POINT. SURE. I'M GOING TO PICK UP IN A LITTLE WHILE, SO THIS WAY. OKAY. >> NO PROBLEM. AND FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO DON'T
KNOW WHAT A PLYMOUTH IS I'LL GIVE YOU A DIFFERENT ANALOGY. UH, INSTEAD OF GOING WITH THE MACY'S WE'RE LOOKING AT THE PRIMARK FOR THOSE FOLKS WHO MAY
NOT UNDERSTAND THE OTHER YOU KNOW THAT'S THE ALLEGED UH UM SCENARIO HERE. SO IT'S MACY'S VERSUS PRIMARK I
SHOP AT BOTH OKAY ALL RIGHT SO LET'S GO TO UM UH I IT'S MY TURN I HAVE SEVEN MINUTES. ALL RIGHT. SO OKAY.
ALL RIGHT. SO I WANT TO START OFF WITH UH, MARY FRANCES BECAUSE UM. UH BECAUSE BASED ON WHAT YOU SAY I THINK IT'LL HELP
ME BETTER UNDERSTAND THE WHOLE PICTURE. SO AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, AS A, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO MANAGES YOUR OWN BUSINESS, YOU HAVE SOME FLEXIBILITY. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY YOU ALSO HAVE CLIENTS.
AND SO OVER THE LAST YOU KNOW, YEAR YOU SAID THIS HAS BEEN THE MOST DIFFICULT. CAN YOU GIVE ME AN ESTIMATED NUMBER OF HOURS OR MAYBE LOSS
IN FINANCIAL I DON'T I DON'T KNOW IF I NECESSARILY CAN GIVE. THAT OFF THE TOP. UM BUT I'M ON THE WHATSAPP CHAIN WITH UH 30 ISH FAMILIES AND I ASKED THEM THAT QUESTION
TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE WOULD SAY. UH, I CAN GIVE MY OWN EXPERIENCES. I DO HAVE FLEXIBILITY, BUT I ALSO HAVE A LOT OF DEADLINES ASSOCIATED WITH THE TYPE OF WORK I DO.
UM, INCLUDING TODAY, YOU KNOW, WHO'S UH UM YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO GET THINGS DONE AND THAT'S WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING HERE IN THE CHAT. IT'S LIKE SHUFFLING THEIR DAY AROUND MAYBE WORKING THROUGH DINNER TIME IF THEY DON'T GET
THINGS DONE. UM, YOU KNOW, BY THE END OF THE DAY HAVING TO THERE'S SOMEBODY WHO'S A THERAPIST, UM, ON THIS CHAIN AND THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT HAVING TO RESCHEDULE UM,
MEETINGS. UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE YOU KNOW, I'M ALSO A SINGLE PARENT. THEIR OTHER SINGLE PARENTS ON THE CHAT TALK ABOUT HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO JUGGLE.
UM, I SHARE A CAR WITH MY CO-PARENT SO IT'S CONSTANTLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT LIKE WHO'S GOT THE CAR? WHERE WE DROPPING THEO OFF? ARE WE GOING TO THE BUS STOP TO MEET THE OTHER PARENTS?
SO IT'S JUST IT'S, UM, CHAOTIC AND UM AND PRETTY STRESSFUL SO I DON'T HAVE A DOLLAR AMOUNT. TO THAT. UM, BUT IT DEFINITELY IMPACTS
PEOPLE'S WORK OFTEN, WHICH IS WHY WE'VE BANDED TOGETHER TO TRY AND SPREAD OUT SOME OF THE BURDEN. AND SHARE THE, UH, BUS ROUTE. BUT CAN I ADD A LITTLE BIT OF OTHER THINGS JUST BASED ON
WHAT I WAS HEARING? SO UM ONE I JUST WANT TO SAY ABOUT THE BUS DRIVERS FOR OUR ROUTE IN PARTICULAR OUR BUS DRIVERS HAVE BEEN VERY CONSISTENT BOTH OUR MORNING AND
OUR AFTERNOON BUS DRIVERS. UM WE. HAVE SEEN AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS AROUND THE ELECTRICAL BUS BUT UM SOME OF THE NOTIFICATIONS WE GET WHICH I'M
NOT QUITE SURE HOW ACCURATE THEY ARE DO TALK ABOUT MECHANICAL ISSUES UM NOT INCONSISTENTLY SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S AN ELECTRIC BUS OR WHAT ELSE IT MIGHT BE BUT
TYPICALLY MORE SO IN THE MORNINGS. THE MECHANICAL ISSUES ARE WHAT'S STATED AS THE ISSUE FOR THE SLOW DOWN. UM ALSO AND I'VE WONDERED THIS FOR A LONG TIME.
WE HAVE A ROUTE THAT IS RIGHT BEFORE US BOTH IN THE MORNING. AND IN THE AFTERNOON WHICH I FEEL CAUSES UM DELAYS.
AND WE'VE ASKED BEFORE LIKE DOES IT MAKE SENSE WITH BOSTON TRAFFIC WITH EVERYTHING ELSE THAT YOU'VE STATED FOR A BUS DRIVER TO HAVE TO DO THESE ROUTES SO CLOSELY TOGETHER WHEN WE'RE CONSISTENTLY IMPACTED AND
THE BUS SHOWS UP AN HOUR LATE BECAUSE THEY'RE FINISHING UP THE THE LAST ROUTE. UM, SO AND WHAT'S THE BENT OF DRIVERS WHICH YOU GUYS HAVE MENTIONED? UH, BUT I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE
TALKING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE UM, IT'S GIVING US A LITTLE BIT MORE INSIGHT AND ONE THING, DAN THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT I JUST WANT TO PUSH BACK ON A LITTLE BIT IS ABOUT UM, WANTING
STUDENTS TO HAVE UH, SCHOOL SEE YOU SET A SEAT CLOSER TO THEIR HOUSE. UM, WHICH IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY OF BOSTON AND BUSSING AND JUST YOU KNOW, THE SCHOOL
IN PARTICULAR THAT I SEND MY CHILD TO IS A HUB SCHOOL, UM, WHERE WE HAVE DUAL LANGUAGE. IT'S ONE OF THE FEW DUAL LANGUAGE SCHOOLS UM, IN THE UH
IN THE DISTRICT AND SO, YOU KNOW, HAVING A SEAT THAT'S CLOSER TO OUR HOUSE IS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE FOR US AND THE TYPE OF OPPORTUNITY THAT I'M LOOKING FOR FOR MY CHILD AND I CAN
IMAGINE THAT'S ALSO THE CASE FOR OTHER FAMILIES AND PARENTS. SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU FOR THAT. UH, AND I JUST FOR THE RECORD, I SHARED SOME OF MY TIME WITH COMMUNITY SO I'M NOT TO I
APPRECIATE YOU KNOW I MEAN YOU CAME ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE THAT IS THE LEAST THAT WE CAN DO IS GIVE YOU, YOU. >> KNOW. SOME MORE TIME. SO I APPRECIATE YOU ALLOWING ME TO UPDATE YOU. HEAD OUT TO MEET SOME DEADLINE. >> SO GO AHEAD GO AHEAD GO YOU
CAN YOU CAN BUT THANK YOU FOR BEING ABLE AND FLEXIBLE TO BE UPGRADED AND FOR UH STAYING A LITTLE BIT EXTRA UM. YOU APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU.
SO I THINK THAT FOR ME UM. YOU SHOULD GET DAN'S CELL PHONE NUMBER SO YOU HAVE A DIRECT CONTACT. I'M JUST. OKAY. I THINK. >> WE ARE. YOU ALREADY DO. OKAY, I'M JUST SAYING YOU CAN GET A CALL 911 CALLED IN.
ALL RIGHT, SO LET'S GO BACK. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, FOLLOWING THE TWO LARGE, UH, MAJOR SNOWSTORMS THAT WE HAD THIS YEAR, OUR OFFICE RECEIVED REPORTS THAT DELAYS CONTINUED TO PERSIST
EVEN TWO WEEKS AFTER. UM, AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT PORTION IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION WHAT PORTION OF THOSE DISRUPTIONS WERE DIRECTLY ATTRIBUTABLE TO THE WEATHER VERSUS UNDERLINING
OPERATIONAL ISSUES AND WHY DID THE SYSTEM TAKE THAT LONG TO RETURN BACK TO NORMAL SERVICE? DO YOU KNOW? YEAH. >> NO I. >> APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION. UM I THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN NECESSARILY DIVVY UP EXACTLY WHAT PORTION WAS DUE TO
THE SNOWSTORM, BUT WHAT WE SAW AND I UM THINK CERTAINLY WHAT I EXPERIENCED IN MY PERSONAL. >> LIFE AS. >> WELL AS JUST WITH THOSE. VERY LARGE. SNOWBANKS AND TIGHTER. STREETS THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT
TRAFFIC IMPACT NOT JUST TO THE BUSSES BUT TO ALL VEHICLES ACROSS THE CITY THAT PERSISTED FOR WEEKS AFTER THE SNOWSTORM. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT HAD AN IMPACT ON OUR. ON-TIME PERFORMANCE. SO THERE WERE A LOT OF STREETS
WHERE YOU KNOW, MAYBE THERE USED TO BE TWO LANES NOW THERE'S THERE'S ONE OR UM, YOU KNOW, A ONE WAY STREET BECOMES MUCH HARDER TO NAVIGATE AND THE BUSSES ARE JUST GOING A LITTLE BIT SLOWER TO MAKE SURE THAT
EVERYONE IS IS SAFE. UM, SO WE DEFINITELY SAW THAT IMPACT AND I THINK IT TOOK UNTIL UM. EARLY MARCH. FOR US TO KIND OF SEE THAT IT FELT. LIKE TRAFFIC ON THE STREETS HAD RETURNED.
>> TO. MORE OF A STEADY STATE STATUS QUO. YEP, YEP I HAVE 33 SECONDS LEFT. SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT PERCENTAGE OF BUS ROUTES CURRENTLY HAVE FULLY FUNCTIONING REAL TIME TRACKING
IF YOU IF YOU CAN PROVIDE THAT AND WHAT BACKUP PROTOCOLS ARE IN PLACE WHEN DRIVERS TABLETS FAIL OR CANNOT CONNECT LIKE WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR THAT. YEAH SO. UH UH EVERY BUS SHOULD. HAVE UM A FULLY FUNCTIONING
ZOOM TABLET. I THINK WHAT WE SEE IS THAT UH ,97 TO 98% OF TRIPS ON ANY GIVEN DAY DO SUCCESSFULLY TRACK USING THE ZOOM APP THAT AS OUR
UNDERSTANDING FROM TALKING TO ZOOM IS THAT'S CONSISTENT WITH BENCHMARKS THEY'VE SEEN AT OTHER DISTRICTS AS WELL ANY TIME. UM A. TABLET IS NOT USED SUCCESSFULLY FOR THE RIDE IF THAT IS DUE TO
A MECHANICAL ISSUE WITH THE TABLET, THE. DRIVER SHOULD BE REPORTING. THAT TO, YOU KNOW, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE AND THE EXPECTATION IS IT WILL BE FIXED WITHIN 24 HOURS BEFORE THE BUS GOES OUT THE NEXT DAY IF IT'S
NOT USED BECAUSE OF UM. YOU KNOW, THE DRIVER JUST. NOT USING IT BUT THERE IS A FUNCTIONING TABLET THEN THERE'S A PROCESS YOU KNOW FOR THAT TO BE ADDRESSED AS WELL. THANK YOU DAN AND I WANT TO
JUST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT UM MY TIME IS UP SO I AM GOING TO IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS I'M GOING TO ASK YOU TO TURN OFF YOUR LIGHTS. ALL RIGHT OKAY YOU EVERYBODY
OKAY GREAT. SO WE'RE GOING TO START OFF WITH THE LEAD SPONSORS AND THEN GO TO COUNSELOR CULPEPER. SO IT'LL BE IN THE ORDER OF COUNCILOR MURPHY COUNCILOR FLYNN COUNSELOR
CULPEPER AND THEN I'LL ASK MY FINAL FIVE MINUTE OKAY. . >> THANK YOU THANK YOU. UM I. >> HAVE. A. FEW QUESTIONS. BUT I DO JUST WANT TO KIND
OF FOLLOW UP WITH WHAT COUNCILOR MEJIA. HAD SAID. ABOUT THIS FEELING ON A. >> COUPLE. OF THE QUESTIONS THAT. YOU KNOW, LIKE DEFENDING OR KIND OF PITTING THE BUS DRIVERS
AND TRANSDEV AND THE FAMILIES AND THAT SOMEHOW TRYING TO DEFEND THE BUS DRIVERS. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE THAT FEELING THAT YOUR JOB ISN'T TO
. YOU KNOW, DEFEND THE TRANSIT UH, DRIVERS AND THAT THIS HEARING IS TO SHARE AND COMMUNICATE WITH THE PEOPLE YOU
WHO ARE IN THE POSITIONS TO TAKE FEEDBACK AND MAKE POSITIVE CHANGE FOR OUR FAMILIES OR YOU. KNOW. >> I APPRECIATE THAT, COUNCILOR. I JUST. UM I. >> DON'T THINK I. >> SAID IT WELL. >> BUT. ALL I WAS TRYING TO COMMUNICATE IS THAT WE. TALK ABOUT DRIVER. ABSENTEEISM BEING ONE OF THE
BIG CHALLENGES AND THAT THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY A DRIVER MAY BE ABSENT FOR MORE. >> MANY REASONS WHY ANY EMPLOYEE IN THE CITY OR ANYWHERE IS ABSENT. AND I I. I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR MYSELF THAT NO ONE ON THIS
COUNCIL THINKS THAT THE SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS ARE JUST CALLING IN SICK FOR NO GOOD REASON. BUT WE ALSO HAVE A SYSTEM IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMPANY THAT HAS FAILED US.
AND THE LAST TIME YOU WERE HERE. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT SAFETY WITH TRANSDEV AND THEN A REPORT CAME OUT AFTER THAT WE LOST OUR INSURANCE. DID IT LAPSE OUR COVERAGE?
COULD YOU SPEAK TO THAT? UH YEP I CAN. UM SO THE THE INSURANCE STRUCTURE. >> THAT WE HAD UM. PRIOR TO. THIS TO JULY. >> 1ST OF THIS YEAR. WAS WITH A DIFFERENT CARRIER.
UM BEFORE. THE UM. VERY THE HORRIBLE UH, TRAGEDY THAT TOOK PLACE IN APRIL THAT INSURANCE COVERAGE WAS ALREADY AT RISK OF NON-RENEWAL UM, FOR
A VARIETY. >> OF. FACTORS AND UM, THAT INCIDENT THAT TRAGEDY DID RESULT. UM NOT ONLY THAT BUT OF RIGHT AS I SAID, A VARIETY OF FACTORS IN THAT COVERAGE BEING CANCELED
AND US GOING OUT TO ALTERNATIVE MARKET TO GET A DIFFERENT INSURANCE. CARRIER AND THAT BEGAN ON JULY 1ST OF THIS YEAR. SO HOW LONG WAS IT LAPSED? IT WAS NEVER LAPSED. >> I WAS WE WERE.
DROPPED IT WAS A IT WAS EFFECTIVE ON JUNE 30TH AT THE LIKE A CERTAIN MINUTE. AND THEN IT PICKED UP WITH THE NEW INSURANCE AFTER THAT THERE WAS NO LAPSE IN COVERAGE. SO THEY THEY THEY. DECLINED TO OFFER RENEWAL TERMS
. WHICH IS NEVER GOOD TO FOR A COMPANY TO NOT THINK THAT YOU ARE. A GOOD. ENOUGH CLIENT BECAUSE EVERYONE ALWAYS WANTS YOUR BUSINESS.
SO ON THE DATA OF ROUTES THAT ARE LATE WHAT IS THE DATA OF BUSSES THAT ARE LATE MORE THAN ONCE PER WEEK? NEVER. >> EVEN IF IT'S JUST ONE WEEK THAT HAD HAPPENED MORE THAN ONCE IN A WEEK.
UM I. CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THAT. >> I DON'T HAVE. THAT ANSWER IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE. AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PERCENTAGES, ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS WHO ARRIVE AT SCHOOL LATE OR THE NUMBER OF ROUTES.
THE PERCENTAGE OF SCHEDULED. TRIPS SO WE CAN AVERAGE THAT 1330 STUDENTS OR LATE EACH DAY, BUT IT WOULD COME OUT TO 44 BUSSES PER DAY. I'M NOT SHOWING UP.
ON TIME. IF YOU DID IT BY THE NUMBER OF ROUTES PERCENT YOUR. MATH IS PROBABLY BETTER THAN MINE HERE. SO I'LL TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT. HOW MANY OF. THOSE ROUTES?
UH, MORE THAN 15. >> MINUTES LATE. YEAH. >> UH, IF YOU. >> GIVE ME. JUST A SECOND I CAN PULL. >> THAT UP. SO FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH. RIGHT. >> SAID WE AVERAGED, UM, 93% ON TIME IN THE MORNING.
WE'VE HAD 98% WITHIN 15 MINUTES AND UH, 99% WITHIN 30. OKAY. >> SO IT WAS MORE LIKE 400. STUDENTS GOT TO SCHOOL. AFTER A HALF HOUR IN THE
MORNING. DO YOU HAVE THE DATA ON HOW MANY SERVICES ARE MISSED FOR STUDENTS ON IEPS? A LOT OF TIMES THEY ARE RECEIVING THEIR SERVICES FIRST THING IN THE MORNING.
UH I DON'T HAVE THAT DATA AVAILABLE. >> I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU KNOW AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL THEY WOULD BE TRACKING THAT AND MAKING SURE THAT UM EACH INDIVIDUAL STUDENT THAT THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL ARE TAKING STEPS TO MAKE UP ANY SERVICES THAT WERE
MISSED. THAT'S NEVER BROUGHT UP IN CONVERSATIONS DIRECTLY WITH. YOU ABOUT THE COMPENSATORY SERVICES THAT ARE NEEDED TO MAKE UP FOR STUDENTS WHO EITHER ARE LATE BECAUSE OF THE BUS OR
STAY HOME THE WHOLE DAY BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GET THERE. YEAH. >> NO WE HAVE WE HAVE VERY. UM, REGULAR, YOU KNOW, WORKING. GROUPS IN COLLABORATION WITH THE OFFICE OF SPECIALIZED SERVICES. SO WE WORK INCREDIBLY CLOSELY WITH THEM.
UM, SO IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WE TALK A LOT ABOUT. >> I JUST. >> DON'T HAVE THAT SPECIFIC DATA POINT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE. SIMILAR TO IS THAT. MY FIVE MINUTES OKAY. >> YEAH. OH. >> I'LL JUST LEAVE THIS OUT THERE MAYBE UM SIMILAR TO THE
OVERALL BUDGET WE HAVE DECLINING ENROLLMENT AND INCREASING SPENDING AND DECREASING RETURN ON INVESTMENT . SO HOW DO WE JUSTIFY THAT WE
CONTINUE TO SPEND MORE. RIGHT $200 MILLION NOW UM WE HAVE LESS STUDENTS WHERE TRANSPORTING. UM ALTHOUGH WE CAN SAY WE'RE
DOING A LITTLE BIT BETTER WE KNOW AND ONE OTHER THING AND MAYBE JUST PUT IT ON THE RECORD WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TRANSPORTATION FOR OUR ATHLETES, I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW
MANY SPORTS DO NOT GET A BUS. SO HOW MANY ARE ACTUALLY BEING PROVIDED TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW MANY TIMES STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO JUST GET THEMSELVES THERE WHEN A BUS
WAS NEVER PLANNED TO PICK THEM UP ANYWAY. SO I'M I'M GOING TO ALLOW FOR UH, THE ADMINISTRATION TO ANSWER THOSE TWO QUESTIONS IF YOU HAVE THEM JUST BECAUSE OUT OF RESPECT FOR THE SPONSOR.
UM, BUT WHERE WE'RE AT TIME AND WHEN DONE SO IF YOU DON'T MIND. SURE. >> SO I'LL START WITH THE QUESTION ABOUT ATHLETICS. UM I THINK IT'S IT'S NOT A SPORTS SPECIFIC DECISION NECESSARILY SO MUCH AS WE HAVE
UM, YOU KNOW, SCHEDULING CONSIDERATIONS THAT ARE PUT IN PLACE COLLABORATIVELY WITH TRANSPORTATION AND ATHLETICS. AND SO FOR INSTANCE IF A TEAM IS ABLE TO GET TO A GAME
THROUGH THE MBTA, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S WOULD TAKE ABOUT THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME AS IT WOULD ON THE YELLOW BUS AND IT'S A SPORT WHERE THEY CAN, YOU KNOW. TRANSPORT THEIR EQUIPMENT. ON THE TEE. WE WOULD ASK THEM TO TAKE THE T
UH SO IT'S YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A SPORTS SPECIFIC DECISION SO MUCH AS FOLLOWING THOSE CONSIDERATIONS ACROSS KIND OF ALL SPORTS AND. WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH ATHLETICS ON THAT SCHEDULING
AND THOSE OPERATIONS. AND THEN I THINK ON THE THE COST SIDE OF THINGS I ABSOLUTELY AGREE WITH YOU. THIS HAS BEEN A TOP PRIORITY OF OURS IS HOW DO WE KIND OF REIN IN THIS TRANSPORTATION SPENDING?
IT HAS IT IS TOO MUCH OF THE BUDGET UM. AS WE ARE RIGHT SIZING THE SYSTEM WE ARE STARTING TO SEE THOSE COST EFFICIENCIES. WE'RE ON. TRACK FOR. >> FY 26 TO SPEND UH, YOU.
>> KNOW. IN LINE WITH THAT FY 25 AND FOR FY 27 AS WELL, UM, WE'RE. PROJECTING YOU KNOW. FLAT COSTS AND I THINK YOU KNOW, AS WE CONTINUE TO
RIGHTSIZE THE SYSTEM, WE EXPECT THAT SPENDING TO GO DOWN. THANK YOU. >> ALL RIGHT. COUNCILOR, UH, FLYNN, YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. UH. >> BOSTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
CHAIR ROBINSON, UM, RECOMMENDED. >> THAT THERE BE AN AUDIT. I LISTENED TO HER THE OTHER NIGHT THAT THERE WOULD BE AN AUDIT ON BEEPS. MY QUESTION IS HAS THERE EVER BEEN AN AUDIT ON TRANSPORTATION
? YES, COUNCILOR. UM, I THINK THERE'S BEEN A A. NUMBER OF DIFFERENT ONES. UM, THE COUNCIL THAT I GUESS DC DID MULTIPLE AUDITS.
YOU KNOW, OVER THE. LAST FEW YEARS, UH, THE COUNCIL OF GREAT CITY SCHOOLS DID A UH. AUDIT OR A REVIEW. >> OF THE. TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IN 2022. UM. OUR AN.
AUTO AND LIABILITY. INSURANCE COMPANY, UH, PERFORMS AN ONSITE UM ONSITE ASSESSMENT OR INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF THE SAFETY OPERATIONS ON A EVERY YEAR ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
SO THERE'S THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS IN WHICH WE GET THAT FEEDBACK RIGHT. UM. >> COULD I GET A COPY OF ALL OF THOSE AUDITS INCLUDING THE YEAR TO YEAR AUDITS? UM, MADAM CHAIR, FOR THE RECORD, I'D LIKE TO GET A COPY
OF ALL THE AUDITS OVER THE. LAST FIVE YEARS OR SO. UM. ALSO HOW MUCH IS BP NOW PAYING
FOR UM, INSURANCE FOR BUS DRIVERS? AND SO THAT WOULD BE PER YEAR OR 12 MONTHS OF OUR 12 MONTH PERIOD. UM. >> IF I MAY WHILE WE'RE GETTING. >> THAT NUMBER FOR YOU. >> IT UM THE.
INSURANCE DOESN'T JUST COVER. BUS DRIVERS IT IT'S A. >> FIRST LINE AUTO LIABILITY INSURANCE. FOR INCIDENTS ON A RELATED TO THE BUS. SO IT. ALSO COVERS UM STAFF. ON THE. BUS WHO MIGHT NOT BE BUS DRIVERS.
HOW MUCH HOW MUCH DO WE PAY FOR THAT? UH, IF YOU. JUST NEED TO GIVE ME A MINUTE, COUNSELOR. >> TO PULL THAT UP. SO. UM BUT I'M PULLING THAT UP FOR YOU. YOU WANT TO ASK ANOTHER QUESTION? YEAH, AND IT WOULD BE RELATED
TO THAT. HOW MUCH DO WE PAY NOW FOR IT AND HOW MUCH DO WE PAY? I KNOW YOU REFERENCED THE HORRIBLE ACCIDENT WE HAVE HAD. HOW MUCH HOW MUCH WILL WE
PAYING PRIOR TO THAT HORRIBLE. UM TRAGIC ACCIDENT AS WELL? SURE. >> SO UM. THE PAY. THE STRUCTURES OF THE TWO. POLICIES ARE. YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT IN SOME WAYS. SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY AN
APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON THINGS LIKE THE THE DEDUCTIBLE AND UM, OTHER ASPECTS OF THOSE NUANCES OF THE POLICY HAVE CHANGED THE. I BELIEVE THIS IS RIGHT IF IF
NOT A FOLLOW UP AT THE PREMIUM. >> FOR OUR FY. 26 AUTO LIABILITY INSURANCE POLICIES 3.3. >> MILLION. 3.3 MILLION WE PAY EACH YEAR BASICALLY IN HOW MUCH ARE WE PAYING BEFORE THAT TRAGIC ACCIDENT?
UH UM. WE'LL NEED ANOTHER MINUTE BUT I CAN PULL THAT UP FOR YOU KIND.
IN MY OTHER QUESTION IS BASED ON THE COST OF FUEL AND AND INSURANCE AND UM, LOGISTICS AND SUPPLIES, DO YOU THINK BP'S
TRANSPORTATION WILL WORK FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR UM FROM THE BUDGET OR A SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET BASED ON THE COST
OF FUEL GOING FORWARD? UH, SO OUR. FY 27 UH. BUDGET REQUEST AND BUDGET WHICH I UM THINK. >> WILL BE. OR BP'S WILL BE BACK TO TO
SPEAK WITH THE COUNCIL ABOUT UH LATER IN APRIL UM ACCOUNTS FOR ANTICIPATED INFLATION IN THE COST OF FUEL AND AS WELL AS UM OUR ANTICIPATED RENEWAL. >> OF OUR AUTO. INSURANCE POLICY FOR FY 27 AND
ALL OTHER TRANSPORTATION. COSTS SO. >> MUCH WILL BE LOOKING FOR FOR FY 27 UH, FOR FOR TRANSPORTATION. UH THE ENTIRE TRANSPORTATION
BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR 197 WAS 198,000,198. THAT'S CORRECT OKAY. ALMOST 200 ALMOST $200 MILLION. UM AND WHAT PERCENT WHAT PERCENT INCREASE IS UH.
UH I. >> DON'T HAVE THAT IMMEDIATELY AVAILABLE, COUNSELOR. >> I IF. >> IT'S OKAY, I'LL. I'LL MAKE SURE THAT FOR THE APRIL. >> 14TH HEARING WE HAVE THAT IN YEAH. 198 AND WHAT WAS IT LAST YEAR THEN?
UH 188 MILLION IN FY 26? THAT'S PRETTY SIGNIFICANT THOUGH ISN'T IT? UM $10 MILLION GOING UP ON TRANSPORTATION DOESN'T THAT'S DOESN'T THAT SEEM A LOT WHEN
ENROLLMENT IS GOING DOWN? YEAH YEAH I WANT TO I WANT TO UM. JUST MAKE SURE I'M ABLE TO. >> GIVE. ALL THE BUDGET QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW. TO YOU KNOW, UM, THEY'RE DUE. >> SO. UM. >> WE'LL MAKE SURE TO HAVE. VERY DETAILED ANSWERS ON THE
14TH FOR THESE. WOULD I BE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION PRIOR TO THE RELEASE RELEASE THE BUDGET SO I CAN THOROUGHLY PREPARE FOR THE BUDGET WHEN IT'S RELEASED? OF COURSE. EXCELLENT MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.
>> COUNCILOR FLYNN. AND I WANT TO NOTE THAT, UH, WE ARE TAKING NOTES OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO, UH, FOLLOW UP ON. SO, UH, WE WILL BE WORKING ON THAT. I'M GOING TO GO NOW TO
COUNCILOR CULPEPER. YOU NOW HAVE FIVE MINUTES. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. AND THEN, UH, I DIDN'T WANT YOU TO TRY AND ANSWER EVERY QUESTIONS ABOUT ELECTRIC
BUSSES, BUT I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WAS ONE OF THE COMPLAINTS THAT SOME OF THE DRIVERS TOLD ME WHEN I TALKED TO THEM THAT THE CHARGE WAS RUNNING OUT AND SO THEY WEREN'T
ABLE TO FINISH THE AFTERNOON. UM, PORTION OF THE THE DRIVE BECAUSE OF THE MORNING WHERE THE BUSSES. RAN OUT OF THE CHARGE AND THEY
WERE SAYING WELL, YOU KNOW, THEY JUST THEY BOUGHT THE CHEAPEST OF THE BUSSES, THE ELECTRIC BUSSES THAT THEY COULD . SO YOU DON'T I KNOW YOU WERE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE PROCESS
FOR ASPIRING BUSSES BUT JUST FOR INFORMATION I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROTOCOLS WHEN AN ACCIDENT TAKES PLACE AND HOW THAT WORKS
WHEN AN ACCIDENT TAKES PLACE. WHAT HAPPENED TO THAT DRIVER? IS HE TAKEN OUT OF WORK? WHAT HAPPENS WITH THE REPLACEMENT BUS, THE PROTOCOL
FOR THAT AND THEN HOW ARE THE PARENTS NOTIFIED? YEAH. >> UH, SO ANY TIME A BUS IS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT, THE. DRIVER SHOULD IMMEDIATELY RADIO THAT INTO THE TRANSDEV SAFETY DESK.
AT THAT POINT IN TIME, THE SAFETY DESK WOULD. KIND OF. >> MAKE THE DECISIONS FROM THERE. FIRST THEY WOULD IMMEDIATELY INFORM BP'S. TRANSPORTATION SO THAT WE CAN COMMUNICATE TO ANY FAMILIES
OF STUDENTS ON THE BUS IN REAL TIME DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SITUATION . A ROAD. SAFETY SUPERVISOR. >> MAY. BE DEPLOYED TO THE BUS TO ASSESS THE ACCIDENT.
UM AGAIN. DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE SITUATION, THE BUS MAY BE CLEARED TO CONTINUE THE REMAINDER. >> OF ITS ROUTE. OR THE. >> BUS MAY YOU KNOW THE DRIVER MAY BE INSTRUCTED TO NOT CONTINUE THE ROUTE AND INSTEAD
OF COVERING BUS WOULD BE ASSIGNED FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE ROUTE. UM WITHIN 24 HOURS THAT DRIVER WOULD SUBMIT WHAT'S CALLED AN ACCIDENT REPORT WHICH IS A RMV
UH MANDATED FORM UM AND TRANSITIVE SAFETY WOULD CONDUCT YOU KNOW, AN INVEST THEIR INVESTIGATION INTO THE ACCIDENT. UM, THERE'S A LOT OF. >> YOU KNOW, NUANCES AND THINGS THAT GO INTO THAT INVESTIGATION.
UM. >> ULTIMATELY A DETERMINATION WOULD BE MADE WAS THIS A PREVENTABLE ACCIDENT OR A NON PREVENTABLE ACCIDENT AS WELL AS A DETERMINATION ABOUT WHAT IS
THE FOLLOW UP STEPS TAKEN FROM THERE IN SOMETIMES YOU KNOW, IN SOME CASES THAT IS LIKELY IN MANY IF NOT MOST CASES THAT IS LIKELY TO INCLUDE SOME SORT OF RETRAINING FOR. THE DRIVER.
YOU KNOW. DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF THE ACCIDENT THERE COULD ALSO BE PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINARY STEPS TAKEN. AND SO AND. BUT JUST BRIEFLY COUNSELOR JUST BECAUSE IT'S VERY COMPLICATED I DID WANT TO GIVE A CHANCE TO
JACKIE AND MAKE SURE I DIDN'T MISS ANYTHING. UH THERE'S. AN ADDITIONAL PROCESS. I ALSO JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT PREVENTABLE VERSUS NON PREVENTABLE IS NOT THE SAME AS LIKE. UH, US DRIVING IN. OUR PERSONAL INSURANCE.
IT'S AGAINST A PROFESSIONAL STANDARD OF DRIVING. UM THAT IS APPLICABLE TO THE DRIVERS BECAUSE. >> THEY. ARE. PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS. UM AND. IT IS IT'S VERY DIFFERENT FROM LIABILITY FOR THE ACCIDENT. IT REALLY LOOKS AT WHETHER THE
DRIVER. COULD HAVE TAKEN STEPS THAT WOULD BE EXPECTED CONSISTENT WITH THEIR. TRAINING TO HAVE. PREVENTED THE SITUATION THAT CAUSED THE. ACCIDENT FROM EXISTING. SO IT IS A THERE'S A TECHNICAL. DEFINITION I DID NOT JUST GIVE.
>> THE TECHNICAL DEFINITION BUT. >> IT IS AKIN TO THAT. UM, AND THEN. FOR UH IF THERE'S A DISAGREEMENT. BETWEEN THE THE. UH TRANSDEV. AND THE DRIVER. ABOUT THE DETERMINATION. >> OF PREVENT ABILITY. THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL PROCESS
CALLED THE ACCIDENT. >> REVIEW COMMITTEE WHERE THE UH. THE DRIVER, THEIR UNION. REPRESENTATION AND THE MANAGEMENT. COME TOGETHER WITH. >> A NEUTRAL. THIRD PARTY TO. REVIEW THE ACCIDENT AND MAKE A
FINAL DETERMINATION ON PREVENT ABILITY AND THAT CAN AND IF THERE ARE MULTIPLE PREVENTABLE. ACCIDENTS THAT. CAN LEAD AS DAN MENTIONED TO PROGRESSIVE DISCIPLINE UP TO AND INCLUDING TERMINATION. BUT WE ALWAYS ENCOURAGE.
AND SUPPORT. AND REQUIRE TRANSDEV. TO FOCUS ON TRAINING AND GIVE PEOPLE AN OPPORTUNITY WHEN THEY CAN SAFELY DO SO TO BE SUCCESSFUL UM, IN THEIR CAREER
OF DRIVING. UM, SO THAT I WANT TO GET TO THE PROTOCOL SO THE PROTOCOL THE SAYING THE THE DRIVER UH IS TOLD BECAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT
THAT HE'S NO LONGER TO CONTINUE WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR THE REPLACEMENT BUS AND HOW ARE THE PARENTS NOTIFIED THAT THE BUS
THAT WAS INTENDED TO PICK UP THE CHILDREN? AND MIND YOU, I'M ASKING ABOUT PICKING UP CHILDREN. I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO THE QUESTION ABOUT WHERE THE
CHILDREN ARE STILL ON THE BUS AND THE ACCIDENT TAKES PLACE. WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR THE REPLACEMENT OF THE BUS WITH THAT DRIVER IS TOLD TO NO LONGER CONTINUE. WITH HIS DRIVING.
YEAH. >> SO UM. ,IF. >> IF THERE WERE STUDENTS. ON THE BUS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, THOSE FAMILIES WE WOULD INDIVIDUALLY. CALL TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE AWARE OF WHAT. HAPPENED AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT
WE'RE DOING, WHETHER THAT'S SENDING A REPLACEMENT BUS CONTINUING ON, ETC.. UM. >> IF THEY'RE SAY. >> THE. DRIVER HAD AN ACCIDENT ON THE FIRST SCHOOL OF THE DAY AND THAT THE SECOND AND THIRD SCHOOL WE. NOW A BACKUP.
BUS IS DISPATCHED. THE PROTOCOL FOR. NOTIFYING THOSE FAMILIES WOULD BE THE SAME AS IN THE CASE OF ANY TIME WHEN THERE'S A BACKUP. >> OR. COVERING BUS. WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR REPLACING THE BUS?
YEAH SO WHAT I MEAN YEAH. SO WITHIN THE ZOOM APP THE PARENTS CAN SEE OUR TRACKING THE BUS AND ZOOM PROVIDES AUTOMATED PUSH NOTIFICATIONS OF NO NO NO WHAT'S THE.
PROTOCOL FOR REPLACING THE BUS? YOU TAKE THE BUS OFF THE STREET. ALL RIGHT. WHAT'S THE PROTOCOL FOR REPLACING THAT BUS WITH ANOTHER BUS YEP. SO THAT WOULD BE.
A DECISION MADE BY OR A PROCESS FOLLOWED BY THE DISPATCHERS TO IDENTIFY A. BACKUP BUS IN SOME CASES MAYBE THERE'S. STANDBY DRIVERS. REMAINING AT THE YARD. >> WHO. DIDN'T HAVE ANY ASSIGNED WORK ON THAT DAY.
AND YOU KNOW THAT A STANDBY DRIVERS IMMEDIATELY DISPATCH TO LEAVE. >> THE. YARD WITH A BUS TO GO COVER. IN OTHER CASES MAYBE. THERE'S ALREADY A DRIVER ON THE ROAD IN THAT. AREA OF THE CITY WHO IS HAS
JUST FINISHED OR IS NEAR FINISHING. >> UP HIS OR HER CURRENT. ROUTE AND. >> THAT DRIVER. YOU KNOW SAYS YES, I'LL TAKE ON THIS ADDITIONAL ROUTE. >> TO GO COVER IT. AND SO THAT'S IT'S A PROCESS FOLLOWED BY DISPATCH TO. TRY TO PROVIDE COVERAGE. AS QUICKLY AND AS TIMELY AS
POSSIBLE. IT'S REALLY BASED ON UP TO THE DISPATCHER. IT IS A IT'S I WOULD SAY IT IS A UM PROCESS THAT DISPATCH. FOLLOWS. >> YOU KNOW, TO. GO THROUGH EITHER. >> THE STANDBY BID PROCESS OR
TO PUT OUT THE NEED. FOR A COVER BUS. AND YOU. KNOW THEN AND WHAT'S THE STANDBY BID PROCESS? SORRY. >> CONSIDER CULPEPER OKAY. I THINK OUT OF FAIRNESS I'VE BEEN VERY GRACIOUS WITH YOUR
LINE OF QUESTIONING AND YOU COULD REWATCH THE TAPE AND YOU COULD SEE THAT YOU HAVE GONE OVER. OKAY, I'VE. >> GOT A QUESTION JUST SORT. OF GRAY. >> YES. OKAY, GOOD. THE STANDBY. PROCESS IS A PROCESS DETAILED
IN THE DRIVER'S CBA WHEREBY STANDBY DRIVERS. SELECT THEIR WORK AND. DEFINITELY HAPPY TO CONNECT OFFLINE IF YOU WANT. >> TO TALK THROUGH IN MORE DETAIL. THANK YOU DAN THANK YOU JACK. OKAY GREAT. >> THANK YOU.
UM ALL RIGHT SO I'M GOING TO GO TO MY FIVE MINUTES AND THEN UM . OKAY SO AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE ALL. FIVE MINUTES. >> SO YOU'RE LUCKY.
ALL RIGHT SO IF YOU. COULD UM. IF YOU COULD YOU ALREADY DID. THAT'S WHY I'M NOT USING IT. UM, SO. IF YOU COULD UH. TELL ME.
UH, ABOUT UM. BECAUSE I'M JUST TRYING TO I'M. >> JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THIS. >> SO GIVEN. >> THE. REPEATED REPORTS THAT THE TRACKING SYSTEM. >> IS. BOTH TECHNOLOGY AND DRIVER DEPENDENT, WHO IS RESPONSIBLE
WHEN TRACKING FAILS. THE VENDOR. OR THE OPERATOR OR WHO IS IT AND WHO'S ACCOUNTABLE. FOR UH. THE ENFORCEMENT? UH, SO I THINK BOTH ARE
RESPONSIBLE RIGHT. SO THE. UM LIKE THE MAINTENANCE TEAM IS RESPONSIBLE. FOR MAKING SURE THAT EVERY. >> BUS HAS A WORKING. XOOM TABLET AND A WORKING. GEOTAB DEVICE AND. EVERYTHING ELSE. >> WORKING ON THE BUS. THE DRIVER IS RESPONSIBLE.
>> FOR USING THAT TECHNOLOGY. THE DISPATCHERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR. USING WHAT'S CALLED THE DISPATCH CONTROL. CENTER WHICH FLAGS IN REAL TIME ANY BUSSES THAT ARE NOT. APPROPRIATELY SIGNED IN.
AND THEN YOU KNOW TRANSDEV MANAGEMENT IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE. FOR MAKING SURE THAT EACH OF THOSE PARTIES ARE DOING THEIR JOB AND THAT. IF THEY'RE NOT. THAT APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS. >> ARE. HAPPENING AS THE CLIENT AND
ULTIMATELY, YOU. KNOW, WE. >> SERVE THE FAMILIES OF BOSTON. WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT TRANSDEV AND. >> ALL OF THOSE PARTIES ARE DOING. THEIR JOB. OKAY. >> THANK YOU. UM. >> I'D LIKE TO. >> IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR ME TO SEE THAT ON A DASHBOARD
ON A WEBSITE BECAUSE I THINK THAT WE'RE ALWAYS GETTING QUESTIONS FROM FAMILIES ABOUT WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT. SO IF THERE WAS A WAY FOR YOU ALL TO SHARE THAT PUBLICLY THAT
WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL UM, AT LEAST TO MY CONSTITUENTS. UM AND. THEN I'M JUST. CURIOUS HOW MANY. INSTANCES OF UNCOVERED ROUTES NO SHOW BUSSES OR DELAYS EXCEEDING ONE HOUR HAVE
OCCURRED THIS SCHOOL YEAR? DO YOU HAVE THAT. UH, CAN TRY TO. >> PULL. THAT FOR YOU. AND I'D LIKE TO KNOW HOW THAT COMPARES TO PRIOR YEARS BECAUSE
WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT INCREMENTAL CHANGE AND CHANGE IS GOOD. BUT I THINK GIVEN THE LEVEL OF FRUSTRATION THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM SO MANY OF OUR FAMILIES, WE KIND OF WANT TO. YOU KNOW.
>> SEE IT QUICKER. I CAN. I CAN REITERATE A POINT THAT DAN SHARED EARLIER THAT INCREMENTAL. CHANGE IS. >> IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE CHANGE THAT SUSTAINS AND
THAT WE'VE BUILT SYSTEMS BEHIND IT TO MAKE SURE. IT DOESN'T. >> REGRESS AND THAT THE RECENT REGRESSION WAS PARTICULARLY. CONCERNING BECAUSE IT IT WAS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT WE HAD SEEN.
AND UM THAT IS WHY IT. REQUIRED SUCH A STRONG RESPONSE TO MAKE SURE. >> IT WAS. REALLY CLEAR THAT WE. UNDERSTAND THAT. >> THIS SYSTEM. >> HAS NEVER SERVED FAMILIES AS INTENDED. BUT WE. >> HAVE. TO SUSTAIN THE IMPROVEMENT WE MADE AND. REGRESSION IS. >> NEVER GOING TO BE TOLERATED . UM.
>> AND THEN. >> SO THERE'S. BEEN 361,060. SCHEDULED TRIPS. THIS YEAR. OF THOSE. 3171 WERE UNCOVERED. THAT REPRESENTS.
0.9% OF ALL. SCHEDULED TRIPS. THIS COMPARES TO THE PAST FEW YEARS WHERE WE. AVERAGED A. 0.2% OF. >> SCHEDULED TRIPS. >> SO THAT'S THAT. REGRESSION THAT WE'VE SEEN THIS YEAR. IN THIS COVERAGE AREA.
WHILE WE'VE CONTINUED TO SEE ON-TIME. PERFORMANCE IMPROVING. ACROSS THE BOARD. THIS PARTICULAR METRIC HAS REGRESSED AND THAT'S WHERE WE'VE, YOU KNOW, REALLY TAKEN ESCALATORY STEPS TO. ADDRESS THAT. THANK YOU. >> AND I'M CURIOUS BECAUSE THIS
YOU KNOW YOU KEEP TALKING ABOUT POINTING TO DECEMBER SO DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL WE'RE NOW GOING INTO FOUR MONTHS OF REGRESSION AT SOME
POINT I'M JUST CURIOUS I KNOW WE'RE NOW DOING A COURSE CORRECTION. UH WE'RE PUTTING TRANSDEV ON NOTICE THAT WE'RE GOING TO GIVE
THEM PUNITIVE MEASURES AND $500 PENALTY PERMITS OR SIGNIFICANTLY DELAYED TRIPS LIKE RIGHT. HAVE YOU EXPLICITLY SAID SAID THAT TO THEM YES. YES OKAY.
AND THEY GOT THE MEMO WHEN. UH END. >> OF FEBRUARY. OKAY BEFORE THE START OF MARCH . SO THEY GOT A WARNING BECAUSE IF YOU SENT IT OUT IN FEBRUARY RIGHT AND BEGINNING OF MARCH.
UH, SO I. >> GUESS. THE REASON I KEEP. REFERRING TO DECEMBER. >> IS THAT'S WHEN WE STARTED TO SEE THIS UPTICK AND FROM. THERE YOU KNOW. >> WE HAVE THE. QUESTION WAS WHEN DID YOU NOTIFY THEM? YOU SAID IN FEBRUARY LIKE. END OF. >> FEBRUARY OKAY END OF FEBRUARY.
SO ALL OF MARCH HAS HAPPENED CORRECT. YOU ALREADY GAVE THEM THE HEADS UP IN FEBRUARY CORRECT. BUT YOU HAVE YET TO HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE IN THAT WAY AND. I UNDERSTAND YOUR QUESTION SO. THAT'S WHAT. >> I'M JUST.
I GUESS LOGISTICALLY THE WAY DAMAGES ARE ASSESSED IS AGAINST THE MONTHLY MANAGEMENT FEE WHICH IS PAID AFTER THE CONCLUSION. OF THE MONTH. SO TO DO. WE HAVEN'T. COVERED TRIPS IN MARCH.
WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE MARCH MANAGEMENT FEE WHEN THAT FEE IS PAID OUT. AND SO FOR THE RECORD. THAT BASED ON THAT WE WILL SEE SOME FINES.
CORRECT FOR. THE UH. FOR MARCH FOR. MARCH OKAY SO THAT. WE'VE SEEN UNCOVERED. TRIPS IN MARCH. HAVE COME. DOWN BY. >> MORE. THAN HALF. FROM WHERE THEY WERE BY.
DECEMBER, JANUARY, FEBRUARY BUT NONETHELESS THEY'RE NOT BACK TO THAT OKAY LET'S. GO ZERO LEVEL I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT. FOR THE RECORD I DO THINK THAT THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT. THINGS FOR. PEOPLE MIGHT. >> THINK OH THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING BUT YOU HAVE AND THEN YOU'VE BEEN MONITORING IT AND
COME MARCH. THAT'S ALL. >> WELL AT THE END OF MARCH YOU'LL START FINDING THEM IN APRIL OKAY SO I DON'T HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS. UM AND I'M. JUST CURIOUS IF MY COLLEAGUES
HAVE ANY CLOSING REMARKS. SO YOU EACH HAVE A MINUTE. A QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED. BY COUNCILOR FLYNN AND YOU GAVE US THE $3.3 MILLION WE'RE SPENDING NOW.
WHAT WERE WE SPENDING. BEFORE YOU SAID YOU WERE PULLING THAT OFF? YEAH. I APOLOGIZE WITH TRYING TO. MAKE SURE I'M TRACKING. EVERYONE'S QUESTIONS. I HAVEN'T HAD A. >> CHANCE. TO. PULL IT UP. DO YOU. >> HAVE IT? >> LOOK. I WAIT.
LET ME AND WHILE YOU'RE PULLING THAT. >> UP, THE PUNITIVE MEASURES WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT THESE AREN'T NEW. WE'VE ALWAYS HAD THOSE AT OUR DISPOSAL. CORRECT? CORRECT. >> SO WE ALWAYS COULD HAVE SIDED WITH OUR STUDENTS AND
FAMILIES. BUT IN STAFF WHO STAY HOURS HUNDREDS OF HOURS EACH YEAR. BUT WE CHOSE TO NEVER USE THE TOOLS WE HAD TO HOLD A SCHOOL.
BUS COMPANY ACCOUNTABLE. EVEN AFTER. THEIR LACK OF. PROFESSIONALISM CAUSED US TO LOSE OUR INSURANCE AND WE HAD TO GO OUT AND FIND ANOTHER
INSURANCE COMPANY BASED ON THEIR LACK OF PROFESSIONAL DRIVING. WHICH COST US. >> A CHILD'S LIFE AND MANY OTHERS INJURED SO AND FAMILIES WHICH WE HEARD TODAY. SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE IT'S CLEAR THAT THIS ISN'T
SOMETHING NEW LIKE WE DECIDED OH WE'RE FINALLY LIKE WE ALWAYS COULD HAVE DONE THIS AND WE'VE NEVER HELD THEM ACCOUNTABLE. I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY. YEAH. >> SO I REALLY. APPRECIATE THAT QUESTION COUNSELOR. >> I THINK ULTIMATELY YOU KNOW .
MY RESPONSIBILITY. AND MY TASK IS TO IMPROVE. TRANSPORTATION FOR THE STUDENTS IN THE CITY OF BOSTON. WE HAVE BEEN PUSHING IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO TRY TO DO
THAT. WE HAVE SEEN INCREMENTAL IMPROVEMENT LIQUIDATED OH WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT IF I MAY SAID. THIS WAS HOLD ON I'M THE FACILITATOR HERE. MY APOLOGIES.
EVERYBODY HOLD UP RIGHT. SO I WANT TO BE REALLY CLEAR WHAT I SAID THIS WAS GOING TO BE FOR CLOSING STATEMENTS. THIS IS NOT GOING TO OPEN UP FOR ANOTHER BACK AND FORTH AND
I'M GOING TO KEEP THIS IN COMMITTEE AND THEN WE COULD HAVE A SECOND HEARING AND WE COULD UNPACK IT FURTHER. AND WHAT I'M GOING TO ASK THE ADMINISTRATION IS BETWEEN NOW AND WHEN I HOST A SECOND HEARING FOR THE QUESTIONS THAT
WE DID NOT GET RESPONSES TO TO SUPPLY THAT TO MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES. BUT WHAT WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO IS OPEN UP A SECOND ROUND OF. OF BACK AND FORTH BECAUSE WHAT
WE'RE NOT DOING THAT I. >> ASKED. ONE QUESTION. BUT TWO UM AND WE'RE NOT DOING THAT. WE'RE GOING TO DO CLOSING REMARKS AND THAT'S IT. COOL. >> ALL RIGHT.
SO COUNCILOR FLYNN, YOU HAVE A MINUTE. THE THE INCREASE IN TRANSPORTATION FROM LAST YEAR
OF SPENDING $188 MILLION AND LIKELY TO SPEND THIS YEAR $198 MILLION IS ALMOST A 6% INCREASE
THAT THAT'S THAT'S SIGNIFICANT. THAT'S THAT IS HUGE. UM. I I KNOW WE'RE WAITING I KNOW WE'RE WAITING ON THE TAXES THAT
WE SPEND EACH YEAR THIS YEAR WE SPENT WE'RE GOING TO SPEND $3.3 MILLION. IT SHOULD BE AN EASY ANSWER FOR US TO PROVIDE ME WHAT WE SPENT
PREVIOUS TO SPENDING $3.3 MILLION, SO I'M ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY DO MY DUE DILIGENCE . UM, I'M NOT GOING TO ASK THE QUESTION AGAIN BECAUSE IT'S BEEN ASKED A BUNCH OF TIMES BUT
I I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE SPENT PRIOR TO THE $3.3 MILLION IN TAXES. UM, AND INSURANCE RATHER.
UM BUT THERE'S A LOT OF THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION I NEED TO BE THAT I NEED TO RECEIVE SO I'M PREPARED TO, UM, VOTE ON THE BUDGET. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FLYNN.
AND I WANT TO I THINK THE PUBLIC TESTIMONY THE ADMINISTRATION, UM, AND MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES FOR AN ENGAGING DIALOG TODAY I AM
GOING TO BE KEEPING THIS, UH, DOCKET. UM, DOCKET 0374 UM, IN COMMITTEE AND I WILL BE, UH, CALLING UPON A SECOND HEARING.
UM, BEFORE THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR SO THAT WE CAN KEEP TRACK OF WHAT WE SAID WE WERE GOING TO DO, WHETHER OR NOT WE DID IT, WHAT THE OUTCOMES WERE, WHAT DID WE LEARN?
BECAUSE AT THE END OF THE DAY, THERE'S JUST SO MUCH THAT WE CAN DO IN A THREE HOUR TIME SPAN AND YOU ALWAYS LEAVE WITH LOTS OF QUESTIONS THAT WE STILL NEED ANSWERS TO. SO MY HOPE IS IS THAT IN THE
NEXT THREE MONTHS, UM, WE COULD HOST ANOTHER HEARING AND KIND OF UNPACK WHAT WE'VE LEARNED SINCE THEN. DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A GOOD COURSE OF ACTION? COUNCILOR MURPHY, WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL TO YOU AS THE LEAD SPONSOR?
COUNCILOR FLYNN WOULD THAT WOULD YOU WOULD YOU APPRECIATE THAT SO THAT WE DON'T FEEL RUSHED OR THAT WE DON'T FEEL SILENCE IN THIS CHAMBER? WE'LL DO A SECOND HEARING AND ALSO THIS HEARING IS ADJOURNED.
THANK YOU. Part: 2
GOOD AFTERNOON. FOR THE RECORD MY NAME IS HENRY SANTANA AT LARGE CITY COUNCILOR AND I'M THE CHAIR OF THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE.
TODAY IS MARCH 31ST 2026. THE EXACT TIME IS 3:02 P.M.. THIS HEARING IS BEING RECORDED. IT IS ALSO BEING LIVE STREAMED AT BOSTON.GOV/CITY COUNCIL DASH
TV AND BROADCASTED ON ANY CHANNEL EIGHT RCN CHANNEL 82 AND FILES CHANNEL 964. WRITTEN COMMENTS MAY BE SENT TO THE COMMITTEE EMAIL ASK THE
STOPS@BOSTON.GOV. AND WILL BE MADE PART OF THE RECORD AND AVAILABLE TO ALL COUNCILORS. PUBLIC TESTIMONY WILL BE TAKEN AT THE END OF THIS HEARING. INDIVIDUALS WILL BE CALLED ON IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY SIGNED UP AND WILL HAVE TWO
MINUTES TO TESTIFY. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN TESTIFYING IN PERSON, PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME TO THE SIGN UP SHEET NEAR THE ENTRANCE OF THE CHAMBER. IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO TESTIFY VIRTUALLY, PLEASE EMAIL OUR
CENTRAL STAFF LIAISON ROM COBB UH RON.COM UH BOSTON.GOV FOR THE LINK AND YOUR NAME WILL BE ADDED TO THE LIST. TODAY'S HEARING IS ON DOCKET NUMBER 0400.
ORDER FOR A HEARING REGARDING ALL CITY OF BOSTON GRANTS ADMINISTERED BY THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. THIS MATTER WAS SPONSORED BY MYSELF AND WAS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE ON FEBRUARY 26TH,
2026. TODAY I AM JOINED BY MY COLLEAGUES IN ORDER ARRIVAL DISTRICT TWO CITY COUNCILOR AT FLYNN AND AT-LARGE CITY COUNCILOR AARON MURPHY.
AT THIS TIME, UM I WOULD LIKE TO GO TO MY COLLEAGUES, UM FOR OPENING UM STATEMENTS. UM I WILL GIVE UM BRIEF REMARKS AND THEN I'LL INTRODUCE OUR PANEL. UM, WITH US HERE TODAY.
SO WITH THAT COUNCILOR FLYNN, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. AND THANK YOU TO THE, UM, MEMBERS OF THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR BEING HERE.
UH, WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU, CHAIR, FOR BRINGING US TOGETHER AS AS WE DISCUSS CRITICAL GRANTS THAT WILL IMPACT AND SUPPORT THE BOSTON
FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHETHER IT'S SUPPORT, WHETHER IT'S UPGRADE OF TECHNOLOGY, TRANSPORTATION, WHETHER IT'S FOR PERSONNEL TRAINING, WHETHER IT'S FOR A
HAZMAT MATERIAL. BUT, UM, I'M HERE TO SUPPORT THESE DOCKETS. LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS INFORMATION. UM ALSO WANT TO FOCUS AS WE GO INTO THE BUDGET SEASON.
HOW ARE WE UM, ENSURING THAT THE HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF FIREFIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES, UM, IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR FOR ALL OF US IN THIS BUDGET PROCESS.
SO I WILL STOP THERE AND UM I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO HEARING FROM THE, UM, FIREFIGHTERS THAT ARE PRESENT. THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU, COUNCILOR FLYNN. COUNCILOR MURPHY, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. CHAIR. THANK YOU TO THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT FOR BEING HERE. I HAVE TO ADMIT, UM, CHAIR, WHEN YOU DID THIS LAST YEAR WHEN WE CALLED THEM IN ONCE AND WE KIND OF TALKED THROUGH ALL OF THE GRANTS AND WE PASSED
THEM ALL. I FELT LIKE IT MAY, UM, YOU KNOW, KIND OF STOP OUR ABILITY TO KIND OF MEET WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. BUT I DO JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT EVERYONE IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FROM THE
COMMISSIONER ALL THE WAY DOWN IS ALWAYS SO RESPONSIVE. SO EVEN THOUGH TODAY WE'RE GOING TO GET AN OVERVIEW OF ALL THE ESSENTIAL IMPORTANT GRANTS THAT GO THROUGH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, I KNOW THAT THIS IS
NOT OUR ONLY OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT. SO I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S NOT UM, LIKE OTHER DEPARTMENTS WHERE EACH TIME A GRANT COMES UP WE KIND OF CALL YOU IN. SO THANK YOU FOR DOING THAT.
I ALSO JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT YOU KNOW THE CITY WOULDN'T RUN THE DEPARTMENTS WOULD NOT RUN IF THE GRANT MAKERS AND THOSE IN THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT AREN'T
WRITING THESE GRANTS LOOKING FOR THESE GRANTS AND I KNOW WE'LL HEAR MORE ABOUT THEM. BUT THESE GRANTS ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE SAFETY OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, TO THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC. SO JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO
SUPPORTING ALL OF THESE BUT LEARNING MORE. SO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU CHAIR. THANK YOU COUNCILOR MURPHY. WE'VE ALSO BEEN JOINED BY COUNCILOR FITZGERALD. UM COUNCILOR FITZGERALD IF YOU WANT TO, UM, OFFER BRIEF
OPENING REMARKS YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. I HOPE TO GET THE MONEY THAT YOU NEED TO CONTINUE DOING THE GREAT JOB YOU DO. THANK YOU. CHAIR. THERE YOU GO. QUICK AND EFFICIENT. UM, OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT, UM,
KEEPS OUR RESIDENTS AND OUR INFRASTRUCTURE SAFE. THEY'RE A TEAM OF DEDICATED PROFESSIONALS WHOSE WORK GOES BEYOND FIREFIGHTING. OUR FIREFIGHTERS WORK TIRELESSLY ON FIRE PREVENTION. CARBON MONOXIDE SAFETY.
EXCUSE ME. AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES . THE GRANTS THAT WILL BE DISCUSSED TODAY HELP THEM FULFILL ALL PARTS OF THEIR DUTIES. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING FROM OUR PANELISTS FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND UM, TO ALL OF OUR PANELISTS AND UM, THE FOLKS IN THE ROOM. UM, I JUST REALLY WANT THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE CITY OF BOSTON AND TO OUR RESIDENTS. UM, WITH THAT I WOULD LIKE TO NOW INTRODUCE UM TODAY'S
PANELISTS. UM, WITH US HERE TODAY WE HAVE PAUL BURKE WHO IS THE FIRE COMMISSIONER CHIEF OF THE DEPARTMENT. UM, RODNEY MARSHALL CHIEF OF OPERATIONS WITH SUPPORT
SUPPORT SERVICES. PATRICK ELLIS, CHIEF OF OPERATIONS WITH THE FIELD SERVICES. KEVIN COYNE, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER. UM ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE. AND JULIE DEVON. UM FINANCIAL GRANTS MANAGER.
UM WITH ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE GRANTS UNIT. UM WE ARE ALSO JOINED BY THE UM WHITE PEOPLE BELOW. UM BUT THAT ARE NOT PART OF THE PANELISTS WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE UM FIRE MARSHAL.
UM SUCH DEPUTY CHIEF UM, COLLEEN KELLY WITH THE FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION DEPUTY CHIEF JODY SHAY WITH THE SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIVISION. DEPUTY CHIEF SCOTT MALONE UM, WITH THE TRAINING DIVISION.
DISTRICT CHIEF JOHN MCDONALD. UM WITH THE TRAINING DIVISION DISTRICT CHIEF UM KEITH KELLY WITH THE SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND AND SHAUNA LYNCH. UM, THE PROGRAMMATIC GRANTS
MANAGER UM WITH THE ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE GRANTS UNIT. SO, UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. AND I'LL TURN OVER THE FLOOR TO YOU ALL, UM, FOR YOUR OPENING REMARKS AND STATEMENTS.
THANK YOU. CHAIRMAN. >> TODAY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR US BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW, UM, GRANTS ARE HARDER TO GET NOW AND, UH, THERE'S TWO I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT RIGHT AWAY
REAL QUICKLY AND THEN I'M GOING TO PASS IT TO THE REST OF THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS HERE. THE ASSISTANCE OF FIREFIGHTERS GRANT IS $1.2 MILLION AND THAT'S THE ONE THAT DOES THE CANCER SCREENING AND KEEPS US SAFE.
WITHOUT THAT IT'S A LOT OF MONEY TO COME UP WITH TO DO THAT. AND WE HAD UH I THINK THE NUMBERS CHIEF WILL TELL US HOW MANY PEOPLE TESTED POSITIVE JUST FOR SCREENING THAT THIS WAS PAID FOR LAST YEAR AND THEN
THE TRAINING EARMARKED FOR $1.7 MILLION. TRAINING IS A CONSTANT WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. IT MAKES US THE BEST FIRE DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY AND HOPEFULLY WE CAN CONTINUE TO KEEP THIS MONEY COMING IN.
SO I'D LIKE TO PASS THE FLOOR OVER TO KEVIN COYNE, THE CHIEF OF FINANCE. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER. UH THANK YOU EVERYBODY. THANK YOU COUNCIL SANTANA FOR HOSTING THIS AGAIN AND THE COUNCILS THAT ARE WITH US TODAY.
I KNOW LAST YEAR THIS AS A COUNCIL. MURPHY SAID THIS WAS SOMEWHAT OF A DIFFERENT UNIQUE PROCESS TO YOU KNOW, KIND OF PUT ALL OF THE GRANTS BEFORE THE COUNCIL AT ONE TIME AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE WAS SOME
CONFUSION THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH THIS BUT YOU KNOW, IT REALLY WAS AN EFFICIENT WAY TO HANDLE THIS. SO I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN GET THE SAME LEVEL OF REVIEW TODAY THESE GRANTS AS THE COMMISSIONER SAID, UH, VITALLY IMPORTANT TO THE OPERATIONS
OF THE FINANCE OF THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT TRAINING, CANCER SCREENING EVERYTHING EVERY GRANT WE DO REGARDLESS OF HOW SMALL. UM IS SUPER IMPORTANT TO THE ONGOING EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, I CAN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR IT. UM, THE MOST OF THE WORK IN THE GRANTS COMMITTEE GOES TO JULIE DEVON AND CHANTAL INSULA HERE WITH ME TODAY. UM, ALL OF THE OTHER SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS THAT ARE WITH ME TODAY.
THE OTHER ONES THAT ARE KIND OF ON THE GROUND MANAGING THESE THINGS DAY TO DAY. THERE'S A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMPLIANT WITH FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES FOR REPORTING
AND BUILDING THESE THINGS OUT APPROPRIATELY. AND WE ALSO HAVE SOMEBODY THAT WORKS IN A GRANT WRITING AS A CONSULTANT WITH US WHO'S BEEN WORKING FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR MANY YEARS. HER SKILLS ARE JUST IMPECCABLE IN TERMS OF SECURING THIS MONEY
FROM THESE GRANTS. SO LOOK FORWARD TO, YOU KNOW, ANSWERING THE QUESTIONS TODAY. CERTAINLY IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW COMES UP AND WE'RE NOT ABLE TO ADDRESS IT WILL BE ABLE TO GET THE INFORMATION FOR YOU AND BRING IT BACK TO THE COUNCIL.
THANK YOU ALL. THANK YOU. PASS IT OVER TO JOE. OKAY. >> YEAH. I DON'T JLE. CAN YOU HELP ME WITH THE SLIDES? >> I THINK THERE.
THERE YOU GO. YEAH. PLEASE. UH. >> THERE WE GO. UM, YEAH. UM. GOOD AFTERNOON, CHAIR SANTANA. THANK YOU FOR HAVING US. UM, I WANT TO GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL PRESENTATION OF THE
GRANTS THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT CURRENTLY HAS AND HISTORICALLY APPLIES FOR. SO RIGHT NOW THE DEPARTMENT HAS 13 ACTIVE AWARDS, EIGHT OF WHICH ARE FEDERAL, FIVE OF WHICH ARE STATE FUNDED AND
THEY TOTAL MORE THAN $4 MILLION. MHM. UP UNTIL MARCH 21ST WE WERE ADMINISTERING TWO ASSISTANT FOR FIREFIGHTER GRANTS FUNDED BY
DHS AND FEMA. AS THE COMMISSIONER STATED, THE. >> GOAL OF THESE FUNDS IS TO ENHANCE THE SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC AND FIREFIGHTERS WITH RESPECT TO FIRE AND FIRE RELATED HAZARDS. THESE FUNDS HAVE SUPPORTED
OFFICER TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT, FIRE GROUND SURVIVAL TRAINING, CANCER SCREENINGS, A REGISTERED DIETITIAN, AN INJURY PREVENTION SPECIALIST AND HAVE SUPPORTED
OUR HEALTH AND LADDERS PROGRAM WHICH IS A NUTRITIONAL COUNSELING COMPREHENSIVE INJURY PREVENTION PROGRAM COMPRISED OF BFD MEMBERS WITH TRAINING OR CERTIFICATIONS IN AREAS SUCH AS
FITNESS, NUTRITION OR SPORTS MEDICINE. UNDER THIS AWARD THAT JUST EXPIRED THOSE FUNDS ALLOWED US
TO SCREEN 587 MEMBERS BY DERMATOLOGISTS AND THAT RESULTED IN 94 MEMBERS NEEDING REFERRALS FOR FURTHER TREATMENT AND THREE POSSIBLE CASES
OF MELANOMA. IN ADDITION. WE WERE ABLE TO CONDUCT OVER 700 SCREENINGS. UM, WE PARTNERED WITH A CANCER SCREENING COMPANY WHO
MAINTAINED HIPAA COMPLIANCE DATA. UM, WE DID A NINE ORGAN SCAM. WE ALSO DID LOW DOSE CHEST SCANS WITH CALCIUM SCORING AND
A COMPREHENSIVE BLOOD PANEL. UM, IN ADDITION TO THE GRANT FUNDS, THE BUDGET OF OFFICE MANAGED, THE OBM ALSO ALLOWED US TO REALLOCATE $100,000
WITHIN OUR BUDGET TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL SCREENINGS. AND AS A RESULT, 1598 TOTAL ACTIONABLE FINDINGS WERE
REPORTED BY THE SCREENING COMPANY. OF THOSE, 637 WERE HIGH RISK AND 413 WERE CARDIOVASCULAR FINDINGS.
UM I FOUND OUT JUST THIS WEEK THAT AS OF JANUARY 1ST OF THIS YEAR THERE HAVE BEEN THREE HEART ATTACKS ON DUTY TWO OF WHICH REQUIRED CPR. UM HMM.
UM. AS I SAID, THESE MEMBERS THAT WENT THROUGH THIS SCREENING ARE PROTECTED BY HIPAA, BUT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN ANECDOTAL INFORMATION FROM SOME OF THE
MEMBERS BY WAY OF OUR UM, SWORN SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS. WHEN MEMBERS. ONE MEMBER'S. WIFE THANKED US FOR OFFERING THE TESTING BECAUSE SHE ATTRIBUTED HER HUSBAND'S LIFE
BEING SAVED BECAUSE THIS PROGRAM FOUND A HIGH RISK ISSUE THAT MAY NOT OTHERWISE HAVE BEEN DETECTED AND IT ALLOWED FOR PROACTIVE TREATMENT. IN ADDITION TO THE ROBUST
CANCER SCREENINGS CONDUCTED WITH THESE FUNDS, THE DEPARTMENT WAS ALSO ABLE TO ENGAGE WITH THE IAF TO CONDUCT FIREGROUND SURVIVAL TRAINING. IAF TRAINED 34 OF OUR TRAINING
INSTRUCTORS. WHICH ALLOWED THEM TO BECOME CERTIFIED TO TEACH THE LIFESAVING TECHNIQUES TO ALL SWORN MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT
AND 1400 OVER 1400 SWORN MEMBERS WERE TRAINED IN FIREGROUND SURVIVAL. THE BENEFIT OF HAVING OUR INSTRUCTORS TRAINED IN THIS TECHNIQUE ALLOW US TO CONTINUE
OFFERING THIS SKILL TO FUTURE MEMBERS OF THE DEPARTMENT AND TO REFRESH THE SKILLS OF OUR CURRENT MEMBERS BY INCORPORATING. UM THE FIREGROUND SURVIVAL.
IN FUTURE TRAINING SESSIONS. UH I'VE BEEN TOLD FIREFIGHTER TRAINING SKILLS ARE CONSIDERED PERISHABLE BECAUSE THEY ARE OFTEN LEARNED THROUGH PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE AND HANDS ON
TRAINING SKILLS BECOME LESS EFFECTIVE IF NOT REGULARLY PRACTICED. SO THE INCORPORATION OF FIRE GROUND SURVIVAL FUNDED UNDER THIS GRANT WITHIN A LIFE FIRE SCENARIO WITH MAYDAY AND SELF
EXTRICATION SCENARIOS ALLOWS FOR OUR MEMBERS TO HAVE CONTINUED ON HAND HANDS ON PRACTICAL APPLICATION.
UM OUR CURRENT AFG GRANT WHICH THE COMMISSIONER MENTIONED EXPIRES IN SEPTEMBER OF 2026. IT TOTALS. $1.2 MILLION. >> UM AND IT CAN IT FUNDS. CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE
DEPARTMENT'S IN-HOUSE WELLNESS PROGRAM HEALTH AND LADDERS. UM THAT PROGRAM AIMS TO PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY PREPARE OUR MEMBERS THROUGH EDUCATION AND NUTRITION, FITNESS AND
RECOVERY. THIS GRANT PROGRAM FUNDS A CLINICAL DIRECTOR NUTRITIONIST. UM AND ACTUALLY BY WAY OF CONDUCTING THE
CANCER SCREENINGS AND FINDING HIGH RISK ITEMS, SHE HAS BEEN ABLE TO CHANGE HER COURSE OF ACTION TO SORT OF CATER HER
NUTRITIONAL PLANS TO SOME OF THE HIGHER HIGH HIGH RISK ITEMS THAT WE DISCOVERED THROUGH THE SCREENING. UM, IT ALSO FUNDS AN INJURY PREVENTION SPECIALIST WHO IS A
LICENSED PHYSICAL THERAPIST HIRED TO PREVENT AND TO PROVIDE GUIDANCE GROUNDED IN MEDICAL SCIENCE AND RESEARCH TO REDUCE AND PROACTIVELY PREVENT LINE OF DUTY INJURIES.
THIS GRANT ALSO FUNDED PARTICIPATION IN A TWO DAY EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM, PEER SUPPORT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TRAINING COURSE AS WELL AS AN NFPA 1021 CHIEF OFFICER
TRAINING, A TWO DAY HIGH RISE TRAINING COURSE FOR ALL DEPUTIES AND DISTRICT CHIEFS WAS CONDUCTED IN NOVEMBER. THE GRANT FUNDED THE PROCUREMENT OF 30 VERTICAL
CARDIO TRAINERS, WHICH IS A COMPACT MACHINE THAT ALLOWS FOR A LOW IMPACT FULL BODY WORKOUT THAT MIMICS CLIMBING LADDERS. AGAIN, LIKE I SAID THAT GRANT
ENDS IN SEPTEMBER OF 2026. UM WE DID APPLY FOR A FISCAL YEAR 24 GRANT UNDER AFG AND WE WERE NOT AWARDED THOSE FUNDS.
UM, THE APPLICATION WAS A CONTINUATION OF THE SERVICES PROVIDED IN OUR CURRENT AFG GRANT AND THESE VALUABLE PROGRAMS ARE LIKELY TO BE DISCONTINUED AS THERE ARE NO FUNDS ALLOCATED IN FISCAL YEAR
27 TO CONTINUE THESE IMPACTFUL AND POWERFUL PROGRAMS. IN ADDITION, RFI 24 APPLICATION WHICH WAS NOT FUNDED REQUESTED FEDERAL FUNDING WITH THE INTENTION TO SUPPORT CRISIS
INTERVENTION AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT MAINTAINING A 24 OVER SEVEN PAGER CALLBACK CAPACITY TO INCLUDE PHONE CONSULTS ON SCENE RESPONSE AND ASSISTANCE WITH INTAKE FOR RESIDENTIAL
CRISIS INTERVENTIONS. WE HAVE FOUND SOME MONEY TO FUND THAT. UM BUT FUTURE FUNDING IS IS UNKNOWN. UM AND OUR EOP LIEUTENANT
REFERRED TO THIS VENDOR AS QUOTE A LIFE SAVER AND HE MEANT THAT LITERALLY. UM AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH OF. MARCH OVER A WEEKEND THE
DEPARTMENT HAD TWO MEMBERS IN CRISIS BY USING THIS VENDOR'S CLINICAL 24/7 SERVICE. HE WAS ABLE TO GET BOTH MEMBERS IN TO SEE A THERAPIST ON A SUNDAY.
HAD WE NOT HAD THAT VENDOR THEY WOULD HAVE HAD TO GO TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM WHICH WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN. YOU KNOW, MADE THE MEMBERS HAPPY.
UM UM. HE HAS ALSO EXPRESSED THAT IT'S NICE KNOWING THAT SOMEBODY WITH . CLINICAL CREDENTIALS IS THE ONE MAKING DECISIONS TO ASSIST THOSE MEMBERS WHO MIGHT BE IN
CRISIS RATHER THAN THAT BURDEN FALLING UPON HIM. THIS PROGRAM HAS EXPANDED ACCESS TO CLINICAL SERVICES, ENSURES CONTINUOUS CRISIS RESPONSE AND. >> HAS. CREATED A TRUSTED AND
CONSISTENT RESOURCE WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. MEMBERS UTILIZATION OF SERVICE HAS INCREASED, REFLECTING GROWING TRUST IN THE PROGRAM AND THE RESPONSE FROM PERSONNEL HAS BEEN OVERWHELMINGLY
POSITIVE. WE ARE DRAFTING AN AMENDMENT ON OUR CURRENT AFG GRANT IN ORDER TO FUND THE REMAINING SIX MONTHS OF FISCAL YEAR 26.
TO CONTINUE THIS PROGRAM FORWARD. BUT AGAIN, THE FUNDING STREAM FOR. >> THIS CONTRACT IS UNKNOWN FOR FISCAL YEAR 27. THE DEPARTMENT IS EXCUSE
ME CURRENTLY ADMINISTERING ONE FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANT WHICH IS ALSO FUNDED BY DHS AND FEMA. THE OBJECTIVE OF THAT GRANT IS TO PROVIDE CRITICALLY NEEDED
RESOURCES TO SUPPORT THE REDUCTION IN RESIDENTIAL FIRE RISK, INCLUDING ACCESS TO SMOKE ALARM INSTALLATIONS AND FIRE PREVENTION EDUCATION AND TRAINING. PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR THE ADOPTION AND AWARENESS
OF BUILDING CODES AND ASSISTING RECIPIENTS TO AGGRESSIVELY INVESTIGATE EVERY FIRE THROUGH INCREASED EQUIPMENT, TRAINING AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES. WITH REDUCTIONS AND.
LEVEL FUNDING IN OUR OPERATING BUDGET. THIS WARD HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN PAYING FOR REGISTRATION FEES FOR A HOT WORK TRAINING. UM CONTINUING.
EDUCATION COURSES FOR MEMBERS OF THE FIRE INVESTIGATION UNIT. UM AND TRAINING COURSES FOR OUR FIRE INSPECTORS AND ENGINEERING UNIT MEMBERS. WE ALSO APPLIED FOR FISCAL YEAR
24 FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY GRANT AND IT. >> WAS. NOT AWARDED TO. IN ADDITION TO THE AFG FUNDS, THE DEPARTMENT HAS RECEIVED
OVER $200,000 IN FEDERAL FUNDS UNDER THE PORT SECURITY GRANT PROGRAM. THESE GRANTS. UM SUPPORT THE DEPARTMENT'S
FOCUS ON SHIPBOARD TRAINING TO ENSURE THAT CHIEF OFFICERS AND COMPANY OFFICERS RESPONDING TO FIRES ON VESSELS ARE READILY PREPARED. UM A FEW WEEKS AGO, 20 OF THE DEPARTMENT'S CHIEF OFFICERS
COMPLETED THE COMMAND STRATEGIES AND TACTICS FOR MARINE EMERGENCIES TRAINING. IT EMPHASIZED UNIFIED COMMAND, LONG DURATION INCIDENT. MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION AMONG MULTIPLE.
AGENCIES OPERATING IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT. WE WERE AWARDED ADDITIONAL FUNDS UNDER THE FISCAL YEAR 25 AWARD WHICH CHAIR THAT IS. PENDING ACCEPT. >> AND EXPEND BY THE COUNCIL.
UM TO DO A SECOND ITERATION OF THIS TRAINING. WHICH WOULD. FOCUS ON THE ESSENTIAL SKILLS. UM NEEDED. BY OUR COMPANY OFFICERS. WHO WOULD BE RESPONDING.
UM OR ASSIGNED TO COMPANIES ADJACENT TO THE PORT. UM THESE EVENTS ARE LOW FREQUENCY BUT THEY'RE HIGH RISK. SO THIS TRAINING HAS BEEN
INSTRUMENTAL IN OFFERING TRAINING TO OUR MEMBERS RELATIVE TO ADDRESS INCIDENCES OF THIS NATURE. THE DEPARTMENT WAS AWARDED THE NICHOLAS AND ZACHARY BURT
MEMORIAL CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING PREVENTION GRANT FOR A TOTAL OF $260,000 FROM THE UNITED STATES CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION TO PURCHASE AND INSTALL CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS IN. >> THE HOMES OF.
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WITHIN THE CITY. THE DEPARTMENT'S CADET PROGRAM IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE AMERICAN RED CROSS. AND COUNCILOR FLYNN'S OFFICE, ESPECIALLY HIS STAFF MEMBER
MELISSA LOWE RESULTED IN A SUCCESSFUL FIRST CAMPAIGN IN THE CHINATOWN SOUTH END AREA OF THE CITY IN OCTOBER OF 2025. THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS. >> WERE EXTREMELY APPRECIATIVE OF THE ENGAGEMENT IN THEIR
NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WE SUCCESSFULLY INSTALLED OVER 100 CARBON. MONOXIDE SMOKE ALARM. COMBO DETECTORS IN OVER 50 UNITS. OUR SECOND CAMPAIGN IS UNDERWAY
AND SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 25TH IN THE HIGH PARK MATTAPAN AREA. WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH COUNCILOR LUCIEN'S. UM OFFICE AS WELL AS COUNCILOR PIPPINS TO PARTNER
WITH US ON THIS UPCOMING CAMPAIGN. UM SO FEEL FREE TO LET YOUR CONSTITUENTS KNOW THAT THIS IS AVAILABLE. IT IS CITYWIDE. WE WILL TAKE REFERRALS FROM.
OTHER NEIGHBORHOODS. UM, WE'RE. TAKING A CAMPAIGN BASED FOCUS IN NEIGHBORHOODS BUT. UM. >> ANYBODY IN NEED CAN CAN REQUEST. >> AN INSTALL. SORRY. >> UM, THE DEPARTMENT HAS ALSO
BEEN AWARDED FEDERAL BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE GRANTS UNDER THE COVERDELL AND COVERDELL FORENSIC SCIENCE IMPROVEMENT GRANT, WHICH IS A
FORMULA GRANT WE HAVE WE ARE CURRENTLY RUNNING TWO OF THEM THE FISCAL YEAR. UM 23. >> AND FISCAL YEAR 24. THEY'RE FUNDED BY THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE, BUT THEY'RE PASSED THROUGH THE STATE POLICE AND THEY'RE TO
SUPPORT THE ACCREDITATION OF THE DEPARTMENT'S FORENSIC LAB. UM, OUR LAB CONSISTS OF ONE EMPLOYEE, JOHN DUGAN, WHO'S BROUGHT TRANSFORMATIVE. CHANGE TO THE LAB WITH OVER 36
YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. THIS GRANT HAS ALLOWED US TO PROCURE A HIGHLY QUALIFIED, UM, QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER TO CONDUCT A GAP ANALYSIS OF THE
LABS PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES AND ASSIST THE CHEMIST WITH A QUALITY. MANUAL AND A QUALITY. CONTROL DOCUMENT FOR THE LAB. UM, AS A RESULT OF THESE FUNDS, THE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO
SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR ACCREDITATION WITH THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR LABORATORY ACCREDITATION WHICH WAS ACCEPTED AND APPROVED. THE NEXT. >> PHASE IS THE ASSESSMENT BY THE ACCREDITING BODY. UH.
>> THIS WILL BE A BIT OF A CHALLENGE BECAUSE OUR LAB IS SUCH THAT JOHN ASSUME ASSUMES THE ROLE OF DIRECTOR QUALITY MANAGER, TECHNICAL LEAD AND ANALYST. UM, BUT WE CONTINUE TO APPLY
FOR FUNDS. UM ANNUALLY IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN OUR ACCREDITATION. UM. ,BUT THAT ALSO COMES WITH OTHER QUALITY ASSURANCE MEASURES THAT NEED TO BE.
MAINTAINED UM AND. >> WOULD REQUIRE FUNDING. >> AS WE. >> MOVE FORWARD. WE WERE ALSO AWARDED THE FISCAL YEAR 25 PIPELINE EMERGENCY
RESPONSE GRANT FROM THE US DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TOTALING $99,000. THIS PROGRAM FOCUSES ON TRAINING EMERGENCY RESPONDERS IN HIGH CONSEQUENCE AREAS TO
PROTECT PEOPLE, PROPERTY AND THE ENVIRONMENT FROM ACCIDENTS INVOLVING GAS OR HAZARDOUS LIQUID PIPELINES. THE BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT. >> HAS. IDENTIFIED THE ENBRIDGE FORMERLY SPECTRA HIGH PRESSURE
NATURAL GAS TRANSMISSION. LINE IN THE. >> WEST ROXBURY NEIGHBORHOOD AS NEEDING IMPROVED RESPONSE CAPABILITIES. SO THIS GRANT WILL FUND. >> A COMMAND LEVEL. PIPELINE SAFETY AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE. TRAINING TO.
APPROXIMATELY 78 STUDENTS. UM LIKELY DISTRICT AND DEPUTY CHIEFS. UM AND. IT WOULD. >> BE RUN BY AN. OUTSIDE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT. IN ADDITION, THE GRANT WILL. FUND A. >> CRISIS MANAGEMENT TABLETOP
EXERCISE FOR A PIPELINE LEAK REQUIRING EVACUATION. UH, ALSO FACILITATED BY AN OUTSIDE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT WITH. PIPELINE RESPONSE EXPERTISE. UH, THIS WILL ALSO BE A
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT. UM, INCLUDING. POLICE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF EMERGENCY. MANAGEMENT. >> BOSTON PUBLIC HEALTH COMMISSION. EMS AND ANY. AGENCIES OR ENTITIES THAT HAVE A STATUTORY RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE PIPELINE WILL BE INVITED. THAT IS OUR FEDERAL FUNDING CURRENTLY. ON TO OUR STATE FUNDING. UM OUR STATE FUNDING IS PRIMARILY. ISSUED THROUGH. >> THE DEPARTMENT. >> OF FIRE SERVICES.
AN ANNUAL. STATE EARMARK HAS HISTORICALLY PROVIDED SIGNIFICANT. FUNDING FOR THE BOSTON. FIRE DEPARTMENT'S TRAINING ACADEMY BUDGET, SUBJECT TO YEARLY LEGISLATIVE REVIEW AND.
APPROVAL IN FISCAL YEAR 26. THE DEPARTMENT RECEIVED A CONTRACT FOR $1.7 MILLION. THESE FUNDS ARE CRITICAL TO SUPPORT THE FIRE TRAINING ACADEMY.
AND THE ROBUST TRAINING THAT OCCURS DEPARTMENT WIDE. AN ANNUAL STATE EARMARK HAS HISTORICALLY PROVIDED SIGNIFICANT. FUNDING FOR THE FIRE
DEPARTMENT'S HAZMAT RESPONSE TEAM, ALSO SUBJECT TO YEARLY LEGISLATIVE REVIEW. >> AND APPROVAL. IN FISCAL YEAR 26. THE DEPARTMENT WAS AWARDED A CONTRACT OF $1.4 MILLION. UM IN. >> FY 26 THIS EARMARK WAS.
TRANSITIONED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF FIRE SERVICES TO THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY. UM, WE ALSO RECEIVED A NEW STATE EARMARK THE DELTA UNIT
EARMARK TOTALING $100,000. AND THAT WAS AWARDED TO FUND DEDICATED EMERGENCY SERVICES THROUGH THREE DELTA UNIT VEHICLES ASSIGNED TO CASTLE ISLAND, PLEASURE BAY AND CARSON
BEACH. UM IN THE SOUTH BOSTON SECTION OF THE CITY SEASONALLY FROM MEMORIAL DAY TO LABOR DAY. THE DEPARTMENT ALSO
HISTORICALLY RECEIVED SUBRECIPIENT. FUNDING FROM THE. >> BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT UNDER THEIR SAFE SUPPORT AND INCENTIVE, GRAHAM AND. STATE 911 TRAINING GRANT FUNDED BY EOPS TO SUPPORT TRAINING AND COSTS RELATIVE TO OUR FIRE
ALARM DISPATCHERS AND THEY REQUIRED. CONTINUING EDUCATION. >> TO REMAIN CERTIFIED. UM THE DEPARTMENT APPLIED. FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 26 FIREFIGHTER SAFETY EQUIPMENT.
GRANT AND WE ACTUALLY RECEIVED THE AWARD JUST THIS MORNING. UM THIS GRANT WILL REQUIRE ACCEPT AND EXPEND. FROM THE COUNCIL. UM AS THE END. DATE IS JUNE 30TH, 2026. UH.
TO GIVE YOU SOME. INFORMATION ABOUT. >> THIS. GRANT, WE WERE AWARDED $49,476 TO PROCURE 24 REACH POLE SYSTEMS AND ELEVATOR RESCUE KITS FOR ALL OF OUR LADDER
COMPANIES TO MAKE EXTRICATION INCIDENTS SAFER FOR MEMBERS AND CIVILIANS BEING REMOVED FROM ELEVATORS WHILE CAUSING. LESS DAMAGE. TO THE ELEVATOR AND ITS EQUIPMENT. IN ADDITION. >> THE.
DEPARTMENT REQUESTED AND RECEIVED. UM THE REPLACEMENT OF 36 CARBON MONOXIDE DETECTORS. UM WHICH ARE ATTACHED TO. EACH COMPANY'S.
RESPIRATOR AND MEDICAL EQUIPMENT BAG. UM WE HAVE. 57 COMPANIES WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. THIS WILL REPLACE 36 OF THEM THAT HAVE. BEEN TAKEN OUT OF. WORKING ORDER OR NEED TO BE
REPLACED. UM, AND THESE. DETECTORS ARE ABLE TO ALERT OUR MEMBERS TO A DANGEROUS CONDITION. WHICH MAY HAVE GONE. UNDETECTED OTHERWISE. UM. >> WITH SUPPORT AND
ENCOURAGEMENT FOR THE FROM. >> THE ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY AND OPEN. SPACE CABINET A GRANT APPLICATION WAS SUBMITTED SUBMITTED TO THE MASSACHUSETTS . DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY RESOURCES FOR THE. ADVANCING MASSACHUSETTS.
POWER, SAFETY AND EDUCATION TRACK. THESE FUNDS. IF AWARDED, WILL EQUIP THE. DEPARTMENT WITH. KNOWLEDGE. >> TOOLS AND BEST PRACTICES AROUND THE REASONABLE RISKS AND. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PROTOCOLS
FOR ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS. UH WE REQUESTED THE GRANT TO FUND AN EIGHT HOUR IN-PERSON TRAINING DELIVERED BY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT.
IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE, WHICH REFLECTS BEST PRACTICES IN FIRE SERVICE EDUCATION. UM IN. ADDITION, WE WORKED WITH THE PUBLIC FACILITIES DEPARTMENT TO ASSIST IN APPLYING FOR A GRANT
FROM THE. COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF. ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS. UM AND THIS GRANT. >> WOULD PROVIDE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE BY WAY OF A CAPITAL GRANT FOR AN EXISTING CAPITAL
PROJECT EARMARKED TO REPAIR THE SEAWALL. >> AT MON ISLAND. IN ADDITION. >> UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE OFFICE OF BUDGET. MANAGEMENT AND OFFICE. >> OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. THE DEPARTMENT HAS ALSO SUBMITTED. TWO FUNDING REQUEST. TO INCREASE PUBLIC SAFETY
RESOURCES FOR THE. UPCOMING FIFA. WORLD CUP. OEM AND OPM. GATHER DATA FROM VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS TO APPLY FOR THE FIFA WORLD CUP GRANT PROGRAM.
ADMINISTERED BY DHS. AND FEMA. WHICH WOULD THEN BE PASSED THROUGH TO PSUS. STATE ADMINISTRATIVE AGENCIES TO THE HOST CITIES WHERE THE
GAMES ARE OCCURRING. UM SO THE REQUEST WAS SUBMITTED. BY OFFICE OF EMERGENCY. MANAGEMENT TO. THE STATE. UM, WE DID. I BELIEVE RECEIVE. AN AWARD.
UM OEM HAS YET TO PROVIDE US WITH OUR PORTION. IT WAS A CITY COLLABORATIVE. UM BUT IT IS SOMETHING. THAT WE. HAVE INCLUDED IN. PART OF OUR REQUEST OF FUNDING .
WE ALSO SUBMITTED. UM A GRANT REQUEST TO. >> THE. MASS OFFICE OF TRAVEL AND. TOURISM FOR THE SPORTS AND. ENTERTAINMENT EVENT FUND. GRANTS FOR THE FIFA WORLD CUP RELATED ROUND OF.
FUNDING WHICH. AGAIN WAS ALSO SUBMITTED BY THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY. MANAGEMENT IN. COLLABORATION WITH. OFFICE OF. BUDGET MANAGEMENT IN. ORDER TO UM FUND. PUBLIC SAFETY FOR ANTICIPATED
WATCH PARTIES THROUGHOUT OUR CITY'S NEIGHBORHOODS. >> SO I. >> KNOW YOU. RECENTLY MET ABOUT. FIFA AND THERE WAS A LOT. OF DISCUSSION ABOUT FUNDING. UM. >> WE HAVE. YOU KNOW WHEN WHEN. REQUESTED PROVIDED WHAT WE
THINK WE WOULD NEED FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. UM. >> FOR THOSE EVENTS. IN ORDER TO MAKE. SURE THAT WE ARE PREPARED. UM. >> UNDER OUR PENDING FEDERAL GRANTS, UM, WE HAVE SUBMITTED
AN APPLICATION FOR THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE FUNDS UNDER. >> THE. FY 20 FOR PAUL COVERDELL FORENSIC SCIENCE. IMPROVEMENT FORMULA. GRANT, WHICH IS PASSED THROUGH FROM THE STATE POLICE, WHICH.
WOULD CONTINUE THE ACCREDITATION OF THE DEPARTMENT'S. FORENSIC LAB. WE ALSO APPLIED FOR THE COMPETITIVE GRANT AND THAT WAS TO REQUEST FUNDING. FOR A CONTRACTED.
CONTRACTED PEER REVIEWER. A CONTRACTED ACCREDITATION AND QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER. AND CONTRACTED LABORATORY EQUIPMENT VALIDATION SERVICES FOR THE FORENSIC LAB. UM, WE.
>> HAVE NOT HEARD AS TO WHETHER OR NOT. WE HAVE OR WILL RECEIVE THAT FUNDING. UM SOME OTHER GRANTS OF NOTE THAT WE HAVE APPLIED FOR IN THE PAST AND. UM INTEND TO.
>> APPLY FOR IN THE FUTURE OR REQUEST TO APPLY FOR. UM THROUGH THE K. >> AND ONE PROCESS IS UM THE FIRST RESPONDER COMPREHENSIVE ADDICTION AND RECOVERY ACT GRANT. UM AND THAT.
IS HAS FUNDED. OUR NARCAN TALK PROGRAM. UM IF AN INDIVIDUAL. EXPERIENCES AN OVERDOSE OFTEN OUR EAP PROGRAM GETS INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE CALLS
AND DOES A FOLLOW UP WITH. >> THE FAMILY MEMBERS. OR AT THE LOCATION. UM. >> TO PROVIDE SERVICES OR ASSISTANCE OF ANY KIND. UM. >> AND AGAIN. >> LIKE I SAID, WE APPLIED FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 24 AFG GRANT AND FIRE PREVENTION SAFETY
GRANT. UM AND WE WERE NOT. AWARDED THOSE FUNDS. AND DUE TO THE PARTIAL SHUTDOWN THAT'S. HAPPENING NOW WITHIN UM. DHS AND FEMA.
THE SOLICITED SOLICITATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 FOR THOSE AWARDS HAVE. NOT YET BEEN RELEASED. THEY'RE USUALLY RELEASED AROUND THIS TIME AND WE. DO INTEND TO REQUEST PERMISSION
TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION AND WE ARE CONSTANTLY MONITORING, YOU KNOW, THE FEDERAL WEBSITES. UM AND INTEND TO. APPLY FOR THE GRANTS WHEN THE SOLICITATIONS ARE RELEASED IF THEY'RE RELEASED. UM.
>> SO WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. THAT'S A LOT. I'M SURE UM, LIKE I SAID, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR PORT SECURITY GRANT. AND OUR NEWLY AWARDED
DEPARTMENT OF FIRE SERVICES EQUIPMENT. GRANT. >> ALL OF OUR ACTIVE GRANTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY CITY COUNCIL. SO WE DO APPRECIATE THE EXPEDIENCY THAT THIS ANNUAL HEARING ALLOWS FOR THE ACCEPT
AND EXPEND PROCESS FROM CITY. COUNCIL WITH OUR GRANT. FUNDS. >> AND WE THANK YOU FOR. >> YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT. AWESOME. >> THANK YOU JULIE. I KNOW THAT WAS A LOT. SO UM THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WALKING US THROUGH THOSE
GRANTS. BEFORE YOU GO TO COUNCIL FOR QUESTIONS CAN YOU JUST NAME THE TWO GRANTS YOU? UM, THAT YOU SAID THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON THE ON UH IN THE COMMITTEE? SURE. UM.
,THE FISCAL YEAR 25 PORT SECURITY GRANT. IS UM. IT'S GONE THROUGH. THE KKR ONE AND KKR. >> OR TWO PROCESS. UM. >> SO YOU SHOULD HAVE THAT SORT OF. >> IN. YOUR. I THINK WE SENT.
OVER ONE PAGER. OKAY. I GUESS YOU GUYS GOT THE OKAY. YES BUT WE ARE WE'RE WAITING. TO MAKE FOR. >> THIS THIS ONE TO SORT OF TALK ABOUT THAT GRANT. AND THE. >> FY 26 UM, DFES EQUIPMENT GRANT.
WE JUST RECEIVED THE CONTRACT TODAY. >> I HAD. THE COMMISSIONER SIGN IT, SENT IT BACK TO. >> THE STATE. UM, SO THAT HAS NOT GONE INTO THE. CODE TO PROCESS. SO YOU MAY NOT SEE THAT YOU KNOW. IN YOUR QUEUE JUST YET BUT.
THAT'S ONE. >> THAT. IS EXPIRING. JUNE 30TH. >> WE HAVE A VERY SHORT. TIMELINE FOR. >> THE PROCUREMENT OF THE ITEMS. UH. THEY ARE SPECIALTY ITEMS. . >> I'VE DONE MY BEST TO. GET PROCUREMENT PROCUREMENT. ROLLING NOW.
UM, BUT ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO EXPEDITE. THAT ONE WOULD BE EXCELLENT. GREAT. >> I THINK THE PORT SECURITY ONE, WE COULD MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING IT UP TOMORROW AND THEN WHATEVER THE OTHER ONE IS WE CAN BRING IT UP OUR NEXT COUNCIL MEETING. GREAT. >> THANK YOU.
>> THANK YOU. UM, WITH THAT I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE. UM, COMMISSIONER. >> NO, I WAS JUST GOING TO ASK IF YOU WANTED THE DEPUTY CHIEFS IN CHARGE OF DIVISIONS TO SPEAK BRIEFLY ABOUT THEIR GRANTS. UH, HOW WOULD. YOU LIKE YOUR PERMISSION TO DO
IT ALL RIGHT NOW AND THEN WE'LL GO TO COURT. SURE. ALL RIGHT. UM. FIRST ONE I'D HAVE WOULD BE DEPUTY CHIEF MALONE AND DISTRICT CHIEF MCDONALD FROM TRAINING. SPEAKS ABOUT. YES. THERE'S A MICROPHONE RIGHT. >> THERE I THANK YOU EVERYBODY.
IS A MICROPHONE. OH THERE. I'M SORRY. HI. CAN YOU HEAR ME? OKAY. THANKS FOR HAVING ME. SO THIS YEAR WE GOT AN INCREASE
IN THE, UH, EARMARK FROM, UH, 500,000 TO 1.7 MILLION AND THIS HAS GIVEN US THE ABILITY TO INCREASE THAT TRAINING AS ONE WOULD EXPECT. UH, AND THE WAY THE GRANT IS WRITTEN IS TO TRAIN BOSTON
FIREFIGHTERS AS WELL AS SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. SO INITIALLY WHAT WE DO IS, UH, THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WE DO WHAT THEY CALLED OUT, WE DO OUR DROPS, UH, AND WE DO ELEVATOR
TRAINING AND THEN THAT LEADS US INTO FAST WATER AND THEN WE TAKE THOSE DOWN STEPS AND WE PUT THEM TOGETHER AND WE DO A THING CALLED BACK TO BASICS WHICH IS LIVE FIRE TRAINING SHOW. AND THEN WHAT WE DO IS WE
ADVANCE THAT TO THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES. THAT GIVES THE ABILITY TO COME DOWN AND WORK ON THEIR SKILLS AS WELL. AND THEY THEY HAVE MUTUAL AID COMPANIES ARE PART OF THE UHC COMMUNITY. SO THESE ARE COMPANIES WOULDN'T
UH CITIES THAT WOULD NATURALLY WORK WITH AND UH, WE GET TO WORK WITH THEM AND SEE WHERE THEIR SKILLS ARE. WE GET THEY GET TO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO. WE'VE ALSO EXPANDED INTO LIKE
LOGAN AIRPORT WE HAVEN'T DONE IN A WHILE AND WE ALSO WE HAVE EXPANDED INTO UH TRAINING WITH THE MBTA. WE HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM NOW ON THE RED LINE. UH, WE GET A GREEN LINE TRAIN
COMING SOON AND WE'VE ALSO UH UH WE'RE DOING A TWO TRAINING AS WELL. SO THE GRANT HAS REALLY EXPANDED WHAT WE HADN'T DONE IN THE PAST AND RIGHT NOW WE ARE REACHING OUT TO WE'RE WORKING
WITH THE OWNERS OF THE CARNEY HOSPITAL AND WE'RE DOING SOME LARGE AREA SEARCH TRAINING OVER THERE. THAT BUILDING AS IS ABILITY THE BUILDING IS POSTED RIGHT NOW UH ,BECAUSE IT'S UNFIT IT DOESN'T HAVE ANY SAFETY.
UH, BUT WE ARE DOING SOME TRAINING OVER THERE JUST IN CASE GOD FORBID SOMETHING HAPPENS OVER THERE THAT WE ARE ON SITE DURING TRAINING FOR UH, WHAT WE HOPE DOESN'T HAPPEN. AWESOME. >> THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU.
WE CAN. >> HAVE, UH, FIRE MARSHAL COLE AND KELLY COME UP NEXT. HI. >> THANKS, EVERYONE. UH, COLE.
KELLY I'M THE FIRE MARSHAL HERE IN THE CITY. UM, SO JULIE DID SUCH A TERRIFIC JOB EXPLAINING, UH, THE GRANT PROGRAM. IT'S, UH, KIND OF A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW, BUT I'M GOING TO, UM, JUST STRESS A COUPLE OF,
UH, THE POINTS THAT YOU MADE. SO, UM, WE HAVE OUR HOT WORKS PROGRAM THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING ,UM, WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR TRAINING DIVISION AND, UH, THE GOAL IS TO HAVE 70%
OF UH, SWORN MEMBERS CERTIFIED IN HOT WORKS, WHICH IS BASICALLY SAFETY DURING CUTTING, WELDING AND, YOU KNOW, OTHER CONSTRUCTION. UH, WE WANT TO CAPTURE 70% OF THE MEMBERSHIP BY AUGUST AND
THE GOAL IS TO GET ALL 1544 OF US CERTIFIED. UH, I BELIEVE IN SEPTEMBER WE'RE NOT GOING TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO WORK PAID FIRE DETAILS UNLESS THEY'VE TAKEN THE 51 B COURSE.
YOU KNOW, WHICH MAKES SENSE. UM, SO OUR, UH, CERTIFIED FIRE PROTECTION SPECIALIST, THAT PROGRAM WHERE UM, WE'RE USING TO UH, GET OUR ENGINEERS OR OUR
PLANS EXAMINERS UM, MORE EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION WHEN IT COMES TO FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM SPRINKLERS, FIRE ALARMS THAT SORT OF THING IS JUST GOING TO MAKE THEM MORE EFFECTIVE IN THEIR WORK.
UM, WE HAVE THE, UH, PUMP CONTROLS AND OPERATIONS CLASS WHERE WE SENT TEN MEMBERS THROUGH AND APRIL 2025 AND WE ARE HOPING TO SEND ANOTHER TEN THROUGH THIS YEAR. UM, BASICALLY WHAT THAT DOES IT
JUST IT HELPS THE INSPECTORS BETTER UNDERSTAND THE FIRE PUMP HOW IT WORKS. YOU KNOW, THEY TAKE IT APART, PUT IT BACK TOGETHER. IT JUST IT MAKES THEM BETTER AT THEIR JOB AND ABLE TO IDENTIFY ISSUES WHEN THEY'RE DOING ACCEPTANCE TESTING.
UM AND LASTLY OUR CERTIFIED FIRE INSPECTION TRAINING IS JUST FOR OUR SWORN FOLKS. IT'S IT'S JUST GOING TO HELP THEM, UH, YOU KNOW, BE BETTER, UH, MORE EFFICIENT AND SAFER, YOU KNOW, IN THEIR DUTIES AND THEIR INSPECTIONS, ESPECIALLY
WITH THE ACCEPTANCE TESTING. SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S ABOUT IT. THAT'S THE FOUR PROGRAMS FOR OUR FIRE PREVENTION. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, FIRE MARSHAL. UM, WE COULD HAVE DEPUTY CHIEF. >> JOSEPH SHAKE.
HIM UP FOR SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELLNESS. THANKS FOR HAVING MEJIA, COUNCILORS. I JUST WOULD LIKE TO ADD ON TO, UM, A FEW OF THE TALKING POINTS
THAT, UH, JULIE MENTIONED. I WANT TO, UM, MENTION THAT AS OF JANUARY 2025, WE'VE HAD TEN MEMBERS DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER WITH TWO ACTIVE TWO
ACTIVE MEMBER DEATHS. THE OTHER THING I'M KIND OF GOING BACK AND FORTH AS TO WHETHER I SHOULD MENTION THIS NOW. ,BUT. >> MY MY DIVISION IS PRETTY MUCH RUN WITH UH, GRANT MONEY
AND IT'S MY STRONG BELIEF THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE THAT WAY. I MEMBER OUR MEMBERS OUR STRONG STAFF SAID UH AND I'M HERE TO ASK YOU FOR SUPPORT WHEN IT COMES TO THE BUDGET THAT MONEY
IS ALLOCATED TO CONTINUE THESE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE REALLY FINDING, UH, HELPING OUR MEMBERSHIP AND SAVING LIVES. UM, OF THE TEN CANCER OF THE
TEN CANCER DIAGNOSIS, 34 UH, HALF OF THEM FIVE OF THEM WERE IN THEIR 30S IN THE MID 30S. SO IS IT WE'RE FINDING CANCER YOUNGER. IT'S NOT IT'S NOT JUST GUYS IN THEIR 50S AND 60S TOWARDS THE
END OF THEIR CAREER. THESE ARE UH, YOUNG GUYS THAT HAVE LONG CAREERS AHEAD OF THEM THAT IF THEY GO OFF WE'RE GOING TO WE HAVE TO REPLACE THAT. THE MONEY IS ASTRONOMICAL.
THAT WOULD BE PAYING OUT IF WE MAKE THE SMALL INVESTMENT NOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO SAVE SAVE SOME LIVES AND JOBS. SO I WOULD SECOND. THE DEPUTY'S REQUEST THAT THIS
HIS DIVISION IS FUNDED TO OUR OPERATING BUDGET. FOR THAT REASON ALONE THEY LOOK OUT FOR THE SAFETY OF THE FIREFIGHTERS. SO IT WAS SUGGESTED TO US THROUGH PHYSICIANS WHEN WE DO OUR CANCER SCREENINGS THAT THEY
DO WE NOT EVERY YEAR IT'S LIKE EVERY THREE YEARS. SO IF WE COULD DO A THIRD OF THE DEPARTMENT EVERY THREE YEARS WE COULD WE COULD KEEP UP AND START A GREAT BASELINE FOR THESE PEOPLE AND STAY AHEAD OF IT. SO JUST SOMETHING TO THINK
ABOUT. I THANK YOU FOR HAVING MEJIA. THANK YOU. >> I'D LIKE I'D LIKE TO JUST ADD, UM TO WHAT UH, CHIEF, SHE JUST SAID UM, IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, MEMORIES THAT WE WERE
ABLE TO SCREEN FOR CANCER SCREENING ORIGINALLY WE WERE ONLY ABLE TO DO A CERTAIN AGE GROUP AND NOW WE'RE ABLE TO DO A MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS IN THE DEPARTMENT ALL AGES.
SO LIKE YOU SAID, WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO CAPTURE MEMBERS IN THEIR 30S THAT WERE DIAGNOSED WITH POSSIBLE CANCER DIAGNOSIS. SO IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT WE HAVE
THIS FUNDING FOR UH CONTINUE CONTINUED UM SUPPORT FOR THE UH CANCER SCREENING PROGRAMS. THANK YOU. UH, DISTRICT CHIEF KELLY IS NEXT. HE'S FROM THE SPY SPECIAL
OPERATIONS COMMAND CENTER. AFTERNOON. >> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. UH, KEITH KELLY, DISTRICT CHIEF. WITH THE HAZMAT UNIT AND SPECIAL OPERATIONS. UH, I WORKED WITH JULIE TALKING ABOUT ALL THE GRANTS THAT SHE'S
ALREADY BUDGETED. I'M JUST GOING TO TOUCH ON LIGHTLY ON A FEW OF THEM. UH, THE PIPELINE EMERGENCY, UH, RESPONSE GRANT, I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH ENBRIDGE AND THEIR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
SPECIALIST. UH, WE ARE GOING TO WORK TOGETHER. TO DO ANOTHER WALKTHROUGH AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE SAFETY STANDARDS AND, UH, WHAT THEY USE OVER IN WEST ROXBURY.
IF YOU DON'T KNOW, IT'S THERE'S 4.1 MILES OF A 16. >> INCH. NATURAL GAS PIPELINE THAT OPERATES. >> AT. 750 P.S.I. THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE IN 2018. SINCE THAT'S BEEN PUT IN PLACE
WE HAVE NOT GONE BACK AND DONE ANY MORE TRAINING ON IT. SO THAT'S THE POINT OF THIS GRANT. THE TURNOVER RATE SINCE 2018. IS KIND OF EYE OPENING.
SO ALL OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE IN DISTRICT TEN AND DISTRICT 12 VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE WERE THERE IN 2018. SO THAT'S THE POINT OF THAT ONE. OUR STATE EMERGENCY UM EXCUSE
ME OUR STATE HAZMAT GRANT IS REALLY WHAT GETS THE BOSTON FIRE HYDRANT UNIT TO BE ABLE TO BE OPERATIONAL. OUR OPERATIONAL BUDGET IS A FRACTION OF WHAT WE GET FROM THE STATE. AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT.
THE EQUIPMENT AND THE METERING DETECTION, UM. THE METERS THAT WE USE WITH WITH. ALL THE HAZMAT STUFF IS EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE AND HAVING
THE STATE GRANT IS REALLY WHAT ALLOWS US TO DO WHAT WE. >> DO. AND IN THE WORKS. UH I JUST FINISHED THE APPLICATION WITH JULIE AND SHAUNA AND KEVIN LAST WEEK WE. SUBMITTED THE.
UH, ADVANCING MASSACHUSETTS POWER GRANT TO TRY TO GET CHIEF LEVEL AND COMMAND LEVEL STAFF TRAINING ON STORED ENERGY RESPONSE.
UM, I'M SURE MANY OF YOU KNOW, UM, ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS ARE COMING. UH, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH I-S-D TO IDENTIFY THEM AND I'M
GOING TO WORK WITH, UM, A COUPLE OF THIRD PARTY VENDORS THAT HAVE IDENTIFIED TO COME OUT HERE AND WORK WITH US TO HAVE A PROACTIVE RESPONSE RATHER THAN A REACTIVE RESPONSE.
TO ANY SORT OF EMERGENCIES THAT MAY COME UP WITH. STORED ENERGY. >> SO THANK YOU FOR THIS. SO THAT'S. >> IT FOR OUR EXPERTS. THANK YOU. >> THANK YOU. WE'RE NOW GOING TO GO. TO UM COUNCIL OF QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO COUNCILOR FLYNN WHEN WE HAD THIS LAST YEAR. WE HEARD FROM FROM YOU ON MONDAY HE CAME UP TO ME AND SAID I WANT TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM. THE PEOPLE ON THE GROUND.
SO I REALLY APPRECIATE UM. YOU ALL DOING THAT TODAY AND I APPRECIATE YOUR LEADERSHIP. UM, COUNCILOR PLANNING COUNSELOR. THEN YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. UH, YOU KNOW, A FEW OF US ARE USED TO SIX MINUTES AND WE'LL DO AS MANY ROUNDS AS AS NEEDED.
AND THANK YOU, MR CHAIR. UM, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER AND YOUR TEAM FOR BEING HERE FOR THE IMPORTANT WORK YOU'RE DOING . THANK YOU FOR BRIEFING US. UH, JULIE, THE THE BRIEFING YOU PROVIDE WAS EXCELLENT
INFORMATIVE. I KNOW YOU'RE DOING AN OUTSTANDING JOB THERE AND, UM, JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR FOR YOUR PROFESSIONALISM AND DEDICATION TO, UM TO THE JOB.
UM. WAS THERE ANYTHING MENTIONED? UM, I LISTEN CLOSELY, BUT. AND HEALTH AND WELLNESS IS SOMETHING I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR IN THE BUDGET
AND I THINK IT'S A TOP PRIORITY FOR ME BECAUSE IT'S A TOP PRIORITY FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. BUT WAS THERE ANY MENTION ON. HEART DISEASE ABOUT HEALTH AND
WELLNESS AND UH, HOW WE'RE WORKING? UH, ON HEART DISEASE, HEART DISEASE RELATED ISSUES WITH EVERYTHING. THAT YOU MENTIONED. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF CHIEF SHANE WOULD LIKE TO. CHIME IN.
>> I MEAN, WE ARE THE. CLINICAL DIRECTOR IS A NUTRITIONIST. UM. >> THE GRANT REQUIRES THAT IT BE SOMEBODY. WITH, YOU KNOW, A. MEDICAL LICENSE. UM, AND. BASED ON SOME OF. THE FINDINGS. >> IN.
THE CANCER SCREENING, THERE WERE CARDIAC FINDINGS. SO SHE HAS TAILORED HER PLANS FOR MEMBERS WHO ARE INTERESTED TO SORT OF WORK WITH. INDIVIDUALS THAT MAY HAVE
CARDIAC RISK FACTORS. BUT CHIEF. YEAH. >> SO TO JUST TO PIGGYBACK OFF OF JULIE. SO WHAT WOULD SOME OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS SOME OF THE MAJOR FINDINGS WE FOUND WITH FATTY LIVERS AND HIGH CHOLESTEROL
THINGS OF THAT NATURE. SO WE WERE INUNDATED WITH WITH REQUESTS TO THE NUTRITIONIST TO YOU KNOW, AND THEN WE HAD HER UH, PROGRAM UH KIND OF PUT
TOGETHER SOME PROGRAMS THAT UM, WE COULD PUT OUT TO THE MEMBERSHIP TO LOWER THE CHOLESTEROL, FATTY LIVER THINGS IN THAT NATURE. UM, IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS COMPARED TO CANCER THAN NOT. THAT GUYS TEND TO THINK OF IT
NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. BUT WHAT IT IS IS A PRECURSOR TO A MUCH MAJOR UH, MUCH MORE LARGER PROBLEM. SO YES, WE HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH UH WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON THAT. YEAH.
>> THANK AND THANK YOU FOR FOR THAT INFORMATION. THANK YOU FOR THAT IMPORTANT WORK. NOT ONLY THE THE CANCER UM, THE
CANCER TREATMENT AND PREVENTION BUT ALSO HEART DISEASE. UM, SUPPORTING SUPPORTING FIREFIGHTERS BOTH MEN AND WOMEN . I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY HERE THAT'S BEEN
INVOLVED IN THIS CERTAINLY THE THE FIRE COMMISSIONER BUT ALSO THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT ARE THAT ARE HERE AS WELL. I ALSO WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO THE UM TO THE UNION THAT HAS
BEEN VERY SUPPORTIVE, UM, OF HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR FIREFIGHTERS NOT ONLY AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL WITH UM WITH
EDDIE KELLY AT IAF BUT HERE PFM AT THE STATE LEVEL AND SAM DILLON AT THE LOCAL LEVEL. IT'S A LOCAL 718. I ALSO BRING UP HEART DISEASE UM AND HOW IT IMPACTS
FIREFIGHTERS. I'M GOING TO CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR UH CANCER PREVENTION, FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS, FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES . I ALWAYS INCLUDE THE WORD FAMILIES.
THAT'S THAT'S HOW I THAT'S HOW I GREW UP. BUT AS A AS A VETERAN, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT SUPPORTING VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES AND I CONSIDER THE SAME WITH
FIREFIGHTERS SUPPORTING FIREFIGHTERS AND THEIR FAMILIES. BUT I ALSO BRING UP HEART DISEASE BECAUSE MANY OF YOU KNOW MY UNCLE DENNIS WHO DIED AS A FAIRLY FAIRLY YOUNG MAN.
AND I WANT TO TRY TO DO WHATEVER I CAN TO SUPPORT OTHER FIREFIGHTERS THAT UM, GET THE. CRITICAL SUPPORT AND AND UM
PREVENTION AND HEALTH UM, THAT THEY NEED WHETHER IT'S CANCER PREVENTION OR OR IT'S UM OR IT'S OTHER RELATED ISSUES SUCH AS HEART DISEASE.
UM. MY MY FINAL MY FINAL POINT WOULD BE COMMISSIONER, I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU TO YOU. YOU WORKED WITH ME FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS AND AND WORKING TO GET
A FIRE PRESENCE DOWN AT THE SOUTH BOSTON WATERFRONT. I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU, UM, TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR ALWAYS BEING THERE AND ADVOCATING AND
,UM, I KNOW IT'S BEEN A PRIORITY OF MINE. IT'S A PRIORITY OF YOURS. BUT I ALSO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE MY MY NEIGHBOR IN SOUTH BOSTON, MICHAEL FLAHERTY WHO UM WHO WORKED WITH ME ON THE CITY
COUNCIL ON THIS I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER KEVIN. COYNE IS INSTRUMENTAL. >> TO THE. SECURE IN THE DELTA CUT FUNDING . HOPEFULLY WE CAN KEEP IT UP EVERY SUMMER. NO THANK YOU WORK. >> FOR. YOUR COMMUNITY. THAT THEY'RE PROTECTED FROM ALL
THAT GOES ON DOWN THERE. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. UM THANK YOU KEVIN AND I JUST WANT TO SAY AGAIN SAY THANK YOU TO JULIE. AND I WAS WITH KEVIN AND YOU
COMMISSIONER WE WE DID THAT, UM, CARBON MONOXIDE PROGRAM IN THE SOUTH AND. WE WERE ABLE TO. SUPPORT MANY CHINESE RESIDENTS AND, UH, JUST WANT TO SAY THANK
YOU FOR THAT. WONDERFUL. IT WAS PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST DAYS I HAD ON THE CITY COUNCIL AS OF EARLY SATURDAY SATURDAY MORNING AND THE FIREFIGHTERS COULD HAVE STILL LET US UH, WENT AROUND AND
INSTALLED CARBON MONOXIDE WITH OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS. SO NOT ONLY ARE FIREFIGHTERS PUTTING OUT FIREFIGHTERS PUTTING OUT FIRES, BUT THEY'RE REALLY IN THE ROLE AND JOB TO
HAVE PREVENTION IN EDUCATION AND WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT TO THE RESIDENTS OF BOSTON. MR CHAIR, I HAVE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS. AND MR CHAIR, I DO APOLOGIZE. UM I'M GOING TO BE LEAVING UM
I'M GOING TO BE LEAVING. SO THANK YOU TRANSFER FOR AND. UM COUNCILOR MURPHY, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU FOR GOING OVER ALL THESE IMPORTANT GRANTS.
I THINK MY NEIGHBORHOODS NEXT THEY'RE COMING TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I WAS ASKED IF I'D OPEN UP MY HOUSE. I SAID JUST GIVE ME AT LEAST TEN MINUTES TO CLEAN IT UP BEFORE YOU ALL WALK IN. BUT WE'RE GOING TO TRY TO GET
UM, MY SIDE UM, OF DORCHESTER. THEY'RE GETTING THESE TESTING IN. IT'S SO IMPORTANT. SO THANK YOU FOR THAT. I WANT TO TOUCH ON FIFA. I KNOW THERE'S BEEN MANY
HEARINGS, COMMISSIONER, WHERE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT PEOPLE ACROSS THE STATE. RIGHT. THEY LEAN ON US AS A DEPARTMENT FOR NOT JUST TRAINING BUT WE HAVE EQUIPMENT AND OTHERS THAT THEY'LL NEED.
DO YOU SEE THAT WHEN FIFA AND THE TALL SHIPS AND ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE COMING INTO OUR CITY IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS INTO OUR STATE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO BE LEANING ON US MORE NOT JUST
HERE IN BOSTON. >> I DO SEE THAT I THINK THE MUTUAL AID SYSTEM WILL BE READY AND WE'LL GO WHEREVER WE HAVE TO. ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN IN EVERETT AND UH, WE'VE SENT PEOPLE OVER THERE FOR
ENTRAPMENT IN THAT FACTORY ON THE WATER. SO THERE'S GOING TO BE A, UH, CONSTRUCTION GOING ON. I DON'T KNOW WHEN IT STARTS ON THE SOCCER STADIUM SO THAT'S ALWAYS HAZARDOUS. THEY HAD THAT ACCIDENT ON THE
HARBOR OVER THERE NOT TOO LONG AGO IF WE WENT OVER FOR THAT. SO YEAH, I. THINK THE STAFFING LEVELS WILL BE INCREASED JUST TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENOUGH STAFF BECAUSE WE ARE THE BIGGEST FIRE DEPARTMENT IN THE STATE.
SO WE'LL BE READY. NO AND I KNOW YOU ARE ALWAYS READY. WE JUST NEED TO MAKE SURE HERE ON THE COUNCIL WHEN IT COMES TO BUDGET TIMES THAT WE'RE NOT PUSHING BACK IF IT'S OVERTIME OR OTHER PAY THAT WE'LL NEED.
SO THANK YOU FOR REASSURING US ABOUT THAT. CAN I ALSO TOUCH ON IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN A GRANT OR NOT BUT UM THE ELECTRIC CARS I KNOW THAT'S ALWAYS BEEN A CONCERN AND WHERE WE STORE THEM AND.
THE SAFETY OF THAT. YEAH I. >> WAS GOING TO HAVE, UH, CHIEF KELLY TALK ABOUT THAT BECAUSE I KNOW HE'S AN EXPERT. AND HE GETS ON A SOAPBOX BUT IT'S REALLY COOL. YEAH. >> THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO HEAR BECAUSE WE NEED TO KEEP IT ALIVE. YOU KNOW.
>> THE RIGHT UH. >> THE. OTHER KELLY. UM. SORRY. YEAH. >> RIGHT. YEAH. >> YEAH, HE'S. HE KNOWS THIS AND AS WE KNOW WITH SWITCHING FROM FOSSIL FUELS AND BUILDINGS TO ELECTRIC AND HE HAS A LOT OF RESEARCH ON
IT AND HE'S VERY PASSIONATE ABOUT MAKING SURE THEY'RE SAFE THOSE SYSTEM. THANK YOU. >> JUST TO TOUCH ON A UH BRIEFLY UM WHERE I HAVE BEEN DOING A LOT OF RESEARCH ON IT IT PROBABLY ACTUALLY DOES FALL
UNDER THE FIRE MARSHAL AND FIRE PREVENTION DIVISION IN THE WORK THAT HE'S BEEN DOING WITH HIS FIRE PROTECTION ENGINEER IN THE CURRENT IT'S JUST THE FIRE MARSHAL, UM, WORKING WITH ALL
THE DEVELOPERS, DESIGNERS AND ARCHITECTS, UH, WHO ARE PULLING PERMITS FOR THE CITY RIGHT NOW. THE FIRE CODE IS NOT CATCHING UP WITH TECHNOLOGY. RIGHT. AND SO ALL THE.
EV PARKING. AND ALL THE STORED ENERGY STUFF THAT WE'RE PULLING THE GRANT FOR FOR NEXT YEAR HOPEFULLY. UM. WORKING WITH THE DEVELOPERS AHEAD OF TIME, HAVING THE
BOSTON FIRE DEPARTMENT BECOME A STAKEHOLDER IN A BUILDING RATHER THAN A FINAL APPROVAL COMING ACROSS HIS DESK. WE'RE WORKING WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH THEM. FROM THE START. AND SAY WHEN IT COMES TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES, WHERE DO YOU
PLAN ON HAVING THEM MEET WITH US? FIRST LET'S COME UP WITH A PLAN TOGETHER. THIS IS WHAT WE WOULD LIKE YOU TO. SEE YOU GUYS DO. CAN WE MAKE THIS HAPPEN? HOW CAN WE DO THAT AND COOL.
I MEAN IT. SEEMS TO BE VERY WELL. RECEIVED TO THE POINT WE'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR SO LONG NOW THAT. THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO ASK US ANY MORE AS FAR AS A NEW CONSTRUCTION GOES, UM WHAT A
LOT OF THE LARGER CONSTRUCTION FIRMS AND THE COMPANIES THAT ARE DOING THE LARGER RENOVATIONS SO THEY KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR BEFORE WE EVEN HAVE TO ASK. SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE NOT REACTIVE.
I THINK IT'S WORKING I HAVE IT HAS BEEN SO UH IT IS SOMETHING WE ARE AWARE OF AND WE ARE TRYING DILIGENTLY TO STAY AHEAD OF WITHIN. THE DEPARTMENT. >> THANK YOU.
THANK YOU FOR THAT. IT WAS MENTIONED AND I DO WANT TO ALSO THANK SAM RICH AND EDDIE AT THE UNION LEVEL BECAUSE I KNOW IT'S NOT JUST PAY AND BENEFIT YOU KNOW THAT
THEY ADVOCATE FOR IT'S ALSO THE SAFETY OF THE MEMBERS AND I'VE LEARNED A LOT FROM YOU KNOW JUST LISTENING AND WATCHING THEM ALSO ALONG WITH ALL OF YOU. BUT WE TALKED ABOUT THE NEED FOR CANCER SCREENINGS AND HEART
DISEASE. BUT IF SOMEONE COULD REMIND ME BECAUSE I THINK IT'S LIKE A REALLY SCARY NUMBER THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF FIREFIGHTERS AFTER THEY RETIRE IS LIKE FIREFIGHTER. THIS YEAR. >> SO YOU.
DEDICATE YOUR LIFE AND YOUR FAMILY DOES TO YOU KNOW, THE SAFETY OF THE CITY AND THEN YOUR LIFE EXPECTANCY IS. MAY OR FIVE YEARS. SO I THINK WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO BE REMINDED OF THAT.
AND ARE THERE GRANTS ANY OF THE GRANTS YOU MENTIONED THAT WE DIDN'T GET ARE RELATED TO ANY LIKE HEALTH. SCREENING OR HEALTH SUPPORTS?
SO THE AFG GRANT UM, LIKE CHIEF SHEA SAID THE MAJORITY OF THE BUDGET THAT FUNDS SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELLNESS IS USUALLY
GRANT FUNDING. UM, I THINK A REQUEST FOR SOME OF THE IMPORTANT ITEMS FOR THE PROGRAMING THAT HE HAS WAS SUBMITTED WITHIN OUR FISCAL YEAR 27 OPERATING BUDGET.
UM, BUT I'M NOT SURE WHAT HAS BEEN FUNDED OR NOT FUNDED. THE OFFICE OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT. >> IT'S ALMOST I THINK 100% FUNDED THROUGH GRANTS. SO IT'S SCARY TO THINK THE GRANTS GET CUT WHICH WE. >> KNOW IN THIS TIME THEY.
EASILY COULD BE THAT'S SUCH AN . IMPORTANT ASSET TO. >> OUR MEMBERS AND TO OUR RESIDENTS. SO IF THERE'S ANYTHING WE. >> CAN DO ON THE SIDE. >> OF THE OF PUTTING IT OVER INTO THE OPERATIONAL BUDGET, PLEASE LET US KNOW. THANK YOU. >> THAT'S ALL MY QUESTIONS ARE
OBVIOUSLY HERE TO SUPPORT THEM ALL. THANK YOU COMMISSIONER. I KNOW I SAID IT THE OTHER NIGHT AT MAYBE OUR LAST GALA IN CHINATOWN BUT PROBABLY MAYBE OUR LAST HEARING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND
ENJOY YOUR RETIREMENT. AND I DON'T KNOW I DON'T MEAN TO SOUND MORBID, BUT I REALLY HOPE YOU GET WAY MORE THAN FIVE YEARS NOW. ARE YOU. NOW THAT I MENTIONED I MIGHT. >> SEE YOU ONE MORE TIME AND I'M. HOPING THAT AND PLEASE STAY
AROUND LONGER. >> THAN FIVE YEARS AFTER YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH COUNCIL YOU. THANK YOU. COUNCILOR MURPHY. COUNCILOR FITZGERALD, YOU HAVE THE FLOOR. THANK YOU. >> CHAIR. UM THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE TODAY. REALLY APPRECIATE IT. JULIA, I WAS WONDERING COULD
YOU PLEASE GO THROUGH EACH GRANT AND DESCRIBE WHAT THEY DO AND, UH, WHERE THEY MIGHT GO TO? SURE. >> JULIE. >> I'M JUST WORKING ON MY APRIL FOOL'S. OKAY. THAT WAS A FANTASTIC JOB
EARLIER I IT REALLY TOOK MOST OF THE QUESTIONS I HAD OUT OF COMMISSION. UH, I'M JUST HAPPY TO BE SUPPORTING THE HEALTH TRAINING AND WELLNESS FOR ALL OF OUR EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE CITY. UM, I ACTUALLY DID HAVE ONE
QUESTION, BUT AARON KIND OF ALLUDED TO IT UH, AROUND UH ,THE BEST THE BATTERY ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEMS. I KNOW MORE OF THOSE ARE GOING TO BE COMING AS DEVELOPMENT OCCURS AND LARGER DEVELOPMENT CARS PEOPLE ARE GOING TO START SAYING HEY, THIS MIGHT BE A
GOOD SPOT TO THROW ONE OF THESE BATTERIES AND I KNOW THEY'RE GOING TO BE NEAR RESIDENTS AND RESIDENTS ARE GOING TO SAY WHAT IS THAT? HOW DOES IT AFFECT MY HEALTH? RIGHT IF I'M RAISING MY FAMILY NEXT TO IT?
UM AND SO I KNOW PUTTING THEM OUT AND THE ISSUES THAT MAY COME WITH THAT WILL BE A LOT. WHAT YOU GUYS SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE'S TRAINING AROUND THAT. UM AND AS WELL AS FROM NOT JUST FOR THE HEALTH OF OUR CONSTITUENTS BUT THE HEALTH OF YOU ALL AS WELL.
SO, UH, SUPPORT THIS GOING FORWARD. UH, NO FURTHER QUESTIONS AND UH, JUST AGAIN THANK YOU ALL AND UH OBVIOUSLY AGAIN ONCE AGAIN HAPPY RETIREMENT MY FRIEND. THANK YOU COUNCIL. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU CHAIR.
THANK YOU COUNCILOR FITZGERALD . UM I DO HAVE ONE FOLLOW UH. DEPUTY CHIEF SHAY I THINK IN HIS DIVISION YOU MENTIONED THAT YOUR DIVISION IS MOSTLY FUNDED
THROUGH, UM THROUGH GRANTS WRITE FEDERAL GRANTS. HOW HOW MUCH IS THE, UH HOW MUCH IS YOUR DIVISION? WHAT'S YOUR WHAT'S YOUR BUDGET FOR THE ENTIRE DIVISION? YES, BECAUSE I KNOW I JUST WANT
TO KNOW WHAT WE'RE TALKING. ABOUT HERE IN TERMS OF. UM SO WHEN WE APPLY FOR THE GRANTS THE AFG GRANTS ARE GENERALLY DONE IN GROUPINGS.
UM, SO OFTENTIMES IT WOULD IT CAN RANGE BETWEEN 1.2 AND 1.4 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF TWO YEARS. UM BUT IT'S SPLIT AMONG TRAINING OFFICER TRAINING AS WELL AS SAFETY HEALTH AND
WELLNESS. UM SO I WOULD SAY THEY'RE PROBABLY AVERAGING. ABOUT 500,000 A FISCAL YEAR. UM THAT FUNDS A GOOD PORTION.
AFG ALSO REQUIRES A CITY SHARE OF 10%. SO WE'RE OFTEN TAKING MONEY FROM THEIR MINIMAL BUDGET THAT THEY HAVE IN ORDER. THE GRANT REQUIRES THAT THE
CITY PAY A CERTAIN AMOUNT. IT ENDS UP BEING LIKE 9.91%. UM, THE WAY THEY DO THE EQUATION BUT WE'RE ALSO TAPPING INTO THEIR MONEY TO GET THAT
10% FOR THE GRANT. UM, SO IT IS A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MONEY AND WE UNDERSTAND GRANTS ARE NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE RELEASED. WE CAN'T RELY ON THEM.
UM, BUT IT'S A SHAME BECAUSE HIS DIVISION HAS REALLY SEEN SOME GROWTH BASED ON THESE GRANTS AND WE DON'T WANT TO LOSE THAT MOMENTUM. YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD OR YOU
KNOW OKAY GREAT. NO NO THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL TO JUST KNOW JUST AS WE'RE IN BUDGET SEASON UM NOT DELIBERATING WITH OUR WITH MY COUNCIL COLLEAGUES.
UM, BUT UM DO I HAVE YOU HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. ALL RIGHT. WELL, UH, I DON'T WANT TO KEEP YOU HERE LONGER THAN YOU. UM, YOU HAVE TO DO SO. UM, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE, UM, ALL OF YOU BEING HERE BEING
PRESIDENT. JULIE. UM, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU FOR FOR, UM FOR DESCRIBING ALL THE GRANTS, UM, IN DETAIL. UM, MY ROLE NOW IS AS THE YEAR CONTINUES.
I WILL, UH, MAKE SURE THAT I'M PULLING, UM, THESE GRANTS OUT FOR A COUNCIL VOTE ON THE CITY ON THE CITY COUNCIL. UM, AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU MENTIONED AS A COUPLE JUST. TO THOSE TWO AND I THINK THERE'S A COUPLE THAT YOU'RE
WAITING ON MAYBE THAT WE DIDN'T COVER TODAY OR THAT YOU'RE APPLYING FOR. YES. >> THERE ARE A FEW THAT WE HAVE APPLIED FOR AND HAVEN'T RECEIVED A RESPONSE. OKAY. YEAH. >> WE'LL KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THAT FOR THOSE AS WELL. SO UM I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT
WE DON'T HAVE ANYONE, UM, SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY . UM, SO, UM. YEAH. REALLY APPRECIATE YOU ALL AGAIN, COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UM. UH. HAPPY RETIREMENT.
UM, AND THIS HEARING ON DOCKET NUMBER 0400 IS ADJOURNED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. >> CHAIRMAN. THANK YOU.