Sometimes you have to say 'we told you so'

The Worcester School Committee voted in 2021 to break from the current vendor provider, Durham, and take busing in-house, with issues being cited regarding a lack of drivers and excessive costs. A 2019 study by the district projected that taking busing in-house will lead to $3.5 million in savings. A subsequent analysis conducted by the department revealed that the actual savings for fiscal 2023 were $5 million, and that email complaints from parents fell by 76%.

from today's Worcester Telegram & Gazette 

The T&G itself links to their report from the time, which includes the following: 

But Superintendent Maureen Binienda recommended Worcester not take on busing entirely on its own, and continued to defend Durham’s track record of collaborating with the district.

“When there’s a problem, we work together to solve it,” she said.

Binienda also warned the district will face the same kind of challenges, chiefly a national driver shortage, currently plaguing Durham, which is currently 19 drivers short for the new school year starting next week. 

“What’s so special about the Worcester Public Schools that people are going to leave to come?” She said, adding the school system will not be able to offer the financial incentives that private contractors are able to. 

Today's article: 

 For the first time in history, the district is starting the year with all driver positions filled, according to Director of Transportation Michael Freeman. One hundred fifteen "big" bus drivers and 107 "small" bus drivers, 221 drivers in all, are set to start the year in Worcester when school begins on Aug. 26.

"When we took over in-house transportation, we were 67 drivers short, so between then and now, over the last three years, we have been able to make up that gap," Freeman said.

And how did that happen?

 Yelitza Garcia, transportation personnel supervisor for the Worcester Public Schools, said that by taking busing in-house, the district has been able to guarantee 30 hours a week for drivers, enough to make them full-time city employees, which opens them up to insurance benefits and the city's pension program.

"I think once we updated our contracts, one of the major benefits is that we've increased guaranteed hours," Garcia said. "That has really helped in drawing people in. We've also expressed that there are extra opportunities to work, such as charters now that we are in house, there are are a lot more opportunities for charters."

The district has been able to work with MassHire, a state agency that helps connect job seekers with employers, to find candidates to become drivers.

"With the MassHire job fairs we attend them and they have been a huge asset to us," Jason Crue, WPS' training supervisor, said. "There are a lot of benefits, working for the city, people like working with kids, and there are their own rewards to working with special needs students on the buses."

 Going in house did improve service, did save money, and did improve working conditions for staff.
Just as we said.

UPDATE: And don't miss this great video from WCVB on how the shortage was solved with some nice driver cameos!