Haverhill school officials plan to double down on a bus pass program that so far has seen lukewarm success.
Superintendent Margaret Marotta told School Committee members Thursday she’d prefer not to waste the investment, but instead encourage higher participation.
“I think the swipe on, swipe off is incredibly important. Being the one who’s usually here in the late afternoon with a child that’s gotten off at the wrong stop or that has been picked up by a parent that hasn’t communicated with the other parent, the many different things that happen that happen in a larger school system. It’s terrifying for everyone involved,” Marotta said. “That’s why we invested in this system a few years ago. I have to say, we are having a very hard time getting people to use the system.”
The school bus pass program began in 2023. As WHAV reported at the time, the program was intended to ease anxiety when a child does not get off the bus when expected.
The superintendent said schools have offered incentives, worked with bus drivers and “cajoled, pleaded and begged” to increase usage of the system. She added administrators talked with a transportation audit consultant and learned Haverhill’s numbers are consistent with other communities. She noted, “for whatever reason, it’s really hard to get kids to swipe on and off the bus.”
She said her aim is to continue to push the program for next school year, but acknowledged the software to run the program is an ongoing expense and would “prefer not to give this up, I would prefer to have this work.”
Haverhill School Committee members also heard more about a persistent issue of delayed school bus stops. Part of the reason, said Transportation Director Elizabeth Murphy Cannata, is NRT Bus has encountered driver absences, but also relayed inaccurate information to the schools about route delays.
“A lot of them, the time difference is empty, but we’ll find out 10 to 15 minutes after the route started that the route is running 15 minutes late,” Cannata explained. “But we can’t notify the parents because they’re already out there waiting for the bus.”
Marotta said other communities are likewise concerned disruptions are increasing, saying, “We’ve got a vendor that isn’t holding up their end of the bargain.”
Responding to a question from Committee member Mikaela Lalumiere about holding the bus company answerable, the superintendent said the city can hit them in the pocketbook.
“The numbers are large at this point. That was something we did to hold them accountable. So, we are getting discounts, I guess we’ll call them, on the money that we owe them,” Marotta said. “They just clearly don’t have the staff to make it happen. I don’t know what to do. I don’t believe anyone else bid on our contract. Yeah, so it’s a bit of a monopoly.”
Committee member Paul A. Magliocchetti called delays a “real problem,” citing calls he receives from constituents.
“It’s almost impossible to do anything about this, which is a real problem. I think at the state level they have to try to figure this out. It’s very disturbing to the families. I get calls all the time, you know, ‘Is there something you can do, my bus is late again?’” he said. “And I’m not hearing 10 minutes, five minutes. I’m hearing 20 to 25 minutes sometimes. I know I’ve actually seen buses running at 9 o’clock in the morning.”
He floated the idea the school system could return to the table with NRT to levy heavy fines as a possible solution, noting he is unsure whether they can persuade NRT to agree to new terms.