Students in Massachusetts will be getting new bus drivers: US military personnel

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker activated the National Guard on Monday to help transport students in several cities across the state to school amid a widespread bus driver shortage plaguing the return to in-person instruction.

The governor’s order makes up to 250 Massachusetts National Guard personnel available, and 90 of those Guard members will begin training on Tuesday to serve as drivers of school transport vans known as 7D vehicles to address staffing shortages in district including Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell, and Lynn. 7D vehicles are smaller pupil transport vans that can hold a maximum of 11 people, including the driver under Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles regulations in effect since July 1, 2020.

Baker, a Republican, said Boston Public Schools is among those communities which “weren’t interested” in accepting help from troops at this time, but “left the door open to pursue it at some point later on,” The Lowell Sun reported. In announcing the order Monday, the governor tweeted, “The safe and reliable transportation to school each day is critical to our children’s safety and education.”

“We’ve had conversations with a lot of our colleagues in municipal government about the issue associated with drivers, but people were not really sure where it was all going to land,” Baker said at the State House on Monday, according to the Boston Herald. “Once it became pretty clear that there were going to be some communities that would be shorthanded … we started talking to the Guard.” – READ MORE