Overview
- Transportation officials assessed damages in only 5.5% of GPS log-in breaches, collecting $1.7 million, according to the audit.
- Parents filed more than 15,000 late-arrival calls and over 14,000 no-show complaints in 2023–24, underscoring unreliable service.
- The audit says required GPS log-ins frequently failed and a $51.7 million Via upgrade has not produced reliable tracking.
- After contractor pressure for a five-year deal, the city finalized a retroactive three-year extension that advocates say should be used to rebid, municipalize, or expand nonprofit service.
- DOE said the report lacks context, citing 8,000 twice-daily routes and $4.9 million in liquidated damages last fiscal year, while roughly 145,000 mostly vulnerable students rely on buses costing nearly $2 billion annually.