Senators Push Federal Regulator to Prove School Bus Safety Data Is Accurate

After a ProPublica and WBUR investigation, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., co-wrote a letter asking the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration how the department ensures the accuracy of school bus safety data. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images Two leading Democrats on the U.S. Senate committee that oversees transportation safety pressed the nation’s regulator of buses on Wednesday to provide proof it can detect troubled private companies that provide services to schools and municipalities.  The letter, from Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, adds weight to concerns voiced by elected officials about federal regulations and Transdev. A WBUR and ProPublica investigation found that dozens of deadly collisions were missing from the safety record of the company, which is one of the nation’s largest operators of public transit.  The letter was sent to the head of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The lawmakers asked the agency for documents showing how they ensure school bus safety data is accurate, what guidance it provides to law enforcement on how to report which organizations or companies are involved in a crash, and why FMCSA data shows the number of “enforcement actions” against companies has dropped dramatically under the Trump administration. The senators also asked FMCSA, which is part of the Department of Transportation, for records specific to the company Transdev, the focus of WBUR and ProPublica’s investigation. The newsrooms began their reporting after the April 2025 death of a Boston kindergartner who was run over by his own school bus; the publications found no sign in federal safety records that Transdev, which operated the bus, was involved in the crash.  The Department of Transportation did not answer WBUR and ProPublica’s questions about the letter or its reporting, but a spokesperson wrote in a statement Wednesday that the agency “shares the Senators’ commitment to the safe transportation of America’s children.”  “We have received the Senators’ letter, take the safety concerns raised very seriously, and are currently investigating the matter to provide a comprehensive response,” the statement continued. Transdev said in a statement responding to the senators’ letter that the company takes safety seriously and that “all incidents are thoroughly investigated.”  “Transdev complies with all applicable laws and regulatory requirements in every jurisdiction in which we operate, including federally mandated reporting standards,” the statement said. “It is important to emphasize that we have always followed federal regulations, as prescribed, and will continue to adhere to all requirements for reporting incidents.” The news investigation uncovered dozens of other deadly crashes associated with Transdev that were not part of its record. Lens Joseph’s death and at least two others resulted in criminal charges against the bus drivers. The driver in Lens’ case has pleaded not guilty in an ongoing felony involuntary manslaughter case. In a 2017 crash in Taunton, Massachusetts, that left a woman dead, the bus driver pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent operation of a motor vehicle. And another Transdev bus driver pleaded guilty to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter after the bus she was driving struck and killed a man in Las Vegas in 2023.   The two senators seek by Aug. 12 a list of all the inspections and crashes related to the French company and records explaining why the federal agency’s records did not include at least 42 fatal crashes connected to the company over the past decade. “Without accurate and complete data, it is impossible for FMCSA to properly target enforcement on unsafe companies, because the agency lacks the critical data needed to conclude they are unsafe,” the senators said in the letter.  “It’s clear U.S. DOT failed in its responsibility to hold unsafe truck and bus companies accountable,” Markey said. “That’s why Senator Cantwell and I are demanding answers from Trump’s DOT about its lack of oversight of truck and bus companies with dangerous, alarming, and unknown track records.” WBUR and ProPublica sought comment from the Republican leadership of both the House and Senate committees responsible for transportation safety after the June story was published, but did not receive responses. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has said accurate data is key to making good policy.   “We can’t save lives if we don’t have accurate data — which is why the recent reporting from ProPublica and WBUR about the gaps in our database was so disturbing,” Larsen said. A School Bus Killed a 5-Year-Old. The Crash Is Among Dozens Missing From the Bus Company’s Federal Safety Record. On July 17, Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy sent a written request to the state’s schools regulator for an independent review of Boston Public Schools’ transportation safety. She said she was concerned that Boston Public Schools may not have revealed the full extent of Transdev’s crash problems.   U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democrat who represents the Boston neighborhood where 5-year-old Lens was killed, has also called for FMCSA to investigate Transdev.  “We should not have any company or contractor operating without a full accounting of their safety record,” Pressley said in a written statement. “The safety of our children must be the top priority.” The post Senators Push Federal Regulator to Prove school bus safety Data Is Accurate appeared first on ProPublica .