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Massachusetts National Guard to help bus students to school

Virus Outbreak Busing National Guard
Posted at 2:40 PM, Sep 14, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-14 14:40:28-04

There aren't enough school bus drivers in Massachusetts, so the governor is activating the national guard to help drive kids to school.

According to the Associated Press, Governor Charlie Baker said 250 guard personnel would be available to serve as drivers of school transport vans, with training set to begin Tuesday.

The AP reported that 90 of them will then be dispersed to help cities, including Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell, and Lynn, dealing with driver shortages.

According to the AP, the guard personnel will not be driving the familiar long school buses but transport vans known as “7D vehicles.”

The Boston Herald reported that it's unknown that guard personnel will drive them or how much it'll cost.

The news outlets reported that bus driver shortages across the nation had hit schools hard this year due to the highly contagious delta variant and fights over mask requirements.

According to Boston Globe, more than 1,200 buses ran late in Boston on the first day of school.