AVRA runs small-van routes for special education, out-of-district, and McKinney-Vento students across the South Shore and Greater Boston. Same driver, same monitor, same time every school day.
What a typical school day looks like for one AVRA van, one driver, one monitor, and the four students they pick up.
Small vans, short rides, staff who know each student. Every route is built around the IEP and the ride-time limit in 603 CMR 28.00.
In-district and collaborative programs for students with physical, behavioral, or developmental needs. Monitors on every route where the IEP calls for one. Car seats, harnesses, and quiet-ride vans on request.
Special education transportationDaily runs to approved private and residential day programs anywhere in Massachusetts, planned to keep each student under the one-hour ride limit. One student per van when the placement requires it.
Out-of-district transportationTransportation to the school of origin for students in shelters, doubled-up housing, or DCF placement. Routes set up within two school days of the request and adjusted as the student's housing changes.
McKinney-Vento transportationEleven lift-equipped vans with Q'Straint four-point securement and occupant restraints. Drivers and monitors recertified on the lift and tie-downs every year, with a nurse or aide riding along when required.
Wheelchair transportationA fixed set of routes for the school year, bid per route or per student, with a named driver and monitor for each. Best for established programs.
Capacity you draw on as students enroll, move, or change placement mid-year. Daily rate, no minimum route count. Common for McKinney-Vento and DCF referrals.
The numbers a transportation office asks for first, in one place.
| 7D passenger vans | 42Ford Transit and Chevrolet Express, 8 to 10 seats |
|---|---|
| Wheelchair-lift vans | 11Two wheelchair positions plus 5 seats each |
| Average vehicle age | 3.1 yearsRetired at 7 years or 150,000 miles |
| 7D-certified drivers | 58 |
| Ride monitors | 24 |
| Students riding daily | about 64031 districts and collaboratives |
| On-time arrival, last school year | 98.4%Within 5 minutes of the scheduled bell |
Six things every district contract with AVRA includes. Not options, not upgrades.
Massachusetts 7D certificate, CORI, SORI, national fingerprint check, RMV driving record pulled every six months, DOT physical, pre-employment and random drug testing.
The same driver and monitor on a route for the whole school year. Substitutes are introduced to the student and family before they drive, not on the morning they are needed.
Daily pre-trip and post-trip checks logged electronically. RMV 7D inspection twice a year. Lifts serviced every 90 days.
Every driver and monitor recertified annually on wheelchair tie-downs, car seats, harnesses, and evacuation. Behavior de-escalation and epinephrine training for routes that need them.
Arrival texts, a dispatcher who answers the phone from 5:30 AM, and a route change window until 8 PM the night before. Schools get a daily rider list.
Routes built to the transportation section of each IEP and to the one-hour ride limit in 603 CMR 28.00. Vehicles and drivers meet 540 CMR 8.00. Records available for DESE review.
Bid documents, route planning, and a single operations contact who knows your students.
Your child's route, your driver's name, and one phone number that is always answered.
Our son has had the same driver for three years. He knows her van by the sound of it and he is at the window waiting. That has never happened with a vendor before.
When a McKinney-Vento family moved from Quincy to Brockton on a Tuesday, the route was running Thursday morning. We did not have to call twice.
The pre-trip logs and driver files were the cleanest we reviewed. When we asked for lift service records, they were in our inbox the same afternoon.
Routes running in Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth, Milton, Randolph, Hingham, Holbrook, Canton, Stoughton, Brockton, Abington, Rockland, Dedham, Norwood, Dorchester, Boston, Newton, Waltham, Framingham, Natick, Quincy, Hudson, Bolton, Stow, Lancaster, Leominster, Lowell, Worcester, Westborough, Shrewsbury, and Plymouth.
Split-shift routes, weekly pay, and a van you take home. We will pay for your 7D certification if you do not have one yet.
A 7D vehicle is a van registered with the Massachusetts RMV to carry up to ten students under 540 CMR 8.00. The driver holds a 7D certificate, which requires a clean driving record, a CORI and SORI check, a physical, and an RMV road test in the vehicle. Every AVRA driver holds one before their first route.
Massachusetts limits special education ride time to one hour each way unless the IEP team agrees otherwise. AVRA plans routes to stay under that limit and tells you the scheduled pickup and drop-off times before the first day.
A monitor rides whenever the IEP requires one, and on every wheelchair route. Districts can add a monitor to any other route at a daily rate.
Two school days for a McKinney-Vento or DCF request when a van is available in the area. Five business days for a new contracted route with a route plan for district approval.
Dispatch calls the family and the school if a van will be more than ten minutes behind schedule. GPS lets dispatch see every van live, so the call comes before you have to make it.
The South Shore, Greater Boston, and MetroWest from our Quincy yard, with out-of-district runs to programs anywhere in Massachusetts. If your town is not in the list above, call and ask. We add towns every year.
Tell us the number of students, the schools, and when you need the route to start. An operations manager replies within one business day, usually the same afternoon.
