Transportation built around the student, not the route.
AVRA runs small 7D vans on door-to-door routes for students whose IEP, placement, or housing situation means a school bus will not work. Districts, collaboratives, and human-service agencies contract the routes. Families ride them every school day.
Special education routes
For students with an IEP that calls for transportation as a related service. That covers physical disabilities, autism, behavioral and emotional needs, medical conditions, and developmental delays. Routes run to in-district programs, collaborative programs, and approved day schools, with the same driver and monitor for the whole school year.
The district sends us the transportation page of each IEP. We build the route from it: seat position, harness or car seat, a monitor if one is required, a quiet van with no radio if that helps, and a schedule that keeps every student under the one-hour ride limit in 603 CMR 28.00. Behavior plans and medical protocols stay in the van binder and on the driver's tablet. Nothing about the student is shared beyond the people on that route.
- Named driver and monitor for the school year
- Car seats, five-point harnesses, and booster seats as the IEP specifies
- Monitor on every route where the IEP requires one
- Route plan delivered within five business days of the request
- Daily rider list sent to the school and the district office
Out-of-district placements
When a student's placement is at an approved private special education school or a residential day program, the district still owns the transportation. AVRA runs those routes daily, to programs anywhere in Massachusetts and to neighboring states where the placement requires it. Most out-of-district students ride alone or with one or two others from nearby towns.
We plan each run backward from the program's arrival window and keep the total ride under one hour each way unless the IEP team has agreed to more. If a placement changes mid-year, the route changes with it. The district tells us the new program and start date; we handle the rest, including the introduction of the driver and monitor to the family before the first ride.
- Single-student vans when the placement or the IEP calls for it
- Routes to any approved program in Massachusetts, plus NH, RI, and CT
- Arrival texts to parents in the morning and afternoon
- Per-student or per-route pricing, whichever fits the bid
- Summer ESY runs on the same route with the same staff
McKinney-Vento and foster care
Students who lose stable housing keep the right to attend their school of origin, and the district has to get them there. The same applies to students placed in foster care by DCF. Those routes start on short notice and change when the family moves again. AVRA sets up a McKinney-Vento or DCF route within two school days of the request when a van is available in the area, and we adjust it the same week when the address changes.
Families in shelters, doubled-up housing, or motels do not always have a fixed pickup spot. Dispatch works out the pickup point with the family liaison and confirms it with the parent by phone the night before the first ride. Drivers on these routes are trained on confidentiality and on the McKinney-Vento rules, and the student's housing situation is never noted on the van or shared with the school beyond the liaison.
- Route running within two school days of the request
- Address changes handled within the same week
- Managed daily rate, no minimum route count, no rebid
- Coordination with the district homeless liaison and DCF caseworker
- Sibling groups kept on the same van when the schools allow it
Wheelchair-accessible vans
Eleven of our 42 vans carry a hydraulic lift with two wheelchair positions and five seats. Each position uses Q'Straint four-point tie-downs with a lap and shoulder occupant restraint. Drivers and monitors are recertified on the lift, the tie-downs, and evacuation every year, and lifts are serviced every 90 days regardless of mileage.
A monitor rides on every wheelchair route. Where the IEP or a medical plan requires a nurse or a one-to-one aide, the district provides that person and we hold a seat for them. Power chairs, manual chairs, and adaptive strollers are all handled; tell us the make and model at intake so the right securement points are ready on day one. Students who transfer to a van seat can ride with a harness instead, and the chair travels secured in the back.
- Lift-equipped van and trained monitor on every route
- Q'Straint four-point securement with occupant restraints
- Seat reserved for a district nurse or aide when required
- Lift inspection every 90 days, RMV 7D inspection twice a year
- Backup lift van available from the Quincy yard the same day
Contracted routes or managed service
Two ways to buy the same vans and the same staff. Most districts use both: contracted routes for the students they know about in June, managed service for the ones who arrive in October.
| Contracted routes | Managed service | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing basis | Per route per day, or per student per day, fixed for the school year | Daily rate per student, billed only on days the student rides |
| Best for | Established special education and out-of-district programs with a known roster | McKinney-Vento, DCF placements, mid-year enrollments, short-term medical routes |
| Staffing | Named driver and monitor assigned to the route for the year | Driver and monitor assigned from the Quincy pool, kept consistent once the route settles |
| Change handling | Adds and address changes within the route's area at no extra charge; new routes priced from the bid rate | Changes handled within the week; new pickups added without a new agreement |
| Minimum term | One school year, with ESY as an option | None. Routes can start and stop with the student's need |
Also available
Shorter or occasional runs that use the same vans and the same staff as the daily routes.
- Summer ESY programsExtended school year routes in July and August, usually with the same driver and monitor as the school year.
- Medical and therapy appointmentsRides during the school day to therapy, medical, or evaluation appointments that are part of the student's plan, with a monitor when the district asks for one.
- Field trips for special education classroomsLift-equipped vans and familiar staff for classroom outings, priced by the hour.
- Parent-escort rides for intake meetingsTransportation for a parent or guardian to a placement visit, team meeting, or intake appointment when the district covers it.
Request a quote
Tell us the number of students, the schools, and the start date. An operations manager replies within one business day.