BOSTON - A lack of buses has forced some high school athletes in Boston to forfeit games and a basketball coach wants the city to find a solution.

Kevin Sinatra coaches the freshman and junior varsity teams at East Boston High School. He said they missed a recent game in Fall River because the school bus never showed up.

"It's extremely frustrating"  

"It's extremely frustrating," he told WBZ-TV Monday. "As someone who is an alum of BPS, who was a three-sport athlete, there was nothing I looked forward to more than game day."

Sinatra spends hours practicing with students, preparing for games. He said there's nothing worse than getting all suited up just to wait for a bus that won't arrive. He told WBZ it's been happening in the district since the pandemic.

Boston schools on bus shortage

"Providing safe and reliable transportation for our students to and from school, sporting events, and activities is always our priority," a Boston Public Schools spokesperson told WBZ in a statement Monday.

"Unfortunately, real-world logistical challenges sometimes can impact our ability to meet all scheduling requests for these trips, particularly when they overlap with scheduled afternoon drop-offs."

Sinatra said the scheduling issues make everything more complicated for the students.

"It's just unfortunate. We're encouraging these kids to join sports teams, join extra curriculars, stay off the streets and become model citizens and it's frustrating when we're giving our all as coaches, the players are giving their all," he told WBZ.