Two Boston city councilors are pressing state education officials to intervene in the public school system after a “dismal” transportation performance during the first day of school, when just a third of BPS buses arrived on time to get kids to class.

Councilors Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy sent a letter to Katherine Craven, chair of the state education board, on Thursday, to express their “profound concern about the significant transportation issues” affecting the Boston Public Schools, and to urge the board to investigate the matter, develop and implement an action plan, and establish a robust system to regularly monitor district transportation performance.

The councilors’ letter cites a memorandum of understanding the city entered into with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education —  to avoid a state takeover or receivership — which mandates that 95% of school buses arrive on time and 99% arrive within 15 minutes of the school day’s start.

“However, recent reports reveal a troubling reality: over 66% of buses were late during the first week of the school year, resulting in a dismal on-time arrival rate of only 34%,” the councilors wrote. “This staggering delay has impacted more than 14,500 students, leaving their families to face the stress and inconvenience of finding alternative transportation solutions.

“Such delays are unacceptable and severely undermine the educational progress and stability of our students,” the letter goes on to state.

The cited statistic is referencing the on-time arrival performance seen on the first day of school, Sept. 5, when per data shared by BPS, 34% of buses were on time for morning drop-off at school, 62% had arrived within 15 minutes after the bell rang, and 80% had arrived by the time school had been in session for 30 minutes.

By comparison, a little over 60% of buses arrived on time for the first day of classes last year, a number that was comparable to what was seen on the second day of classes this year, when 61% of buses were on time for morning drop-off.

The numbers are still far below the 95% state mandate, Flynn and Murphy, a former Boston schoolteacher, point out in their letter, while pressing for more intensive intervention from DESE to help resolve the district’s prolonged transportation issues.

Specifically, the councilors asking the state education board to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the causes of transportation delays, a comprehensive action plan to rectify the issues, improved communication with parents and the broader community about what is being done to resolve the problem, and the establishment of a system that would regularly monitor performance and progress.

The councilors envision such steps would involve regular reports to ensure any improvements in transportation are sustained and that the transportation system meets “the agreed-upon standards.”

The letter cites three other areas the district agreed to improve in the MOU, as part of its mandated systemic improvement plan: teaching and learning, equitable access to student supports and supporting students with disabilities.

“The recent transportation failures not only jeopardize the effective implementation of these priorities, but exacerbate existing challenges,” Flynn and Murphy wrote. “Delayed buses contribute to increased absenteeism, disrupt students’ learning experiences, and undermine the progress BPS aims to achieve.”

The councilors concluded their letter by saying they are “confident that with DESE’s intervention, we can resolve these issues and ensure that Boston’s students receive the safe and reliable transportation they deserve.”

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The DESE communication follows a hearing order the two councilors introduced on the matter at the City Council meeting on Wednesday.

In comments earlier this week, Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent of Schools Mary Skipper pinned the blame on kinks that were being worked out with a new school bus tracker app, Zum, that is being implemented districtwide for the first time this year, and bus drivers becoming familiar with new routes.

The app was used for the first time in real-world conditions last week, Skipper said, adding that the delays, while “frustrating” for many BPS families, were “largely expected.” She described the day-over-day improvement seen between the first and second day of classes as “significant.”

“Large-scale change always comes with growing pains,” Skipper said, “and we are incredibly grateful to all our bus drivers, operations and school-based staff, and families who are working to help us build an improved transportation system to provide students with safe, reliable, and on-time transportation on a daily basis.”