The Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s board chairman said Thursday he was embarrassed by a Times-Union investigation that found numerous JTA bus drivers with criminal and driving records.

“These things weren’t managed the way they should have been,” Edward Burr said during at the board’s regular monthly meeting. “It’s an embarrassment for every board member.”

The Times-Union checked the driving and criminal histories of the 330 people employed as bus drivers in November. The investigation found 258 of those drivers had a total of 1,276 criminal and driving violations going back to the 1970s. Some had as many as 20 offenses on their record.

Slideshow: See 41 of the worst offenders

Violations include domestic battery, child abuse, driving without a valid license and writing bad checks.

Board member Cleve Warren also expressed frustration at the situation.

“Some newspaper reporter wouldn’t have had a story to print if people were doing their jobs,” he said.