Are we on the brink of yet another school bus strike?  Here’s some basic information about pupil transportation in NYC public schools. 

New York City students can travel to and from school via the school bus service and use of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus and train system.  City public schools claim to serve 150,000 students across the city with 9,000 bus routes. Bus services are provided from outside transportation companies who are vendors that have contracts with the school system.  Students can ride the MTA system buses and trains through usage of the MetroCard program.

Private company school bus strikes have been threatened from time to time which has been further complicated by the problematic relationship between bus company employees who are not direct employees of NYC public schools but who require protection protections.  The “Employee Protection Provisions” have been enshrined in law and demand job security for bus company employees whether or not certain companies remain vendors with the public schools.   The NYC public school Office of Pupil Transportation itself has a headcount of roughly 117 employees who actually ARE NYC public schools’ employees. 

Every year pupil transportation expenditures are well over $1 billion, and it’s been that way for over a decade.  The fiscal year 2024 total pupil transportation budget is equal to $1.66 billion of which 64% is funded by state revenue and 36% is funded with city funds.  As one would expect, the majority of all pupil transportation expenditures are the costs of bus contracts.  There are over 40 contracted bus companies including NYCSBUS* and the list can be found here: Bus Companies for School Age Children (nyc.gov). 

Transportation expenditures for special needs students (currently budgeted for $840 million) is traditionally always more than that for general education students (currently budgeted for $549 million) and today these costs have a combined expected budget of $1.4 billion for this fiscal year.  The school-based expenditure reports from 2018 show that on a per pupil basis, transportation expenditures for general education students are $225 per child versus more than $5,000 per child for students with special needs.

Despite a history of rising transportation expenditures thankfully, NYC public schools do not charge students and their families for either yellow bus service or MetroCards.  The MetroCard program is financed by the state, the city, and the MTA—the NYC public school contribution has traditionally been $45 million annually with remaining costs absorbed by the state and mostly the MTA.  Although the program has occasionally been eyeballed for cuts at times when state financial support wanes, the much-needed subsidy for NYC children has been allowed to continue.

Who can ride a yellow school bus in NYC?  As per the Chancellor’s Regulation A-801 distance-based and grade level-based criteria are used to determine who qualifies for bus service.  The criteria can be found here on the NYC public school website: https://www.schools.nyc.gov/school-life/transportation/bus-eligibility.  As you will see, there are instances where there is a choice between the yellow bus service or the use of a paid MetroCard.  Generally, bus service is not offered if a bus stop cannot be added and in most cases a student is not eligible for the school bus if the distance criteria is not met.  If you’re unsure whether your student meets the distance criteria, Google Maps provides an instant answer.  MetroCards are not automatically provided if the distance criteria are not met.  However, let me also just note there are special exemptions to the eligibility criteria regarding students in temporary housing, foster care, and students with special needs just to name a few.

Here’s to hoping there is a chance to avert an inconvenient school bus strike.  But wouldn’t it be helpful if the city could leverage NYCSBUS as a city non-profit to step forward beyond its current levels of service to fill any potential emergency gaps in service if a strike occurs?