The Road to Better Busing Coalition Holds a Rally to Demand Yellow Bus Service Improvements and Better School Bus Contracts for NYC Students and Families

9.22.25, 12:00 PM– Today, the Road to Better Busing Coalition—a growing alliance of education, disability, and transit justice organizations, parents, and advocates—gathered alongside other concerned parents, community members, elected officials and advocates on the steps of City Hall to demand urgent improvements to New York City’s yellow bus system. At the start of yet another school year, families, especially those of students with disabilities and students in temporary housing and the foster system, are once again facing the same unacceptable, yet predictable conditions:

● Extreme bus delays and no-shows.

● Commutes longer than an hour or more, each way. One family recently reported that their child with a disability spends 4-5 hours on the bus each day just to go to a school 7 miles from home.

● Missed class time due to late arrivals.

● Unreliable GPS tracking leaving parents unable to locate their

children.

● No bus service available to get students home from after-school programs, even

as the City has unveiled its “after-school for all” initiative.

These failures are not just inconveniences; they are violations of students’ rights and barriers to their education.

“For far too long, the City’s school bus system has been a nightmare for everyone who relies on it: the teachers whose students arrive after the school day has already started and the lesson is underway; the parents who need to get to work on time and don’t have other options for getting their child to class; and especially the students who lose instructional time,” said Council Member Rita Joseph, Chair of the New York City Council Committee on Education. “The failure to fix this problem disproportionately impacts students with disabilities, students in foster care, and students who are homeless—all of whom often attend school far from where they live and depend on busing to get there. In 2025, it’s outrageous that some of our bus contracts haven’t changed since Ed Koch was Mayor. We’re going to keep fighting until we have new contracts that work.”

“No parent should have to wonder if their child will make it to school safely or on time,” NYC Council Member Althea Stevens emphasizes, “Every day that buses don’t show up, or rides take hours, our kids lose out on learning, and families are left stressed and unsupported. Our children deserve a school bus system that works, is safe, reliable, and on time.”

“Students throughout the city should have access to the best busing available from morning pickup to afterschool activities– at bare minimum, they deserve consistent, punctual service, and the city is leaving too many behind. I join the Road to Better Busing Coalition in demanding immediate repairs to this broken bus system. A better bus service – city policy backed by legislation – will help students get to school on time, teachers and parents have less worries about students’ safety and whereabouts. To get the most out of the classroom, students are depending on us to get them there," said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

“Every day without action is another day our most vulnerable students bear the brunt of a broken system,” said Nyah Berg, executive director of New York Appleseed and a part of the coalition. “This crisis especially impacts students in temporary housing and those with disabilities– those often most dependent on school buses to get to school safely and on time.”

Today’s rally serves to remind policymakers that students and their families' demands for yellow bus service that works every day and on time, expanded access to busing for after-school and weekends, and other required changes, such as updated school bus contracts to modernize the student transportation system, are long overdue.

Immediate action is required and possible, with the first step being to call on the Panel for Education Policy to not accept a contract extension for the outdated, 45-year-old school bus contracts beyond one year. The City must move forward with the shortest extension possible to allow time for needed state legislation to pass this year so that it can rebid the bus contracts and finally create meaningful change.

"The City's shocking neglect of a school bus system plagued by delays, prolonged routes, no air conditioning, and a lack of afterschool transportation disproportionately impacts students with disabilities, students in foster care, students in temporary housing, and their families," said New York City Comptroller Brad Lander. "We cannot allow the well-being and future of young people to be sidelined by an apathetic administration and profit-driven bus companies. We must implement the legislative and procurement solutions to rebid these outdated contracts and deliver the reliable service students need today—not five years from now."

"Our kids can’t wait through another five-year bus contract that leaves them on buses for hours and families begging for basic service," said Rima Izquierdo, D75 President Council President and parent leader. "IDEA has been reauthorized again and again over nearly 50 years to protect students’ rights — yet New York City is still extending bus contracts written generations ago, contracts that have never centered students. We need short-term contracts, so lawmakers, unions, and parents can finally work together to build a system that puts students first, with safety, dignity, and consistency."

“Year after year, we hear from hundreds of families who are struggling with school bus service that consistently fails to meet the needs of New York City students,” said Maria Odom, Executive Director of Advocates for Children of New York. “The lack of consistent, reliable bus service not only disrupts students’ education, but also takes a financial and emotional toll on families, making it even harder to raise children in this city. Our students and families cannot wait years longer for the system to improve. We are calling on the City and the State to act now—to put in place new bus contracts that truly work for students, families, and school communities.”

"Not only does unreliable pupil transportation affect the quality of education our children receive but also puts hard working families in jeopardy of losing employment due to the disruptions in service,” said Paullette Ha-Healey, a D75 parent leader and a part of the coalition. “Better busing is crucial to New Yorkers’ livelihoods and quality of life, especially in these uncertain times."

“Solutions to the weaknesses in the current school transportation system have long been proposed by organized parents, school and school bus employees, and disability advocates. We can't wait much longer for these ideas to be applied, towards achieving the educational access that all students deserve,” said Sara Catalinotto, co-founder of Parents to Improve School Transportation and a part of the coalition.

Parents, students, and community members are rallying today to ensure their voices are heard and their experiences respected. It's time for real accountability and lasting solutions—not more harmful delays and inadequate service."