The Road to Better Busing Coalition Responds to Bus Companies' Threat to Disrupt Service for New York City Students
- Rochelle Du
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
10.20.25 at 8:30 PM– The Road to Better Busing Coalition, alongside parent and community advocates, is appalled by the actions taken by several bus companies who hold legacy contracts with New York City.
Today, a group of bus companies announced via the New York Post their intention to fire 12,000 unionized workers and leave tens of thousands of students, many of whom have disabilities, stranded if they do not receive a five-year extension on outdated, inefficient contracts that have not been updated since 1979.
Let’s be clear: this is a manufactured crisis by companies that would rather preserve a broken status quo than help create a modern, equitable transportation system. The current 46-year-old contracts fail to meet basic needs of today’s students; they do not mandate air conditioning, do not provide service for after-school, summer, or weekend programming, and due to the lack of any rebidding process over the last 4 decades, have never had the chance to include input from the voices of students and families demanding safe, reliable, and on-time service.
It feels shameful that companies entrusted with transporting our children would go to such lengths to protect contracts designed for a different era. It also feels unfair to thousands of drivers–many of whom take pride in their work and the students they serve–to be used as bargaining chips in a political standoff.
Students and families have been clear about what they need and deserve:
Busing that is on time, every day,
Contracts that ensure access to after-school, summer, and weekend programs and;
A modern, student-centered system that puts families first.
This reckless move does none of those things. It fails students, it fails families, and it fails workers. We are deeply discouraged that those entrusted with the care of New York City’s most vulnerable children would use them as leverage rather than join in the urgent work of building a transportation system that finally works for everyone.
