In a late-night decision on Wednesday, New York City’s education panel approved a contentious three-year extension for the yellow bus contract, ensuring continued transportation for 150,000 students across the city.
The extension comes after a group of bus companies had threatened to pull their drivers off the roads unless the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP) agreed to a long-term contract renewal. The PEP had previously expressed concerns regarding the quality of the bus service provided to students. Families were bracing for potential chaos, which was averted at the last minute when the bus companies consented to emergency extensions.
The agreement reached on Wednesday seems to represent a middle ground for all parties involved.
“While this shortened contract term does not fully resolve the longstanding issues that need to be addressed, it is a step towards ensuring that bus services meet the needs of all students, particularly those with disabilities,” said Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, speaking at the Prospect Heights Campus in Brooklyn.
“Improving bus service is a continuous effort,” she added.
New York City’s school transportation system, with a budget of $1.9 billion, is a complex network of contracted bus operators responsible for transporting students, many of whom have disabilities or are experiencing homelessness.
For years, the PEP has fielded complaints from families about bus delays and bus no-shows with serious consequences: lost instructional time, motion and heat sickness, or even parents scrambling to keep their jobs because of inconsistent service. Advocates have railed against a long-standing practice of extending decades-old contracts, rather than updating them for current needs, such as late-day bus service for new after-school and summer programs.
“My son has fought and struggled because he consistently missed his first and occasionally second period class due to these busing issues,” said Allicia Gittens, a Brooklyn mom of three students.
Wednesday’s extension is shorter than the five-year renewal that the companies originally agreed to with the Adams administration over the summer, but which did not earn the votes to get the PEP’s approval. Instead, the buses were operating on emergency extensions their vendors have said were unsustainable.
The revised deal includes new provisions, such as a requirement that each company send a representative to town halls for families with concerns. It also involves more training days and $75 damages per run if the operators do not use a GPS system that allows parents to track their children.
Throughout the meeting, dozens of parents and school bus drivers who spoke on both sides of the issue expressed frustrations with the deal on the table. Some continued to push for a shorter-term contract of one to two years, while others accepted the agreement as it came for a vote.
“We need five years, but we will settle for the three,” said Marcia Tucker, a driver at Logan Bus Company. “I don’t want to be six months down the [road], I’m wondering if I’m going to have a job.”
More than four hours into the meeting, the contract extension was ultimately approved, with a handful of members voting no or abstaining.
The three-year renewal is retroactive to last summer, so school bus contracts will come before the PEP again by summer 2028. Proponents of the extension are optimistic that will give the public schools enough time to more comprehensively overhaul the student transportation system, which requires legislative action from Albany.
“This is just the beginning,” said Gregory Faulkner, the PEP’s chairperson. “There’s more work ahead, and we’re committed to making that happen.”
