Better Busing Protest at City Hall
(Photo by Nora Malone for WFUV)
On Monday, Sept. 22, at New York's City Hall, members of The Road to Better Busing Coalition from across the five boroughs rallied to highlight issues with public school yellow buses. Students, parents, and city government officials shared experiences with the current busing system.
“It would be easy for people to think about what we’re speaking about as not issues of great importance unless you’re a student or the parent of a student who has to spend five hours just trying to get to school,” said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, who spoke to the crowd.
Mayor Eric Adams is looking to extend the current 45-year-old busing contract. According to people at the rally, the current system is plagued with issues. Buses are supposed to provide parents with GPS updates of their children's locale and when they get to school, but many say these systems don’t work.
“Parents are left without answers or even worse, left not knowing where their children are,” said Bronx Council Member Althea Stevens of District 16. “Transportation is not a side issue, it is the issue.”
Speakers also highlighted how students with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness are impacted. Tamara Farrell, a parent of a disabled student, says her son has dealt with delayed buses and even missed school when a bus never came. “I am here to get justice,” she said. “We need better busing, and we need to be heard because we say this over and over again and we’re not heard.”
The group is trying to pass a state bill that would require officials to reevaluate the busing contract and modernize the system. Lucas Healy, who is disabled, said his bus service has been unreliable since kindergarten. “In third grade, I missed 56 days of school because of unreliable busing,” he said, adding that the absences triggered a visit from child services.
Advocates plan to continue to host rallies and events until the bill to improve bussing is passed. “This is a really, really critical issue,” said Williams.
- Reported by Nora Malone
