Only one month before the school year, CPS announced a drastic change in the bus policy due to a gap in the budget. Although quite a shock, students explained that this change didn’t necessarily affect them, and it even improved their trips home.

“I’d rather ride the Metro bus, because, like, it has air conditioning, and it also has a place to charge your phone,” Abby Tracy, ‘30, one of our newest Effies, said.

Yellow buses, which were used by 1,814 seventh and eighth graders last year throughout the district, have now been removed from all CPS schools with the exception of students in grades 3-12 at Spencer Center for Gifted Students. Already, this change has saved the district $9.1 million. Each CPS student is given the opportunity to accept a Metro bus pass, which can be used throughout the school year.

In addition to solving the $6.2 million budget gap, having access to these buses will also further prevent students from being stranded at school, which happened frequently when using yellow buses. Additionally, since separate Metro buses share routes, students will consistently have transportation home.

“With Metro, you have so many of those routes running, it gives students a little bit more flexibility,” Matthew Chaney, the 10-12 grade assistant principal at WHHS, said.

Metro buses transport not only students, but the public as well, whereas yellow buses were only open to eligible students. This meant that they had fewer passengers, meaning that fewer buses were needed to effectively transport students. Because of this, there were fewer buses and a tight schedule, causing students to often miss their bus, or bus drivers to skip their stop.

“They had a really tight window when they needed to leave our campus after the school day, and that made it very difficult for some students to be able to get out of their seventh bell class and then get to the bus stop by the time the bus would be leaving,” Chaney said.

Because Metro buses are available to so many around the city, Metro developed an app to help track buses and discover routes. This helps riders to contact administrators if there are any problems.

When CPS made the switch to Metro from yellow buses, many parents were concerned about their young children riding the bus with non-students.

“My parents were kind of nervous for me to start taking the Metro bus because my mom has been lost on buses several times,” Tracy said.

Although yellow buses were specifically designed for students, Metro bus drivers also focus on ensuring safety for all passengers.

“I can say that again, Metro is very aware of that, and they want to make sure that they are protecting the safety of all riders, regardless of their age.” Chaney said.

After hearing about the changes, Chaney stated that most administrators and staff members were not opposed, and although they had to adjust to new policies quickly, it has been an overall positive experience.

“I really do think it’s going to be beneficial for students as an option for their transportation,” Chaney said.

This story was originally published on The Chatterbox on September 20, 2024.