BUFFALO, N.Y. — Following the approval of a pilot program to reimburse parents for transporting their children to school, parents can now enroll to participate in the program.
At the end of September, the Buffalo Public School District approved a pilot program they hope will incentivize parents to drive their kids to school and thereby open seats on busses for those who don’t have the option of driving their kids to school.
Parents who are interested in participating in the program can now enroll online. On Monday, BPS shared a link to an online form for interested parents.
Qualifying parents can enroll now through 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14.
Eligible parents are those whose student resides in Buffalo and are eligible for BPS-provided transportation. More details on eligibility are available on the BPS website.
While both parents of households can enroll for the program, only one is able to claim reimbursement for each student.
Parents are able to opt out of bus transportation for both the morning and afternoon or just one.
The pilot would cost an estimated $810,000 plus $46,332 for processing by 22nd Century Technologies according to the recommendation provided to the board. The recommendation used an average of six miles per day for both drop-off and pickup and if implemented by November 14, would cover 144 days of instruction through June 30, 2023.
There is a virtual information meeting scheduled for Monday, October 3, 2022 at 5pm. Information for the Zoom link is on the district's Facebook page.
