Transportation Overview

Types of Transportation Service

Transportation services that are available to families vary by school and by each child’s eligibility for those services. Speak with your school if you have questions about the available options.

• At minimum, schools will provide student MetroCards/OMNY cards to eligible students
• Schools may also offer stop-to-school bus service if sufficient students meet busing eligibility criteria
• Curb-to-school or specialized bus service is provided to students whose medical, health, or disability-related conditions or special circumstances prevent them from being able to walk or utilize other forms of transportation to get to and from school.

Student OMNY Card

Stop-to-School Bus Service

School bus transportation refers to picking up and dropping off one or more students at designated bus stops. To use this service, your school must participate in the bus program and your child must be eligible.

Contact your school for more information on school bus service.

Curb-to-School or Specialized Bus Service

This type of transportation utilizes vehicles that are equipped to meet the transportation accommodations listed on a student’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Accommodations Plan and have a trained driver and an attendant on-board. Curb-to-school specialized bus services pick up and drop off the student at the safest locations near the student's home.

• Students in grades K-12 with an IEP that recommends curb-to-school transportation
• Students in grades K-12 with a 504 Accommodations Plan that lists curb-to-school transportation as a required service
• Students in grades K-12 with a medical exception approved by the Office of Pupil Transportation

Certain transportation accommodations must be reviewed and approved by the Office of School Health prior to being arranged.

See Transportation Rights for additional information.

Guidance for Rideshare and General Reimbursement during School Year 2024-25

Eligibility for Transportation

Transportation eligibility is based on a student’s grade level, walking distance between home and school, and existing accommodations based on Individualized Education Plan (IEP), 504 Plan, a medical condition, housing status, or safety assessment.

Rideshare is only available for the following populations in specific circumstances highlighted below:

• Students with Disabilities who have transportation recommended on an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or 504 Accommodation Plan (504) receiving curb to school transportation or have an approved medical exception from the Office of Pupil Transportation.
• Students in Temporary Housing or Foster Care who are eligible for and have elected to receive yellow bus service, including students in shelters, domestic violence shelters, families living with others due to economic or financial hardship (doubled-up), and students transitioning to permanent housing.

Eligible students would qualify for rideshare during the following circumstances:

• Route out of service due to driver absence
• Delays in route assignment
• IEP accommodations not in place – i.e. paraprofessionals and/or nurse absence

If the bus route is active and none of the above circumstances are present, a student is NOT eligible for rideshare and families will NOT be reimbursed.

These eligibility requirements are applicable to both use of the NYCPS’s contract to pay for rideshare as well as private rideshare arrangements.

Booking NYCPS Contracted Payment Rideshare

The NYCPS strongly recommends using the NYCPS’s contract to pay for rideshare to save families the responsibility of having to utilize their own funds and wait for reimbursement. If a family needs help creating a LimoSys account or needs other technical support, they should contact their child’s school.

If a family wants to check on the status of a ride, they should contact LimoSys by phone at 212-426-8000. Families who can’t access the internet and want to book a trip over the phone can also call LimoSys at 212-426-8000. LimoSys can provide support in English and Spanish. We encourage families to use the LimoSys rideshare website if they can — families who call may experience longer wait times.

• To book a ride families can book directly through the Tripslink website or contact 212-426-8000.
• Schools will provide voucher codes for families to use to book rideshare.
• Families will be able to book two trips totaling four rides a day with the single voucher code. Families will be able to book a ride to school in the AM, as well as from the school to their next stop; and to the school for pickup in AM, as well as the ride from school to home.
• Families must use the school address as both the destination of the ride to pick up their child AND as the starting point for their ride home. The ride can only be booked from the school address as the start or end point of the ride.

Reimbursement for Private Ride-share Arrangements

Families should follow the reimbursement instructions issued by the NYCPS and file the NYCPS reimbursement form attached to this guidance after making private ride-share transportation arrangements. Requests for reimbursement must show each day transportation was provided, the child for whom transportation was provided, and the cost thereof. Reimbursement requests can either be emailed to [email protected] or can be submitted through ServiceNow.

NYCPS will reimburse a maximum of $100 per student per trip (up to 2 rides as described above) in the morning and in the afternoon, for a total maximum of $200 round trip per day. This cost may be used to cover all stops during that trip, including picking up and dropping off chaperones when the student is not in the vehicle.

Families should additionally submit documentation of the amount incurred; (I.e., electronic invoices, PDFs, or pictures of receipts) to be successfully reimbursed. This documentation must include:

• Transportation vendor name
• Trip details (i.e.: to and from which locations)
• Total cost

The NYCPS is not responsible for reimbursement for tax or tip incurred. Without these details, no reimbursement will be provided.

Reimbursement will only be provided for actual trips taken to/from school. No reimbursement will be provided for days on which school is closed or the student is not in attendance. Reimbursement documentation requirements are included in the reimbursement section below.

With respect to chaperones’ travel, NYCPS reimbursement for the trip will cover:

• For parents serving as chaperones, and chaperones who are “trusted parties” and live in the same household as the parent and child:
  • for trips taking the child from home to school: drop off chaperone at the child’s place of residence, or the chaperone’s workplace
  • for trips taking the child from school to home: pick up chaperone at the child’s place of residence, or the chaperone’s workplace
• For chaperones who are trusted parties and don’t live in the same household as the foster parent and child: pick up at the chaperone’s residence or workplace, and drop off at the chaperone’s residence or workplace
  • Note that, absent an exception, the chaperone must have one workplace and/or one residence location on file with the foster care agency and may only be dropped off, or picked up at, those locations. Reimbursement for trips to/from other locations will not be made.

Families should consider the following when selecting companies/services to use:

• Arranging Rides: whether a service can arrange/route transportation for multiple children on an ongoing basis so reservations don’t have to be made each time the child needs a ride to and from school.
• Billing: whether a service can provide a single bill for all children who are transported, broken down by date of transportation and to/from addresses; whether the service has billing terms that are agreeable to the agency (i.e. 30 days to pay, being able to use credit cards to make payment, etc.).

Reimbursement for Parents Utilizing Personal Vehicles

Families can be reimbursed for toll costs incurred when using a personal vehicle if the student and circumstance are specified above. Families should follow the reimbursement instructions issued by the NYCPS and file the NYCPS reimbursement form for toll costs. Documentation should include a toll receipt to be reimbursed.