Chicago Public Schools parents know the district’s transportation challenges all too well.
One bright spot for some families of the 5,000 students whose bus routes were cut last year, is the district’s new hub stop program. The district is unable to provide busing for all students due to an ongoing bus driver shortage, says CPS transportation services.
Some CPS schools act as a pickup and drop off location for general education students who are eligible for busing. This hub stop program is designed to make transporting students to and from school easier for the district and for families who would otherwise be without a bus route.
CPS leaders highlight progress on transportation
Pedro Martinez, former chief executive officer of CPS, spoke at the January Board of Education meeting highlighting the progress the district has made.
Martinez, who was fired in December, will continue his role for six months in order to provide an easier transition for his successor, reports WTTW, a PBS member station.
“Our goal is to provide bus transportation to as many students as possible and we’re moving closer to our goal through our hub stop program,” Martinez says.
The first phase of the program began on December 9, 2024 at 35 schools. The second, with hubs at 18 schools, began on February 3, 2025. Martinez says the hub stop program has served hundreds of students so far.
How CPS determines transportation priorities
“These schools were selected by using the CPS opportunity index, a tool that is helping us prioritize transportation for students who face significant barriers to opportunity,” Martinez says.
The CPS opportunity index provides guidelines on which schools face the highest socio-economic challenges. It is used to ensure the district is distributing its resources to those students most in need.
Martinez says the top priority for the district’s transportation services is to its students with disabilities.
“We are largely succeeding in our goal of placing students with disabilities on bus routes within ten days of a transportation request,” he said at the Board of Education meeting.
When a bus route is not feasible for a student with disabilities, CPS provides a financial stipend of $25 for every day the student attends school.
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