Class of 2025 University High School of Science and Engineering Graduate, Liam McCusker is on the Dean's List at Central Connecticut State University where he is a prolific reporter for the CCSU newspaper, the Recorder. He wrote this tribute to his former UHSSE principal, Sean Tomany who retires this year, and to the valient work of the UHSSE Social Justice League in advocating for free bus passes for CT high school students.
Future of free bus passes for high school students uncertain as pilot program ends
By Liam McCusker | Central Connecticut State University
Oluwaseyi Oluborode, a senior at University High School of Science and Engineering in Hartford, took a yellow school bus to get to her high school on weekdays this year. But this isn’t the only bus she uses.
“I’m involved in a lot of different programs and extracurricular activities that are based in Hartford,” Oluborode said, “and so the city bus has allowed me to participate in those activities that I would not have been able to without it, because my parents work throughout the day.”
Oluborode also had a job in Hartford at the beginning of her senior year, which added to her time on city buses, and she said she knows some students who are even more dependent on city transportation. According to district policy, students who live within two miles of their school in Hartford are not eligible to take the school bus and must rely on city transportation.
With the imminent end of a recent bus pass pilot program for Hartford and New Haven public high school students, and uncertainty over the terms of a replacement grant program, many students are waiting to see whether they will continue to be able to take the city bus to school for free next year.
The cost of taking the city bus can add up quickly. The state’s Department of Transportation website shows that, for youth ages 5 to 18 years old, a single two-hour pass costs $1.40, an all-day pass costs $2.80 and a 10-day pass costs $12.60.
UHSSE Principal Sean Tomany said he became aware of the issue when a free fare program set up during the COVID-19 pandemic expired in April 2023.
“It is inequitable that our Hartford students have to ride the city bus while suburban students get to ride the yellow school bus,” Tomany said.
Tomany worked with students during the 2023-24 school year to start the Social Justice League, a student group focused on pushing for free bus passes for all Connecticut high school students. Oluborode has been the vice president of the Social Justice League this year.
Arguing that transportation costs disproportionately affect students in urban districts, such as Hartford, the group was able to get financial support for a pilot program in 2024. The state provided funds to the Hartford Public Schools Board of Education to purchase bus passes for every student in the district for the 2024-25 school year. The program was then extended through the 2025-26 academic year.
Tomany said he handed out the last of the bus passes during the first week of June.
A new law signed by Gov. Ned Lamont on May 27 builds on the pilot program to create a statewide grant program for boards of education to purchase passes for high school students, but Tomany said he won’t know how that money will be allocated until after July 1. He said he may no longer be able to provide free passes to every student who wants one.
A 50% discount on CTTransit buses for all K-12 students was also included in the state budget for fiscal year 2027.
Prior to the passage of the grant program and budget, representatives from Lamont’s office said in an email that he is committed to ensuring that students have access to everything that they need for success.
“Governor Lamont is proud to support funding that helps students access school, work, volunteer opportunities, and extracurricular programs,” Lamont’s Legislative Office and Policy Team wrote.
Eva Zymaris, spokesperson for the DOT, wrote in an email that the agency also supports this proposal and said that it is committed to providing reliable transportation to everyone.
“Providing discounted bus fares for students isn’t just about increasing affordability, it’s about access,” Zymaris wrote. “Reliable transportation ensures people can reach essential destinations like health care, jobs, and school.”
For Oluborode, the discounted fares aren’t enough. She argues that any fare will still be a burden for students.
“Any barrier to the access that a student has to their education should be addressed immediately, and this is a clear barrier,” Oluborode said. “A young person who is fully reliant on the city bus is very unlikely to be able to afford any fare whatsoever, and by making students pay to go to school, you’re effectively discouraging them from going to school.”
Tomany said the state is also potentially missing out on economic activity created by the students using free bus passes. As part of the program, students who received the passes also had to fill out surveys about how they used them, including why and how much they spent or earned as a result of being able to take the city bus. In a final analysis of surveys from this school year, shared by Tomany, roughly 180 UHSSE students spent an average of almost $79,000 per week. And students who used the passes to get to jobs earned about $81,000 per week. Tomany’s analysis shows an economic impact of about $640,000 for the school year.
“They’re spending that money, they’re earning that money, they’re going to restaurants, they’re contributing to the economy,” Tomany said.
Both Tomany and Oluborode are concerned about the impact on students if enough funds aren’t made available for purchasing bus passes when school starts up again in the fall.
“I know it is the main means of transportation for some students because their family either doesn’t have a car or their parents are working constantly,” Oluborode said. “So for them, not having a city bus pass, would mean full disconnection from their community.”
Oluborode said that during the 2023-24 school year, before the pilot program started, she knew of students who dropped out of sports and other extracurricular activities because they had to spend their money on the bus passes needed to get to school. She also predicted that if students did not have enough money for bus passes, they would simply choose to not go to school.
Hartford Public Schools Director of Communications Pedro Zayas said that the district is committed to “expanding learning opportunities and removing barriers for students, families, and educators.” He said subsidizing transportation costs is one way to do that.
“A meaningful way to enhance engagement for HPS students is to provide access to bus passes for afterschool programs and activities,” Zayas wrote in email.
Zayas added that providing transportation to students at no cost would likely increase participation in a number of school activities and provide more access to educational resources in the larger community, such as museums, libraries, and internships, but substantial state investment would be needed.
Hartford Public Schools officials say that covering passes in their own budget is not feasible, especially because they already have $7,072,209 for regular transportation and $32,008,179.24 for curb-to-curb transportation in their fiscal budget for the 2026-27 school year.
The Social Justice League continued to meet with lawmakers this year, and while they were unable to get support for free fares for students, Oluborode thought their advocacy had made some difference. She said she still hopes state leaders will support the idea of free bus passes as an investment in the students’ futures.
“Taxes are supposed to go to things that help people collectively and this is no different,” Oluborode said. “Urban youth are worth the investment. They deserve access and opportunities for education.”
See the article in the CT Community News here.