CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Public Schools begins a new academic year on Wednesday with major changes to student transportation.
Under the new plan unveiled by CPS, students in grades K-6 will ride yellow buses, while students in grades 7-12 will use Metro public transportation. The district said only about 300 of those students will need to transfer in the afternoon at Government Square, an area that garnered a lot of attention last academic year due to reports of youth violence.
To address those issues, Mayor Aftab Pureval first announced last week that student passes will cut off at 5 p.m. each school day, ensuring none are using the pass to return to Government Square when they're not transferring buses.
WATCH: How transportation may change for your CPS student this year
Additionally, CPS said color-coded passes will ensure students with a direct route to their home will not make transfers.
"We have been partnering with Metro all year long, and we are super proud of that strong partnership in making that adjustment to getting students to and from school safely," said Superintendent Shauna Murphy.
Parents will also have multiple ways to track their children's transportation. For yellow bus riders, routes can be found in FOCUS, and parents can track buses in real-time by downloading the MyStop app.
Metro routes can be located using the Google Trip Planner tool or by downloading the Transit app.
CPS parent Frankie Williams, who uses public transit daily, said being able to track students' routes is a positive change.
"People getting jumped on the square, people getting hit, it starts from one person, then here comes a lot of them, so I think that's the best thing they came up with at CPS," said Williams.
The district noted that the launch of the 311 Community Responder program at Government Square has resulted in a decline in youth-involved calls and youth-involved crime downtown, saying youth crime went down 35%.
For parents wanting to familiarize themselves with Metro routes, the district is offering free rides when accompanying their students Aug. 20-27. Parents need to download a QR code to ride for free.
Those with specific language requirements or who require specific assistance from a CPS Transportation representative can call 513-363-RIDE between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. For any additional concerns, the district requests that this form be filled out. CPS said you can expect a response within three business days.
