| Our Start |
Nov 2021 |
Following environmental, social justice and union advocacy for a non-commercial alternative to NYC's school bus system, NYCSBUS is incorporated as a non-stock, non-profit corporation in 2020. In July 2021 it signed a contract to provide busing to NYC for five years. And on October 29, 2021 NYCSBUS purchased the assets of Reliant Transportation, a school bus company in New York City. That gave us over 900 vehicles, leases on five depots and a fabulous team of bus monitors, drivers and mechanics. The first buses labeled NYCSBUS started to roll on November 1. |
| Independence! |
May 2022 |
The original plan was for NYCSBUS's operations to be managed by Reliant for two years. NYCSBUS ended that contract early, saved money, and took full control of the company in May 2022. |
| Measuring Temperature Inside Buses |
Sept 2022 |
NYCSBUS believes that if we all have more information we can make better decisions. In Summer 2022 we piloted temperature sensors in buses. What did we learn? That we had to find less expensive sensors. Stay tuned... |
| Informing Families |
Oct 2022 |
NYCSBUS rolled out a system to text parents so that they would know when their school buses were arriving and so parents could text feedback to NYCSBUS about our service we perform. |
| Winning Electric Bus Grants |
Oct 2022 |
NYCSBUS won its first grant for electric school buses. Over the next years, NYCSBUS will go on to win over $100 million in federal funding to purchase 322 electric school buses. The Mayor even came to celebrate our success |
| Leading NYS Electrification |
Nov 2022 |
With partners at WRI, Bronx Community College, Calstart, The Mobility House and the NY League of Conservation Voters NYCSBUS won one of NY State's Clean Transportation Prizes, awarding the company $8 million to lead school bus electrification in NY State. |
| First Electric Bus On the Road |
Jan 2023 |
NYCSBUS electric bus #NT0102 completed its first route, X919. By March 5, 2025 our fleet of electric buses will have traveled 25,499 miles, the equivalent of once around the world , plus a few trips from our South Staten Island depot to Lloyds Carrot Cake in the Bronx. |
| Uniting with South Bronx Unite |
April 2023 |
NYCSBUS participates in its first annual South Bronx Bike and Electric Bus Tour hosted by South Bronx Unite. Later, in January 2024, SBU installed an air quality monitoring station at our Zerega depot. |
| Stop Arm Cameras? |
Aug 2023 |
With the NYC Department of Transportation, NYCSBUS begins to pilot stop arm cameras on our buses. |
| Safer School Buses |
Jan 2024 |
The US DOT and City of NY, with help from NYCSBUS, releases a first-in-the-nation safe fleet transition plan calling for improvements to school buses. |
| Innovation in Grid Connections |
May 2024 |
NYCSBUS and its partner The Mobility House install a first-on-the-east cost connection to the electric grid that is primarily governed by a computerized measure of load, not redundant physical breakers. This speeds the time and reduces the cost to electrify a vehicle depot. NYCSBUS later won the Interconnection of the Year Award, we're told this is like the Academy Award but we aren't so sure. |
| Finally Getting Things Right |
Sept 2024 |
It took us a while. Summer 2022 had hundreds of complaints about poor air conditioning, in September 2022 we struggled to answer the over 3,000 calls we get at school opening (in September 2023 we only anwered 33%). In summer 2024 we had 0.8% of our route days with AC repairs, we got a bit worse at 1.2% in 2025. In fall 2025 we received 3,382 phone calls at opening, answering 91% within 30 seconds. |
| Going Public With Our Performance |
Sept 2024 |
NYCSBUS begins to share public daily updates about our performance, sharing with families and schools our on-time arrival rates, number of collisions and breakdowns and success answering parent phone calls. 80% on time buses isn't great, one of our advisors points at "now you know where you need to improve." |
| Cameras on School Buses |
Oct 2024 |
Following our Safe Fleet Transition Plan, NYCSBUS and Together for Safer Roads begin to pilot exterior cameras combined with AI to support safety. |
| Sharing Electrification Experience |
Dec 2024 |
There is very little information available to school districts and bus companies about the performance of electric school buses. NYCSBUS launches the Electric Vehicle Activity Report to fill that information gap. |
| Welcome New New Yorkers |
Jan 2025 |
In partnership with Afrikana and The Center for Family Life, NYCSBUS welcomes its first class of immigrant drivers to its driver training program. We'd like to help New Yorkers new and old, click on "contact us" up above if you have other ideas about organizations we can work with to help people find good jobs, and for us to find more drivers :). |
| Faster Buses, Better Transit |
May 2025 |
NYCSBUS submits an amicus brief in support of the MTA's congestion pricing plan, noting that as a result of the plan kids who go to school in the congestion zone spend 30 minute less time on the bus and in the classroom. Of all the amici, only NYCSBUS's was noted by the court in its ruling in favor of the congestion plan. |
| Committing to Results |
June 2025 |
Those same mechanics who made it so every bus's air conditioning works all the time... With them NYCSBUS completed a labor agreement that provides additional pay to mechanics in return for better performance, tying what we pay to the results we can achieve for NYC families. |
| Supporting New Vendors |
July 2025 |
In response to a shortage of bus drivers, and to expand the pool of bus companies with experience to serve NYC schools, NYCSBUS begins to contract with other bus companies to complete some of its routes. To support this work NYCSBUS builds vendor management software that supports these companies. |
| Expanded Bus Use |
Oct 2025 |
Amid a city-wide debate over after school and weekend busing, NYCSBUS expands its use of geospatial software to provide expanded mid-day trips to students in NYC. |
