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NYC failed to collect $43M in penalties from school bus companies, audit finds
By
Jessica Gould
Published Dec 17, 2025
Modified Dec 17, 2025
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Zamek/VIEWpress
By
Jessica Gould
Published Dec 17, 2025
Modified Dec 17, 2025
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New York City failed to collect $42.6 million in penalties from school bus companies due to drivers’ failure to log into GPS systems as required, a new audit by city Comptroller Brad Lander found.
The GPS systems are supposed to allow parents to track when buses are about to arrive, as well as their kids’ whereabouts once they’re on board. But parents have complained for years that the GPS often doesn’t work. Lander said a lack of accountability is one of the problems driving the dysfunction of the notorious school bus system.
“For decades, our city’s school bus system has failed our students and families,” he said.
Lander said the system is plagued by “a real culture of underperformance from the bus companies and weak oversight by [the education department’s] Office of Pupil Transportation.” He called for a thorough overhaul of the school bus system, and said Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani should appoint a school bus czar to jump-start major improvements.
Lander’s audit comes after a Gothamist investigation found the city’s official data on delays and other school bus problems does not capture the full scope of the problem. The city relies on school bus companies to self-report incidents, like when they are stuck in traffic, get in a crash or don’t show up at all.
The city last month renewed an agreement with bus companies for the next three years despite the persistent problems, but pushed back against an even longer contract supported by the bus companies. Lander said officials must use that window to finally reform the system.
“With the shortened three-year contract extensions, City Hall has a unique opportunity to fix our schools’ dysfunctional bus system,” the comptroller said.
Some 145,000 children take yellow school buses, which cost nearly $2 billion per year. Many of the children who ride the buses have disabilities or are homeless. Advocates said the bus problems disproportionately affect the city’s most vulnerable kids.
Rima Izquierdo, a parent leader whose children ride the yellow buses, said the comptroller’s audit ”validates what we've lived.”
“Missed pickups, hours, long rides, children dropped at wrong locations, unsafe conditions. No communication. No accountability for families of children with disabilities. These failures are not inconveniences. They are barriers to education,” Izquierdo said.
She said she had to leave her job last year because she couldn’t rely on the buses to get her kids to school on time.
In his audit, Lander also said the GPS vendor Via failed to deliver technology designed to improve routes that was required as part of its $51.7 million contract with the city.
Via did not respond to an inquiry.
Parents have long pleaded with officials to overhaul the dysfunctional system, and have recently focused on decades-old bus contracts as a way to force reforms.
Some of the largest school bus companies earlier this fall threatened to halt service if the city did not agree to a five-year-extension on those contracts. An education oversight panel ultimately agreed to a shorter, three-year extension, with promises to start negotiating tougher terms.
Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos recently told Gothamist she supported the shorter contract, and more accountability was needed for both the education department and school bus companies.
“Transportation sets the tone for students’ entire day – and we constantly work with our vendor to ensure our students get to school safely and efficiently,” education department spokesperson Dominique Ellison said. “We always investigate any and all complaints thoroughly, hold all individuals accountable for any major issues, and we have made significant progress throughout the years. Every student deserves reliable, safe transportation that supports their educational success, and improving school transportation remains a priority for New York City Public Schools,” she said.
Lander suggested the city pursue one of three “potential solutions” to the school bus problem: rebidding bus contracts with much stronger requirements for improved service; bringing the school bus system in house as a municipally run agency; or expanding the city’s nonprofit school bus service, NYCSBUS.
“We have a real moment of opportunity,” Lander said. “We want a genuine transformation of this system, not nibbling around the edges.”
Tagged
brad lander
education
new york city
transportation
Jessica Gould
Jessica is the education reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jessica reported on the shutdown and reopening of the nation’s largest school system, highlighting the unprecedented impacts on learning, health and mental health for students, staff and families. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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