Questions Regarding Roosevelt Island School Bus Service Answered - Now Get On the Magic Bus With The Who

You Tube Video of The Who's Magic Bus

A reader of this post on the first day of direct non-stop school bus service from Roosevelt Island to the Lower Lab school asks the following questions:

I don't know if anyone out there can answer any of these questions, but...

1. How long does it take?

2. Are there any other Manhattan schools that offer bus service to RI?

3. Is it ever a problem getting bus service from the Manhattan side of the tram to any school?

(My kid isn't in school yet, and we don't know if we want to stay on RI long-term.)

Another reader provides some answers.

1) I don't really know. The bus leaves at 7:20am and gets the kids to school in time.

2) There are quite a few other buses picking up children on Roosevelt Island but I do not know what routes they take (UNIS is one of them). DOE regulation is that you need at least 11 children in order to create a route.

3) No. You can always take the tram and catch a bus on the other side of the river. That's what most kids do.

Hope that helps. If anyone else has more information, please let us know. More on Roosevelt Island schools here.

For the older kiddies, enjoy the Who's Magic Bus. The little one's can still have Scholastic's Magic Bus.

First Day of Roosevelt Island School Bus Service to Lower Lab School A Great Success!

You Tube video of the Scholastic Magic School Bus

I was happy to learn that yesterday was the first day of school bus service from Roosevelt Island direct to the Lower Lab School. According to at least one parent and child I spoke with it was a great success. The child was particularly happy that there were no stops and even said it was FUN! If it is as much fun as the Scholastic Magic Bus, save a seat for me!

Roosevelt Island School Bus Stop Requires 11 Students Per School

School Bus Image from brickshools.org

More information on the recently announced school bus service for Roosevelt Island children. John Moore, City Council Member Jessica Lappin's community representative, does some further investigation and provides this additional information on school bus service for Roosevelt Island children.

The word from the DOE is that it takes 11 kids to create a bus stop. That is to say, if there are 11 kids on Roosevelt Island attending a particular Manhattan school (i.e. Lower Lab) then a bus stop can be established.

Parents can opt not to use the bus and so would be eligible to continue receiving Metro cards for transportation. However, they seem to be planning on going back to offering either a Metro card or a school bus, no using a card to get to Manhattan and taking a bus from there

As for the length of the trip, DOE policy says that no bus routes can be longer than 5 miles. This should limit the time kids spend on the bus, but it’s not yet clear how long the trip from the Island will take.

UPDATE 1:45 - In response to this comment by reader:

If the 5 miles limit is a hard limit then Lower Lab will not have a bus to Roosevelt Island. According to Google Maps it is 5.3 miles from our Gristedes to Lower Lab on E96th St and 3rd Ave.

The distance from Roosevelt Island to 2nd Ave alone is already more than 3 miles.

Mr Moore clarifies DOE's 5 mile policy:

The DOE is using some discretion for Roosevelt Island. The 5 mile limit was why the Island was always denied for a bus route in the past. However, given the variety of transportation issues facing the Island, the DOE agreed to give some leeway on that rule to set up a bus route for the Island.

School Bus Service Coming for Some Roosevelt Island Children

Image of Otto, the Simpson's school Bus Driver from Wired

Received the following good news from City Council Member Jessica Lappin's office. Council Member Lappin has helped obtain school bus service for some Roosevelt Island children.

In response to a request from Council Member Jessica Lappin, the Department of Education has reversed its position of refusing to assign a school bus route to Roosevelt Island for students who attend schools in Manhattan.

On behalf of several constituents who had contacted the Council Member’s office, Lappin wrote a letter to Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm in which she laid out the overcrowded transportation situation on Roosevelt Island and urged the DOE to create a bus route for the Island. In her June 24 response, Deputy Chancellor Grimm wrote that the DOE intended to do just that.

The Deputy Chancellor wrote that while bus service may not be available to all Island children attending public schools elsewhere, certain District 2 schools like Lower Lab that have more than the minimum number of students needed to create new service will be getting a bus stop in the coming year.

“I want to commend the Department of Education for doing what is right for Roosevelt Island,” Council Member Lappin said. “Especially with the tram expected to be out of service for long periods of time over the coming year, school bus service will provide needed transportation for children who attend school in Manhattan. I’m glad that I was able to play a part in making school bus service a reality.”

Below is Councilmember Lappin's letter to Department of Education

Lappin letter re RI busing 5 13 08-1 - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Lappin letter re RI busing 5 13 08-1

And the letter in response from DOE

DOE Letter re RI busing 6 24 08 - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: DOE Letter re RI busing 6 24 08

Image of Council Member Jessica Lappin

Good job by Council Member Lappin in obtaining a much needed service for Roosevelt Island children and their parents. Gothamist has more on last year's school routing problems.