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More Los Angeles Unified students have started riding the bus since the district expanded eligibility in 2024.
In the 2025-2026 school year, 16,800 students rode the bus on average each day — about a 10% increase compared to two years prior, according to figures provided by a district spokesperson. Families concerned about immigration enforcement are among the growing ridership.
The district promises “transportation for all,” but availability varies depending on families’ needs, locations and school.
“A student's ability to arrive to school safely and reliably should never depend on a family's income, where they live, or whether they have access to a car,” said Board Vice President Rocío Rivas ahead of the start of the 2026-2027 school year.
In this guide, we’ll talk about:
- How to request transportation
- How the district prioritizes busing
- Free Metro passes for students
- Bus upgrades
And hear from students about their bus-riding experiences.
“There's this really amazing community that comes together for all the LAUSD buses,” said Eno Thomson-Tribe, a 2025 North Hollywood High School graduate. “ I met a bunch of my friends on the bus.”
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How do I request bus pickup?
There are several options to learn more about what transportation is available for your child.
The Parent Portal app is the most direct and effective way to request a ride, according to Daniel Kang, LAUSD’s transportation director.
You can also ask school staff, including the principal, or counselors, call the district’s resource hotline — (213) 443-1300 — or visit the transportation services website.
You’ll need to provide the name of your child’s school and your address. You may also be asked why you’re requesting transportation. Families are not required to share their immigration status, and the district does not retain this information.
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How are requests prioritized?
California doesn’t require schools to offer transportation, though the federal government does require it for the following groups:
- Students with disabilities whose Individualized Education Program (IEP) includes transportation
- Unhoused students
LAUSD also prioritizes busing for:
- Magnet programs and other Choices schools.
- Areas with hazardous walks to school (i.e. gang activity or dangerous streets). The district also calls this “safe passages.”
- Families concerned about immigration enforcement actions.
The district also adapts to the needs of families. During the 2025-2026 school year, the district provided rides to about 1,000 students whose families worried about immigration enforcement, Kang said.
There have been several instances of students and parents being detained near Southern California schools since the Trump administration stripped campuses of immigration enforcement protections in 2025.
Other students may also be eligible, including:
- Those with an Individualized Education Program that does not include transportation.
- Those who live more than one mile (for elementary school students) or more than two miles (for middle or high school students) from their school.
The district gives the lowest priority to families requesting rides merely for convenience. In most cases, these families will be offered a ride on existing routes and stops.
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“Not all families that are requesting transportation actually receive it because it’s also due to the demand,” Kang said.
He said the more families in an area that request a ride, the more likely the district is to provide a new stop.
Bus driver Rosa Quintero is part of an LAUSD transportation workforce that includes mechanics, and aides that help students with disabilities and people who plan routes
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Los Angeles Unified leaders have previously acknowledged that these routes can be located in the opposite direction of a child’s school, too far away or otherwise inconvenient.
“ We'll also be monitoring ridership and continuously adjust throughout the school year based on the needs that come in from our families,” Kang said.
So if the first route you’re offered doesn’t work for your family, try again later in the school year.
What if my child attends a charter school?
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Students at LAUSD-affiliated charter schools may be eligible for district busing based on the same criteria described above.
Independent charter schools run by outside organizations manage their own transportation.
(For more on the difference between these two types of charters, check out our guide.)
Keith Dell'Aquila, vice president of local advocacy in the Los Angeles region for the California Charter Schools Association, told LAist some schools run their own bus service.
“Our schools are incredibly committed to helping anybody who wants to be there,” Dell’Aquila said.
Who rides the bus now?
The largest group of bus riders, 65%, attend specific academic programs (such as magnets and dual-language schools) or have requested a ride for convenience or safety. The remaining 35% are students with disabilities, according to a district spokesperson.
Starting in the 2024-2025 school year, the district added pickups for students who face unsafe commutes to school because of factors like dangerous streets and intersections and active gang territory.
LAUSD reports that 70% of its 1,300 school buses rely on non-diesel fuels including propane, natural gas (like the buses pictured here) and electricity.
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Alum Gabino Perez got a test ride on one of the district’s new electric buses ahead of the 2025-2026 school year. He said the ride was cooler (because of the air conditioning) and quieter than the vehicles that have taken him to school in the past.
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What are the buses like?
The Los Angeles Unified School District has expanded its fleet of electric school buses to 250 vehicles ahead of the new school year. The second largest school district in the country reports that 70% of its 1,300 school buses now rely on non-diesel fuels including propane, natural gas and electricity.
LAUSD purchased the first 10 electric buses in 2021. The district expects to save money on gas and maintenance over time, and like many others, relies on a combination of federal and state funding to subsidize the higher upfront cost compared to a diesel-powered bus.
Hear it from a student: A more relaxing, comfortable ride
Gabino Perez’s parents don’t drive, so he relied on the bus to get from his home in Atwater Village to the STEM Academy at Bernstein High School in Hollywood. He also took the bus to a dual-language elementary school where he learned in English and Spanish.
Perez got a test ride on one of the district’s new electric buses ahead of the 2025-2026 school year. He said the ride was cooler (because of the air conditioning) and quieter than the vehicles that have taken him to school in the past.
“ Every time I'm in the other bus, like, I can't hear what the other person is saying to me because of too much noise,” Perez said. “This one, it's a lot [more] relaxing and comfortable.”
Students are exposed to fewer pollutants when they ride on a bus powered by natural gas or electricity compared to a traditional diesel vehicle. The new buses spew fewer toxins into the community.
Fossil-fuel-powered buses and trucks are a major contributor to Los Angeles’ terrible air quality.
The majority of buses in the district are equipped with free Wi-Fi.
Who drives the bus?
LAUSD has a transportation workforce of about 1,200 people including bus drivers, mechanics and aides who help students with disabilities and people who plan routes. The unions that represent many of these employees include SEIU Local 99 and Teamsters Local 572.
The district also contracts out some bus routes — largely to serve students with disabilities — to external companies because the demand for buses exceeds the district’s supply.
Hear it from a student: The bus is a community
Thomson-Tribe, the North Hollywood High School graduate, rode the bus from Eagle Rock daily.
“The bus was the only reason that I was able to attend a specialized magnet program that otherwise my parents would not have been able to drive me to five days a week, 180 days a year for four years straight,” Thomson-Tribe said. He also gave a shoutout to his driver, Mr. Young.
The bus picked him up around 7 a.m. and he arrived at school around 8 a.m., half an hour before the first bell. If he had marching band practice after school, Thomson-Tribe could take a late bus with the added bonus of spending less time in rush-hour traffic.
Thomson-Tribe was in his school’s highly gifted magnet program which came with a hefty load of homework, some of which he completed using the bus’ free wifi.
“The bus was honestly one of the best times to do it,” Thomson-Tribe said. “I didn't have a ton of free time.”
How do I know where my child is?
Families can track their child’s bus in real time through LAUSD’s Parent Portal app.
Can federal immigration officials board school buses?
Ahead of the 2025-26 school year, then-Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said a child’s ride to and from school is legally protected.
“ They travel with the same protection and safety, the same protocols of protection provided by Los Angeles Unified,” Carvalho said. “Being on that school bus is equivalent to being in a classroom in a school.”
Carvalho said the district has trained bus drivers to respond to federal immigration officers by contacting district administrators, the Los Angeles Unified Police and legal departments.
-
The city will now use safety data, equity measures and existing infrastructure to decide where to place crossing guards. -
Compton Unified recently unveiled a new fleet of electric school buses, but the fate of funding promised for other schools is unclear under the Trump administration. -
A preschooler was killed while walking to school with her mother in Koreatown. Who is responsible?
Immigration enforcement officers are not supposed to be granted access to the bus or students onboard without a signed judicial warrant.
How can I get my child a free Metro pass?
Students can get free L.A. Metro bus and train rides through the GoPass program.
Families can sign their child up through the school’s front office.
Some charter schools are also eligible for the GoPass program. You can check for your school online.
Most buses in the district are equipped with free Wi-Fi.
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Eno Thomson-Tribe is a 2025 graduate of North Hollywood High School and rode the bus from Eagle Rock daily. His school’s highly gifted magnet program came with a hefty load of homework. “The bus was honestly one of the best times to do it,” Thomson-Tribe said. “I didn't have a ton of free time.”
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Mariana Dale
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LAist
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Why don’t more kids ride the bus?
California lags behind the rest of the nation in providing bus transportation to students.
The state doesn’t require schools to offer transportation, though the federal government requires schools to provide it for a few specific groups of students, including some with disabilities and those experiencing homelessness.
Editor's note: This story was originally reported in 2025 and was updated on Aug. 6, 2026 to include new information and interviews with district staff.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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