Hartford students convince legislature to approve free bus fare

Transportation is one of the hurdles that forces youth all over the state to lose contact with work or school.

Lawmakers recently did something about it, thanks to a push from some Hartford students.

The legislature included funding for free buses for Hartford and New Haven students as part of a bill to spend as much as $400 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding.

“I take [a public bus] to work, I take it after school to any after school activities, I take it to hang out with friends,” Nariyah Lindsay, a junior at Hartford’s University High School of Science and Engineering, said.

Connecticut had used pandemic-relief funding to provide free bus service on all Department of Transportation buses, but that ended in the spring of 2023.

Some students at University High, a magnet school, said they noticed that classmates from Hartford were less engaged outside of class.

“Things like sports and clubs and other activities – like students can’t participate in those,” senior Amy Kakrabah-Quarshie said.  

A group of students in the Social Justice Club organized an effort to push lawmakers to reinstate the free bus fare, at least for students.

“I saw a lot of change in my school community, especially because a lot of my friends were taken the bus pass – or the city bus while it was free,” senior Siddharth Krishnan said.

That’s just what lawmakers did.

The stabilization bill includes $175,000 each for both Hartford and New Haven as part of a pilot program to give public students free rides on DOT-operated buses.

Lawmakers said it’s part of a broader effort to help disconnected youth. A report from the Dalio Education Foundation estimated 119,000 youth became disconnected from work or school.

The report also pointed to a lack of reliable and affordable transportation as a common hurdle.  

“We had those students from University High come up and made a very compelling case on the need for free transportation,” Sen. Douglas McCrory (D-Hartford) said.

University High Principal Sean Tomany said the service will help students stay engaged with school and activities.

He noted students in the past have even had to miss a day of school if they had a doctor’s appointment in the morning, but couldn’t get a ride after.

“It allows them to have the same access to the school community that kids with transportation have,” he said.

McCrory credited University High’s Social Justice Club with helping to get the benefit included in the stabilization bill. Students said they were surprised they were successful so quickly.

“We did it in a span of time that – I didn't think we’d be able to do it until next year,” senior Maria Perez said.