School-bus satisfaction is a transit-equity story
The question
Which New York City schools have the worst student ratings of their school bus, and what do those schools have in common?
Student satisfaction with the school bus is bimodal across New York City: most schools score 60 to 85% satisfaction, but a tail of about a dozen schools sits below 45%. Charters account for 5 of the bottom 12, and District 75 schools (the citywide system serving students with significant disabilities) account for 3 — both groups often have students riding specialized routes outside neighborhood patterns. The lowest score: Imagine Me Leadership Charter in Brooklyn at 25%. The pattern parallels school-meal satisfaction: schools with less standardized procurement cluster at the low end.
Data analysis
Investigation run 2026-05-25.
TL;DR
Student bus satisfaction across New York City schools is bimodal — most schools score 60 to 85%, but a tail of about a dozen sits below 45%. Charters are heavily represented in the tail (5 of the bottom 12). District 75 (the citywide system for students with significant disabilities) accounts for 3 — those students often ride the longest, most specialized routes. The lowest score: Imagine Me Leadership Charter in Brooklyn at 25%.
Bottom 12 schools by student bus satisfaction (2023-24)
| School | Borough | Sat % |
|---|---|---|
| Imagine Me Leadership Charter | Brooklyn | 25 |
| Bronx Charter School for Excellence 4 | Bronx | 31 |
| Community Voices Middle School | Queens | 33 |
| Girls Preparatory Charter (Manhattan) | Manhattan | 33 |
| PS K231 (District 75) | Brooklyn | 33 |
| Explore Exceed Charter | Brooklyn | 35 |
| Bronx Charter for Children | Bronx | 37 |
| Mott Haven Academy Charter | Bronx | 39 |
| PS Q023 @ Queens Children Center (District 75) | Queens | 40 |
| PS K141 (District 75) | Brooklyn | 40 |
| Democracy Prep Charter | Manhattan | 41 |
| MS for Art and Philosophy | Brooklyn | 41 |
Patterns
Five of bottom 12 are charters; three are District 75 schools. District 75 students often ride specialized buses with longer routes (kids with severe disabilities frequently attend non-zoned schools, requiring 60+ minute rides). Charter kids similarly often commute outside their neighborhood. The schools at the top of the bus-satisfaction list are zoned neighborhood schools where kids walk.
District 75 transportation
The city Department of Education Office of Pupil Transportation operates under federal McKinney-Vento requirements for transportation for students in temporary housing and students with disabilities. The office has been over-budget and has documented delays and cancellations. The 33-40% satisfaction at District 75 schools is the most-actionable signal in the data: students at District 75 schools generally have the most-specialized transportation needs and the fewest alternatives.
Caveats
Sample sizes per school vary; the bottom-12 list isn't sorted by statistical significance, just by point estimate. PS K231 at 33% with whatever n_respondents may be noisier than Imagine Me at 25% with a bigger sample. The pattern is real even allowing for noise.
What's next
Ingest NYC Open Data 'Bus Breakdown and Delays' feed and join to school catchments. Profile the experience of a District 75 student with a 90-minute bus ride.
Methodology & replication recipe — the data sources, queries, and steps behind this analysis.
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- How much of school outcomes is just demographic composition?