Massachusetts Must Do Better for Its Most Vulnerable Students.

MA FASST — Massachusetts Friends of Affordable, Safe Student Transportation — is a coalition of parents, educators, district leaders, and taxpayers advocating for a student transportation system that is safe for every child, creates efficiencies for districts, and is flexible enough to serve students whose needs don't fit a one-size-fits-all bus route.

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Affordability

Massachusetts school districts are under enormous transportation budget pressure — in Fall River alone, transportation costs nearly doubled from $8 million to $16 million in just four years. Alternative transportation models can reduce the cost of serving students with specialized needs by roughly 47 percent compared to traditional bus service, according to a Chamber of Progress report — savings that go back to classrooms, not overhead.

Safety

Safety is non-negotiable. MA FASST supports rigorous driver screening, drug tests, continuous monitoring, real-time GPS tracking, and accountability standards that meet or exceed current requirements — right-sized to the vehicle and student population being served.

Flexibility

Today's students don't always fit a standard bus route. Students who have special needs, are in foster care, or who are experiencing homelessness often require individualized, responsive transportation that is currently not being provided reliably, equitably, or efficiently in many Massachusetts communities. MA FASST advocates for the state policy flexibility districts need to meet every student where they are.

Massachusetts' Transportation System Wasn't Built for Today's Students

The number of Massachusetts students identified under the federal McKinney-Vento Act — students experiencing homelessness — climbed to 25,000+ in 2022-2023, a 30% increase since pre-COVID Students with IEP-mandated out-of-district placements can travel significant distances each way. These trips require individualized, cross-district routing and vehicles better suited to the needs of the most vulnerable students.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts is one of only six states that funds pupil transportation almost entirely through reimbursement rather than same-year aid — and one of only three that provides no state funding at all during the fiscal year in which districts actually incur the cost. Districts front the full bill and wait until the following year for partial reimbursement, at a rate that fell to roughly 61 percent for transportation costs in FY25, well short of the 75 percent set out in statute. In Boston alone, transportation costs reached about $180 million last year — roughly 12 percent of the district's entire operating budget.

The Solution Is Proven.
Massachusetts Needs to Act.

Yellow school buses will always have an important role in getting Massachusetts kids to school. But for the students whose needs don't fit that model, there are additional, safe, affordable options already operating successfully in dozens of states. Vetted alternative transportation providers — operating under contract with school districts, with full federal background checks, drug testing, continuous motor vehicle registry monitoring, GPS tracking, and daily vehicle inspections — already serve students safely in 38 states.

Bills before the Massachusetts Legislature, Senate Bill 3021 and House Bill 3772 would modernize existing law to give districts the flexibility to use alternative student transportation providers as another safe, vetted option among the resources available to districts. It's time for Massachusetts policymakers to act.

See What We’re Fighting For

34%

Growth in Massachusetts McKinney-Vento students identified, 2022-23 to 2024-25

47%

Average savings on specialized trips with flexible, technology-enabled providers

Massachusetts' student transportation costs are climbing fast, and the students most affected — those with special needs, those in foster care, or those experiencing homelessness — are the ones today's system serves least efficiently. Flexible, right-sized transportation options are already showing real savings for districts willing to use them.
Source: MA DESE (Sept. 2025); Chamber of Progress Data

Our Coalition

MA FASST is led by parents, advocates, district transportation directors, and taxpayers who have seen firsthand what happens when districts don't have workable, modernized transportation options for the students who need them most. We are a coalition of people who believe every child deserves a safe, affordable, flexible path to school.