DETROIT (WXYZ) — Getting to class just got easier for Detroit students. Mayor Mary Sheffield is rolling out the "Ride to Rise" program, a six-month pilot initiative giving every K-12 student free rides on city buses.
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The program applies to all public, private, and charter school students. As long as they have a school ID, students can ride city buses every day of the year for free. The goal is to remove transportation barriers, tackle absenteeism, and help kids focus on learning instead of bus fares.
"We want every student in this city to be successful and have access to transportation," Sheffield said.
Sheffield noted that while the mayor does not control the schools, absenteeism is a major issue. She hopes the initiative will help young riders show up to school and get more comfortable using public transportation.
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"So, this is just the beginning," Sheffield said.
Robert Cramer, the city's executive director of transit, said the program eliminates a major concern for families.
"This is kind of the beginning of a new chapter," Cramer said.
Bryant Tipton, principal of Pershing High School, approves of the program and said it supports his students.
"Now, they have a ride," Tipton said. "Now they don’t have to have any barriers holding them back. They can just ride the bus, and they’re at school."
Pershing High School senior Mac Sconi and freshman Katelyn Tyner are among the students benefiting from the change. Tyner is familiar with riding the bus up and down 7 Mile to get to school.
"It’s really awesome. Especially for people who don’t have enough money to get on the bus," Tyner said. "I’ve had a lot of memories on the DDOT. Good memories."
Tyner believes the roughly 14,000 other high school students in Detroit who previously had to apply for and receive a bus pass through their schools will feel the same gratitude.
"There’s students who have to worry about how they’re going to get to school or think about bus fares," Sconi said. "Now that people have this, they don’t have to worry about where’s my bus fare, how am I going to get home — it’s not a concern anymore."
Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Doctor Nikolai Vitti said the program could save the district more than $500,000, which they will look to reinvest into education.
"Now we eliminate the process of asking, purchasing, providing. As long as they have their student ID, they can get on any city bus," Vitti said. "This is a conversation and investment in equity and access."
The city will evaluate the six-month pilot program as they look toward a more permanent solution.
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