The Department of Education says school bus routes will run smoothly this fall as measures are being taken to ensure the chaos from January doesn?t occur again.

New school bus routes were put into effect in January, bringing chaos and complaints with them. The city was looking to save millions by consolidating the bus lines, but the plan left residents and students confused and stranded in the cold.

The Department of Education says that this year, they will not be conducting another general education bus registration. This means that parents who registered their kids for busing last year won?t have to re-register their children.

In addition, a spokesperson for the department says they?ve eliminated the quarter-mile eligibility rule, which meant anyone who lived less than a quarter of a mile from a bus stop couldn?t get public transportation.

The DOE also said that third grade is the MetroCard cutoff age, meaning any students who are in the third grade or older will receive MetroCards if they are riding public transportation to school with their parents or older siblings. Children below the third grade will get yellow bus service if they are eligible for transportation, if their parents request it and if their school has existing bus service.

If parents have questions, the Department of Education says they can call 311 or speak with their principal when school opens.

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