Austin ISD makes changes to bus routes ahead of first day of school

AUSTIN, Texas – This upcoming school year, Austin ISD is making several changes to their bus routes in hopes of saving the district some money.

What changes are going into place?

What we know:

The school district will be using a transportation hub. 

This means that buses will no longer make individual neighborhood stops but will instead pick up students at their nearest Austin ISD middle or high school.

Students who go to Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, Kealing Magnet School, LASA, and Lively Magnet School will now meet at the centralized bus stop closest to their home.

The district says they believe that students will spend less time on the bus since the buses will run directly between the hubs and the school with no additional neighborhood stops.

For the students who are already qualified for transportation to the magnet schools, the district will still provide them with transportation. The district asks that parents drop them off at the closest transportation hub stop.

These hub stops are located at the nearest high school or middle school, meaning a school district official will be on campus during drop off to ensure students make it to their home campus safely.

Austin ISD budget issues

Earlier this year, the AISD board of trustees approved the 2025–26 budget with a $19.7 million deficit, a steep reduction from the prior year’s adopted deficit.

What they’re saying:

“These four schools were chosen. They have the highest number of routes, highest number of students and highest cost to the district. So, when we put all numbers together, it did make sense to do this. And we are hopeful with this process that we continue to support our students at the same time to save some funds for the district,” said Chris Hafezizadeh, executive director of transportation for AISD.

What’s next:

The district will be releasing more information on bus routes in the first week of August.