Bus Service

BUS REGISTRATION

BUS REGISTRATION FORM for 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR
Registration will open in late spring 2024.

DETAILED BUS ROUTES & SCHEDULE 2023-2024

DETAILED BUS ROUTES & SCHEDULE 2024-2025

DAILY BUS SCHEDULE 2023-2024 (EXCEPTIONS, HOLIDAYS)

Questions? campus_services@milton.edu or (617) 898-2211

BUS SERVICE ROUTES

• BOSTON (Cambridge or Causeway origination; please note that 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. routes terminate and Causeway; 6 p.m. route terminates at Cambridge)
• BROOKLINE (Newton, Brookline)
• DOVER (South Natick, Dover, Needham, Dedham)
• NEWTON/WELLESLEY (Newton, Wellesley)
• SOUTH SHORE (Cohasset, Hingham, Quincy)

BUS SCHEDULE

View the schedule here. Please note that all bus stops available in the morning may not be available during the afternoon—please check the schedule carefully. Please also note that Lower School students may not ride the 6 p.m. buses. 

Milton Academy contracts bus service through Local Motion and works with Local Motion to determine routes and identify a few centralized stops for each route; the goal is to cover the most distance possible in the shortest amount of time, to ensure that most students ride 50 minutes or fewer, and ensure consistency of bus routes year-to-year, therefore balancing student access, predictability, and total time on the bus. In addition, the school strives to ensure that students arrive at school in the morning and at the stops in the afternoon at published times, requiring that the roads and turns be carefully mapped. The school reviews the number of students on each route and at each stop annually; the school also regularly monitors the time(s) at which students arrive. In general, families should assume that students will arrive +/- 5 minutes of the published route time, and that due to on-road circumstances beyond the school’s control, there may be a few days each year in which the times cannot be met. In addition, traffic at the beginning of the school year can be unpredictable in the Boston area, so we ask for your patience especially during the first five days of school.  While parents may make requests to add or change bus stops, please note that the school’s goal of providing access to the largest number of students and ensuring on-time departures and arrivals will remain; therefore, route changes are only made infrequently and will only occur when a change will benefit the majority of riders, with a focus on efficiency overall. Should safety issues related to a stop or route arise, however, the school maintains the right to make changes immediately, even if it affects certain stops and overall route efficiency and/or duration. 

RATES

The following rates apply for the 2024-2025 academic year:

• Full year, round trip: $3,595 ($3,395 or LS students)
• Full year, one direction: $2,595 ($2,395 for LS students)
• First half year, both directions: $2,595 ($2,395 for LS students)
• Second half year, both directions: $2,595 ($2,395 for LS students)
• Single ride ticket*: $17.50 per ticket

* Families may purchase one-way, single ride passes for $17.50 each  during school year 2024-2025.

• • All Upper and Middle School students riding the bus occasionally must purchase passes at the Milton Academy Bookstore and present a single ride pass to the bus driver.
  • Lower School student parents may request occasional rides as follows; costs will be billed to school accounts:
    • Morning: by emailing campus_services@milton.edu
    • Afternoon: by alerting Lower School staff; please update PickUp Patrol to indicate changes to your regular afternoon routine.

By registering for the bus, families are committing to bus service fees. Bus fees will be billed to family accounts at the end of September. Families who purchase full-year round trip passes, but whose circumstances after the start of school require them to make other transportation arrangements, are eligible for a 40% refund if canceled by October 31, 2024. Half-year or one-direction passes may not be canceled and are not refundable after the school year begins. There is a $150 cancellation fee if bus service is canceled prior to the start of school.

BUS TRACKER APP

Local Motion of Boston has a vehicle tracker app that will display the current location of the bus. Search in app store for “Local Motion Vehicle Tracker App” Enter password – Milton (not case sensitive). The password will only need to be entered when downloading the app.

BUS PASSES

Bus passes will be distributed to students during the first week of school rather than mailed this year. Students will be allowed to ride buses without passes for the first week of classes, but should then plan to present a pass each time they board the bus.

Students who are registered for the bus service must present their bus identification tag to the driver. If students who are registered for the bus service do not present their bus identification tag, they must provide their name and signature to the driver, along with a reason for not having the required identification. Replacement tags can be ordered by contacting Courtney Hawkes Gaidos. A $15 fee will be charged to the student’s account to cover the cost of the replacement.

STUDENT BUS CODE OF CONDUCT

• Students are expected to remain seated and well behaved while on the bus, and to uphold the rights and well-being of others.
• Instructions by the driver must be followed in full immediately.
• Lower School students are encouraged to sit at the front of the bus nearest the driver, or with older siblings.
• Older students should keep discussions appropriate for younger ears.
• No playing music other than through individual listening devices.
• Students are expected to participate in period bus evacuation drills as scheduled by Milton Academy in partnership with Local Motion.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE GUIDELINES

• If your child must bring food items on the bus, we ask that they please follow these guidelines:
  • All food and beverage items must be nut-free. This is a serious, potentially life-threatening issue for many students so it is imperative that students do not bring any items containing peanuts or tree nuts on the bus.
  • All beverage items must be spill-proof (must have a closing top that will not spill if dropped).
  • Food products must be in a container, wrapped, or in a bag.
  • All students are responsible for taking their trash with them when they get off the bus.
  • When selecting food for snacks, please carefully consider the choking hazard potential of those items, especially for our younger riders (e.g., we ask that you do not send grapes, carrots, etc.)