AUSTIN, Texas — Classes start on Tuesday for Austin ISD, and on Monday, district staff were still putting the final pieces of its new bus hub system in place.

The centralized hub plan was designed in part to save money. When both middle and high school students were included, Austin ISD projected savings of $5.2 million. But with middle schoolers back at neighborhood bus stops, the projected savings dropped to $2.3 million.

Overton Elementary School is one of Austin ISD’s bus hubs for high school students. With the start of classes just one day away, district officials want to make sure students know exactly where to catch the bus. Staff is hustling to make sure 103 bus hubs are clearly marked. Most are elementary schools, but the district is also using recreation centers and libraries.

Austin ISD’s original plan would have sent both high school and middle school students to centralized hubs. But after heavy pushback from parents, Austin ISD reversed course for middle schoolers, restoring their neighborhood bus stops.

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Jodi Bart Holzband is the mother of a 6th grader at Lamar Middle School. She says the change makes a significant difference.

“If I had to drive her to a hub, that would be hard as a working parent to have to do to drive and pick her up from a hub. So, I am glad that she can walk from her home now to her bus stop and walk back home at the end of the day,” said Holzband.

The neighborhood bus stop for her daughter, Bess, is only a five-minute walk from home.

“I kind of like the independence of just walking there and walking back by myself and not with a hub,” said Bess Bart Holzband.

The hub system remains for high school students. Austin ISD says some students will have to travel as far as three miles to reach the centralized points.

“How many students do you think are having to go three miles to get to a hub?” asked CBS Austin Reporter Bettie Cross.

“Not very many. Not very many,” said Kris Hafezizadeh, Austin ISD Executive Director of Transportation. “The majority are actually one and a half miles on average.”

Another question – whether an Austin ISD employee will be at every hub in the morning and afternoon.

“I cannot guarantee you every single one every morning, every afternoon, every single hub will have one,” said Hafezizadeh.

The list of Austin ISD bus hubs is still in flux. District officials say they will continue evaluating how the system is working during the first few weeks of school. If there are problems, Hafezizadeh says they could potentially add additional bus hubs.