HOUSTON – Houston ISD has changed how thousands of eligible school choice and magnet students get to class this school year, moving to centralized hub stops that can require families to travel farther before students ever board a school bus.
The change took effect as the school year began and has sparked complaints from some parents who say the added driving and coordination has made mornings and harder.
Danielle Riley, an HISD parent with two daughters attending two different district schools across town, said the routine is more difficult than last year, when her children walked to bus stops near home.
“This year it’s just really annoying,” her daughter, Amani, said. “I feel like tempers flare. It’s hot outside.”
Riley said she was still trying to get information about her child’s hub assignment after school started.
“I couldn’t get through,” Riley said of trying to reach the district. “It said there were a hundred and almost 130 people in queue.”
Although the numbers shift constantly throughout the school year, about 3,000 HISD magnet and school choice students get to school on the traditional school bus
RELATED: Texas school bus funding falls short as districts face route cuts and rising transportation costs
What HISD says it’s trying to do
HISD’s Transportation Department says its goal is “reliable transportation” that supports access to school. In its written policy, the district says it is aiming to limit ride times to no more than 50 minutes each way for students attending their zoned school and no more than 90 minutes each way for students attending a school of choice.
District transportation officials have said the hub system consolidates stops and asks families to help get students to hub locations, with the goal of reducing the amount of time students spend on buses.
Dr. Dontarious Rowls, the deputy chief of HISD transportation, speaks to how the districts decides where these bus hubs will be. (KPRC 2026)
“In previous years, there were ride times up to two hours, and absolutely heard our community members’ concerns about their students being on the busses for two hours,” said Dr. Dontarious Rowls, the deputy chief of HISD transportation.
Rowls said a parent may be able to fold a hub drop-off into a commute, but he acknowledged that does not work for all families.
Students attending their zoned schools, the majority of bussed students (about 14,000 students), do not use the new hub system. Instead, the traditional bus stop system remains in place.
Eligibility and how far a stop can be
Under HISD policy, K-12 general education students attending their zoned, magnet or other school choice programs are eligible for bus transportation if they live 2 miles or more from their school.
The policy says Pre-K 3 and Pre-K 4 students are not eligible for transportation unless they have an IEP/504 plan and transportation is provided as a related service.
For eligible students attending their zoned school, HISD says students will be assigned a bus stop within approximately 2 miles of their home. This is in accordance with state law, and stands as a barrier to HISD moving to a hub system for general education (zoned) students.
A Houston ISD school bus (KPRC 2026)
For eligible students attending a school of choice, HISD says it strives to provide a stop within 3 miles of home. However, the policy says that if a school choice student cannot be transported to school in less than 90 minutes from a stop within 3 miles, HISD will provide a stop farther than 3 miles from the student’s home to reduce transport time.
Parents have raised concerns about what that can mean in practice, particularly for working families handling hub drop-offs and pickups.
“If you’re a working parent and getting them to that hub and getting them from the hub you still have to leave work early to pick them up from the hub,” Riley said. “If they’re three, four or five miles from your house, then how are you gonna get them home safely?”
“I have zero faith. I have zero faith in Mike Miles and this administration,” Riley said.
Follow-Up: Parents’ Tough Decision
Riley, has since learned that her kids, who attend separate magnet / vanguard schools would have to use two separate hubs. One of them is 1.5 miles from home, the other is 2.8 miles from home.
The walking routes include busy sections of Beechnut St and Bellaire Blvd and those walking journeys would start well before sunrise.
Riley finds that option completely untenable for either daughter.
She will now carve out a significant part of her workday to shuttle her students to and from school.
This is a big change from last year.
How to request transportation
HISD says families must complete a transportation request form, and the district’s Routing & Scheduling Department will process requests within 10 business days. The district says only students who meet eligibility requirements will be approved.
HISD’s Dr. Rowls said parents who believe a walking route is unsafe can contact the transportation department and request a hazardous route review. He said HISD uses field safety investigators to evaluate the route and compare it with state criteria before making a determination.
Important HISD school bus phone numbers
• General Routing & Service Assistance: (713) 613-3040
• Barnett Terminal (Routes starting with 1): (713) 845-5022
• Butler Terminal (Routes starting with 2): (713) 726-2100
• Central Terminal (Routes starting with 3): (713) 676-9432
• Northwest Terminal (Routes starting with 4): (713) 613-3049
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.