Q&A
Challenges and limitations of the student rideshare program
2:09:29
·
64 sec
Council Member Rita Joseph raises concerns about the requirement for an adult to accompany children using the rideshare service. DOE officials explain the legal and regulatory constraints that led to this requirement, while acknowledging its limitations.
- The adult accompaniment requirement was necessary to navigate state regulations and procurement rules
- Officials recognize this requirement doesn't work for all families
- Despite limitations, the program is seen as an improvement over previous options, such as waiting for buses or out-of-pocket expenses
Rita Joseph
2:09:29
Rideshares require an adult to accompany their child, which is often quite challenging or children attending school far from where they live, including children of foster care.
2:09:37
Is New York City public school exploring any solution that would allow a child to get to school without relying on availability of a parent to go with them?
John Benson
2:09:44
Yep.
2:09:45
So going back to the original procurement for rideshare.
2:09:49
We had to navigate numerous New York state regulations about student transportation.
2:09:54
We have New York state vehicle traffic law 19 day that pertains to bus drivers, and we have procurement roles that we had to to go through to arrive at this solution.
2:10:03
The way we could get this off the ground based on the legal guidance and all the various rules and factors that play was for it to be a parent procured ride and for the parent to accompany the child.
2:10:11
That was the only way we could get this off the ground.
2:10:14
Acknowledge it's not perfect.
2:10:15
You know, requiring the parent doesn't work for everybody.
2:10:18
That said, I it's a good step in the right direction from the prior state where it was either wait for the wait for the bus or come out of pocket with your own money to fund transportation and then go to reimbursement.
2:10:28
So it's not perfect, but it is a a really good step in the right direction to support our families.
