Cy-Fair ISD reinstates bus routes after safety concerns

HOUSTON — Cy-Fair ISD confirmed to KHOU 11 News on Thursday that certain students will get access back to bus routes after losing it for the 2024-2025 school year.

The change comes after months of reports on several students being hit and injured while traveling to or from their Cy-Fair ISD schools.

The directly impacted families of the students we have spoken with told us they were either walking or biking to school.. Several are among the more than 30,000 students who lost their school bus routes at the start of the 2024-2025 school year.

In June 2024, CFISD decided to cut 79 bus routes to save nearly $5,000,000.

The district released a transportation plan as well as a list of frequently asked questions to explain how and why they came to their decision, as well as who would be impacted.

In short, CFISD families are now only eligible for school bus service if they live more than one mile away from their student’s elementary school or more than two miles away from their student’s middle or high school. Families have told us that if they are ineligible, they are also not allowed to use an active bus stop, even if it would fall into the required threshold.

RELATED: What we can VERIFY about CyFair ISD bus transportation changes

Families have expressed some concerns since the decision was formally announced right before the 2024-2025 school year started.

Since the decision was made, there has also been a group formed on social media to try and address the impact by speaking to the board and even holding signs facing the trustees.

In 2024, we were told by elected officials that they were going to evaluate the impact of the decision. Now, nearly a year later, we got to see firsthand what’s being done to address community concerns and learn what is being done for those who haven’t been helped yet.

Both Precinct Three Harris County Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Precinct Four Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones said they are concerned about any student being hit and injured while trying to get to class. The most recent incident occurred on April 16, 2025.

CFISD released the following statement about the incident:

“We are aware of an auto-pedestrian accident involving a student riding a bicycle at the intersection of Rustic Lakes Lane and Raven Rock Lane last week. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident. The student sustained minor injuries and was transported to a local hospital as a precautionary measure. Student safety is of utmost importance to us. As a reminder to the community, drivers must remain vigilant and stay off cell phones. If we all work together, we can ensure our students get to and from school safely each day.”

That’s a concern Jessica Inman has for her soon-to-be middle schooler.

“You don’t feel he’d be safe walking to and from school or biking to and from school?” KHOU 11 Reporter Amanda Henderson asked.

“Absolutely not. The route, the road that he would have to drive or walk down has no sidewalks. It is a very busy road,” Inman said.

Inman and her family live a little less than two miles from the middle school her son will attend for the 2025-2026 school year.

Her frustrations about his route are rooted in the fact that his path to school currently has ditches and grassy areas, but no sidewalks parallel from their neighborhood to the road.

“Who do you think needs to step up and address the frustrations?” Henderson asked.

“I would say it’s got to be the board because they’re the ones who voted to remove the bus routes,” Inman said.

“There’s every effort is to restore some routes,” CFISD Board Vice President Dr. Natalie Blasingame said at an April 14, 2025 CFISD school board meeting. Discussions were held at the recent meeting about the future of bus routes.

Until then, impacted families like Katherine Robinson said something needs to be done. Her middle schooler is currently carpooling with a friend to Truitt Middle School.

“The only direct route to Truitt is down West Little York, which is a four-lane road with a 45-mile-an-hour speed limit and no sidewalks,” Robinson said.

“Obviously constituents call us and they said I need you to build a sidewalk in my neighborhood,” Ramsey said.

In June 2024, Commissioner Ramsey released this statement to us about the changes to school bus routes.

“Precinct 3 works with HC MUDs for potential sidewalks along major roadways, including the Cole’s Crossing area,” Commissioner Ramsey said. “Once the new Cy-Fair ISD bus routes have been established, we will have a better understanding of the affected areas and work with the various MUDs for potential studies for additional mobility projects.”

Now, 10 months after the June 2024 decision, there is ongoing construction in both Precinct Three and Precinct Four as CFISD runs through both. Both precincts have worked with a number of partners to get the funding necessary for the sidewalk projects and additional safety projects.

With every cut, measurement and swing, you’re watching the completion of long-awaited sidewalk projects. Several of them are near and on the path to schools.

“The thought that our kids are walking to school in these dangerous conditions is unacceptable,” Briones said.

With some families in Briones’ area still without sidewalks and bus access, we took their concerns to her.

“Will there be more [sidewalks and safety features] on the way?” Henderson asked.

“So, the answer is yes,” Briones said.

Briones said incoming future sidewalks will be put close to Hemingway Elementary, Cypress Springs High School, Hopper Middle School, Cypress Lakes High School, Truitt Middle School and Horn Elementary.

This is in addition to the 14.1 miles of sidewalks they’ve already built.

Ramsey said his goal is to ensure they’re not just installing sidewalks but creating safe areas for students to walk if they are unable to regain their bus routes. His office has also installed hundreds of school zone lights.

CFISD sent us a statement in response to our requests about our requests on cut bus routes.

“We recently celebrated 14.1 miles of new sidewalks, due to the commitment of Harris County Precinct 4 and Commissioner Briones, which benefit students at 13 campuses. See A reduction in bus routes was one of the items chosen to address the projected deficit budget for the 2024-25 school year. We are currently working on financial projections for the 2025-26 school year. There are many uncertainties regarding future funding due to bills that have been filed during this legislative session that could impact us financially. I encourage you to watch the Legislative Session/CFISD Budget Update report that will be presented at Monday’s Board Meeting. Additionally, there will be a Special-called Board Meeting to hold a Budget Workshop on Thursday, May 22.”

Thursday afternoon, CFISD sent this updated statement about their decision to return certain bus routes and how they are navigating ongoing changes.

“Beginning next week, the district will be changing the eligibility of many of our middle school students based on a proposed change to our 2024-2025 Transportation Plan. This change will extend eligibility to middle school students who live within two miles but whose path to school would include walking along a moderate to heavily traveled thoroughfare without a safe walking path. Households in these reinstated routes were notified of eligibility via SchoolMessenger.”

“Our leadership team and Board of Trustees have actively taken steps throughout the year to address community concerns regarding areas ineligible for transportation. Additionally, CFISD has experienced a substantial deficiency in the number of available bus drivers. Positive developments throughout the year have included extensive collaboration with Precincts 3 and 4 to install additional sidewalks surrounding many of our schools and a Board-approved increase in the bus driver pay rate in November. Due to the competitive new pay rate, CFISD is better aligned with current market conditions for CDL drivers, and we have experienced a significant increase in applications. New hires have completed CDL training and are being assigned routes. At current staffing levels, we are able to provide additional services to many of our middle school students using the proposed change to our Transportation Plan as a guide.”

If you are looking for details on which bus route your student qualifies for in CFISD, click here.