High School Transportation and New Bell Times

Free Passes Available In August

» Find the best RTD route to your high school

Denver's high school students will ride RTD instead of DPS yellow buses to school beginning in August. Eligible high school students must have a pass to ride a bus to school.

Eligible students may pick up their free bus passes and suggested routes and schedules at high schools during walk-in registration on Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 9 and 10. (The first day of school is Monday, Aug. 16 for ninth-grade students and Tuesday, Aug. 17 for all other high school students.)

High school students who live 3.5 miles or more from their neighborhood school are eligible for the pass. With the exception of Denver School of the Arts, students who attend a high school magnet program that offers transportation also are eligible for the pass if they live 3.5 miles or more from that school.*

DPS yellow bus transportation for all Denver School of the Arts and special education students remains unchanged. Additionally, DPS buses will continue to be used for athletics and other activities.

Denver Public Schools has worked closely with RTD to expand bus service where it's anticipated that students will need it the most. Families can call the RTD information center at 303-299-6000 for assistance in planning routes to school. On August 1, information about school service will be on the RTD website at www.rtd-denver.com. On September 5, information about expanded bus service for school routes will be accessible on the same website through RTD's Trip Planner.

Students can use the RTD pass any time - on the weekends or to get to and from work. Students who are not eligible for the pass can purchase a monthly RTD pass for $19. The monthly passes will be available at schools during the third week of every month.

The Board of Education this spring unanimously voted to replace traditional DPS yellow buses for high schools students with RTD service and extend the high school day. High schools can offer more educational choices to students by keeping the 7:30 a.m. start time and staying open later. This decision also means that some elementary schools will move their start time from 9 to 8:15 a.m. due to the increase in available buses.

In all, DPS has about 17,500 high school students. Currently, about 3,000 students are eligible to ride a school bus. However, only about half of the eligible riders use DPS yellow buses to reach school. An estimated 2,400 high school students already use RTD to go to and from school. An additional 1,200 middle school students already ride RTD to school.

Students and parents with questions may call the DPS Department of Transportation Hotline at 303-825-2611. Specific questions about RTD routes or bus schedules should be directed to RTD at 303-299-6000.

*High school magnet programs with transportation (eligible students will qualify for a free RTD bus pass):

RTD graphic of busses