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Yellow Bus Service


Yellow bus service for field trips is provided to students in kindergarten through 12th grade, only. Schools requesting field trips for Pre-K students under the age of 5 or weighing 50 pounds or less at the time of the trip will require car seats and must charter the trip through a Pre-K vendor.

The following guidelines apply to field trips:
  • Booking is subject to availability; OPT will attempt to accommodate as many trips as possible.
  • Trips must be within the five boroughs of New York City.
  • Trips must leave the school after 9:30AM and buses must return to the school by 1:30PM.
  • Requests must be received by OPT at least one week before the trip date.
  • Trips cannot service multiple destinations.
  • August 15, 2023 is the last day for field trips.


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    The buses used for field trips are the same buses that are used to bring students
     to and from school for their regular academic program. As a result, trips will not
    be scheduled on dates when the NYC public schools are closed (generally all
    federal holidays) or on the dates shown above when the public schools have
     half-day sessions.

  • Trips requiring more than five (5) vehicles may not be scheduled on Fridays due to limited vehicle availability.
  • Schools are responsible for fees associated with tolls and parking.
  • Tolls must be paid by check - made payable to the bus vendor and given to driver before the scheduled trip.
  • Canceled check will serve as the receipt of payment.
  • Schools must confirm all assigned trips with the bus company dispatcher two days before the scheduled trip.
  • Neither OPT nor the bus companies can be responsible for routing field trips. To ensure proper travel, schools must provide bus drivers with directions to and from the field trip site.
When planning trips, please remember all buses must return to the school no later than 1:30 p.m.

OPT will not provide round-trip yellow bus service for activities likely to delay return to school past 1:30 p.m. (including sporting events, Madison Square Garden, the Circus, Governor’s Island, the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Radio City Music Hall, World Marina, all Cruises & Ferries, Chelsea Piers). Schools may choose one-way OPT yellow bus service with other arrangements for the return trip. 

For those students who use buses only for field trips, classroom instruction covering the content of bus safety drills may be provided as an alternative to formal school bus drills in compliance with Section 3623 of the State Education Department and Revised Section 156.3(h) of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.
Public Transportation
 Schools can use Certificates For Free Transportation provided by New York City Transit to travel to and from their field trip site between 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. or for return travel from a trip scheduled to arrive back at school later than 1:30 p.m. The certificates are valid only on the subway and can be obtained directly from OPT. E-mail certificatesfortransportation@schools.nyc.gov to request certificates.

Charter Bus Service
How to charter a coach-style or yellow bus.