Livonia Families Push Back on School Bus Route Changes That Force Kids to Walk Up to a Mile

For some Livonia families, the school-day commute now begins on foot along 6 Mile Road or Schoolcraft Road. Updated routing software placed some former bus riders in walk zones for the 2025-26 school year, ending bus eligibility and requiring walks of up to about a mile after the changes took effect in August 2025. The district describes the shift as a more precise application of its existing walk-zone rules. Families affected by it describe a daily transportation and safety problem that arrived only weeks before school began.

The dispute is not over whether every Livonia student should receive bus service. It is over whether routes the district considers walkable are actually safe and workable for children crossing busy roads, navigating bridges, and traveling in early-morning darkness. As the 2026-27 school year nears, families concerned about a route or their child's eligibility can ask the district for an individual review.

Under the district's transportation policy, bus-service guidelines are set at one-half mile for kindergarten through second grade, 1 mile for grades 3-8, and 1.5 miles for grades 9-12. Those rules did not change with the software update, according to the district; the new system instead drew walk-zone boundaries more precisely. The mileage limits are guidelines, not automatic cutoffs. A route can run slightly beyond the stated distance if the district determines it is safe and reasonable for a student to walk. The revised software did not only remove riders. It also added some students who had previously lived in walk zones.

Still, the district says the change was limited in scope. "The change in walk zones impacts less than 1% of bus riders," Stacy Jenkins, Communications Administrator at Livonia Public Schools, said in August 2025. Livonia Public Schools serves approximately 13,200 students.

For families who lost a bus stop, though, a districtwide percentage does little to solve the morning commute. One mother said in August 2025 that her children faced a 20-minute walk down 6 Mile Road and over a bridge she was not sure would be maintained in winter. Another parent said in August 2025 that her high school son would have to leave in the dark at 6:30 a.m. and cross two major roads with five lanes of traffic.

Those concerns track with documented infrastructure problems. Livonia's bicycle and pedestrian study flags sidewalk gaps on 6 Mile Road across I-275 and on Schoolcraft Road on either side of I-96 as significant pedestrian-infrastructure problems. Middle Belt Road at Schoolcraft Road and 6 Mile Road at I-96/I-275 are among Wayne County's more dangerous intersections in Livonia.

The district's answer is an individual review, not a separate formal appeal process. "We want to emphasize that we are willing to work with individual families to find the best and safest route," Stacy Jenkins, Communications Administrator at Livonia Public Schools, said in August 2025. Parents can contact district offices or email [email protected] to request a case-by-case review. Transportation concerns and bus-stop questions should be directed to the Livonia Public Schools Transportation Department at 734-744-2517 or [email protected]. Families should also log into Parent Connect, go to Transportation, and submit a bus-service request; route information will be posted in late August in Parent Connect under the Transportation section. The district has not detailed the criteria for a review, what documentation parents should provide, how long a decision may take, who makes it, or what outcomes are possible.

The district's transportation budget is $9.41 million. Andrea Oquist serves as Superintendent of Livonia Public Schools through her planned retirement on Dec. 31, 2026, with a new superintendent expected to begin Jan. 1, 2027. William Green serves as Assistant Superintendent of Operations and District Services at Livonia Public Schools. The district has not explained how or why it selected the software update, or what community input came before the August 2025 rollout.

Families who want to raise the issue publicly can speak during the Audience Communication portion of Livonia Public Schools Board of Education meetings by completing an Audience Communication Form available outside the Board Room. Board meetings are generally held at the Administration Building, 15125 Farmington Road, unless the district announces another location.

Until the district explains how individual reviews weigh traffic, sidewalk gaps, and a child's actual route, the debate will remain larger than a mileage line: for affected families, it is a question of whether a route that works on a map works on the walk to school.