Parents and guardians of Cincinnati Public Schools students can ride Metro buses free from Aug. 19 through Aug. 26. This year, Metro staff will also be on the ground at school orientation events and major transit centers to help families navigate route changes that take effect three days before classes start.

The free-ride window covers the entire first week of school. Any parent or guardian traveling with a CPS student boards without paying a fare, as we reported Aug. 10. Metro staff will be stationed at orientations and transit hubs during the first few days to help families plan trips and answer questions, Local 12 reported Monday.

That staffing matters more than usual this fall. Metro is launching its fall 2026 service update on Sunday, Aug. 16, three days before CPS students report. Route 51, which serves Clark Montessori through the Oakley Transit Center, is among 21 existing routes being realigned or rescheduled. Three brand-new routes also launch that day, including Route 47 (Northside to Oakley Transit Center, with a stop at Hyde Park Plaza) and Route 53 (Northside Transit Center to Oakley Transit Center via Norwood), the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.

For east-side families whose students ride Route 51 to Clark Montessori, the changes mean a new transfer pattern at the Oakley Transit Center. Metro produced a video featuring Clark Montessori students Rayshaun Gibson and Jayden Davis walking through the Route 51 changes and explaining how the new Routes 47 and 53 connect there.

Metro estimates about 3,700 CPS students this year will need to transfer at a transit center. Over 10,000 CPS students rode Metro during the 2025-26 school year. All students in grades 7-12 who live more than a mile from school and requested transportation receive a free SmartCard, and Metro says every district student can get between home and school with one transfer or fewer.

Brandy Jones, Metro's chief communications and marketing officer, told the Enquirer that the agency has prioritized routing students through transit centers outside Downtown. "If a student transfers Downtown even though another available route would provide a direct trip, Metro notifies the school, which then communicates with the student's parent or guardian," Jones said.

Transit centers have seating and security cameras.

Clark Montessori holds its open house Aug. 13. Kilgour Elementary's open house is Aug. 17. The Aug. 16 route changes take effect between those two dates. Updated schedules and an interactive route map are available at go-metro.com/serviceimprovements.