Boston Public Schools Expands Free MBTA Pass Program To All Students In Grades 7-12

BOSTON (CBS) -- New changes are coming to the way Boston students can get to and from class just weeks before the start of the new school year. Boston Public Schools is expanding their free MBTA pass program to all students in seventh through 12th grade.

The expansion on the "M7" pass will allow 10,000 more students to take public transportation to school for free, BPS said. In prior years, the passes were only available to students living further than two miles from their schools.

According to BPS, many of the students receiving the passes for the first time already take the T or walk to school.

"Less cars on the road, more kids taking the T. I think it's a great idea," said commuter Ryan Kenneally.

Boston City Councilor-At-Large Michelle Wu said, "They weren't just using these for school, they need to get to their jobs, to their internships, to the doctor's office. It was pretty arbitrary who was getting a free T passes...It's great that there are more students who don't have to face that financial barrier."

Wu is still concerned about the MBTA's well-documented delays though.

"We know that kids who take the T to get to school are routinely missing sometimes all of their first-period class," she said.

BPS acknowledged the concern in a statement that said, in part: "We are working on an ongoing basis with the MBTA to ensure students using public transportation arrive to school safely and on time."

"It's horrible, absolutely horrible," commuter Carl Debisschop said of the delays. "Completely overhaul the system, that's where we have to go, regardless of if it's kids or commuters."

Boston Public Schools begin on Thursday, Sept. 5.