Bus Registration for 2026-2027 is now open.
Families are asked to make every effort to register and pay by June 30th. The registration button is always here for families that are new to the district or who have forgotten to register. However, bus routes are in development in early July, and students are not guaranteed a seat (unless they are new to the district) unless they are registered and paid by June 30th.
Once posted, the bus routes will not be adjusted again until mid-September. Students, families, school staff, and drivers need to be accustomed to the routes in order to ensure safety. This is especially true for our youngest students, Kindergarteners who are new to the yellow bus.
This year, we have launched a new bus registration online form. Please click the blue icon below to access the form. Let us know at busregistration@westwood.k12.ma.us if you have questions about the form.
Please have form of payment (bank information or credit card information) in hand for processing before you click the blue button below. Some families who are registering have experienced what we suspect is a "time out" error with Unipay. It is also recommended to use a computer when completing the registration, as some families have reported errors when try to register on the phone.
Bus Registration Form in additional languages:
(Arabic) (Chinese) (Portuguese) (Russian) (Spanish)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for Transportation?
How do I know what zone I live in?
If my child is not eligible to ride, what options do I have for transportation?
How do I register and pay for the bus?
How much is the Transportation Fee?
When and how will I be notified of my bus assignment?
Is there one-way or partial year transportation available?
What if I need help paying for the bus fee?
Can children be dropped off at a different stop, other than home?
Can children ride to the Westwood Enrichment Hub, even if they live in "walking zones"?
Do kindergarten students have a separate bus?
What are the expectations about behavior on the bus?
What should my expectation be about bus schedule times?
Who should I contact if I have more questions?
Who is eligible for transportation?
Eligibility is based on whether you live within a “riding zone” or a “walking zone”. These zones have been established and adopted by the School Committee.
How do I know what zone I live in?
You can find out if you are in a riding zone by attempting to register for the bus at the blue button labeled "Bus Registration: Click Here to Register". If you are not eligible for transportation to Elementary, Middle, or High School, the website registration form will notify you. Otherwise, you will be allowed to register your child(ren).
If my child is not eligible to ride, what options do I have for transportation?
If your child is not eligible to ride because you live in a walking zone, please notify us if you are interested in having them walk to the nearest corner stop in an adjacent riding zone. Should seats become available on certain routes, these seats may later be available to you. The easiest way to notify us of your interest is by attempting to register online. We will receive a notification that someone in a walking zone has attempted to register. However, if online access is challenging, please click here to complete the 2026-2027 Walker Request Form. If we discover that excess seats are available on our buses, we will inform families in walking zones. At this time, payment can be made by check, as the web-based form is not enabled for anyone living in a walking zone.
How do I register and pay for the bus?
There are two ways to pay: You can pay online through Unipay with an ACH check (.50 fee applies), PayPal/Venmo (fees apply) or by Credit Card (fee assessed by the credit card company applies). If you prefer not to pay on-line, you can download the 2026-2027 Bus Registration Form here and mail it along with your payment to the Westwood Public Schools, 220 Nahatan Street, Westwood, MA 02090, Attn. Transportation. All checks should be made payable to Westwood Public Schools.
How much is the bus fee?
The annual fee is $300 per student, for all students, grades K-12. There is an annual family cap of $900.00 for all students K-12. The bus fee will only be pro-rated for families that enter the Westwood School district mid-year. It is not prorated for other reasons (ex. a student who only rides in the afternoon). Bus fees are non-refundable.
When and how will I be notified of my bus assignment?
Bus routes will be posted on the District website at the end of August. Once this occurs and bus numbers are available and uploaded into Aspen, families can check their child's Aspen account to find out what bus # their child(ren) have been assigned to. Bus drivers will have a list of all registered riders and only students on the bus list are allowed to ride the bus.
Is there one-way or partial year transportation available?
No, the District does not provide one-way or partial year transportation.
What if I need help paying for the bus fee?
While breakfast and lunch are free for students in Massachusetts, we encourage all families to complete the Federal Free & Reduced Price Lunch Application because it may indicate eligibility for fee waivers or fee reductions in other areas. To find this application, visit the Food Service website.
All forms should be mailed to the Westwood Public Schools, 220 Nahatan Street, Westwood, MA 02090, Attn: Food Services. Once your application has been processed, you will be notified of your Free/Reduced status. If you think you may not qualify for Federal Free and Reduced lunch, and need financial assistance for transportation due to extraordinary circumstances, please contact the Superintendent’s office at 781-326-7500, ext 1341.
Please note that you must specifically consent to share the Free & Reduced Price Lunch eligibility for the purpose of bus fees. To do so, you can give consent in Aspen through the Annual Verification Form that families complete each year in August, and which you can access at any time in Aspen. Otherwise, you can find a copy of this form to download and complete on paper on the Food Service website.
Can children be dropped off at a different stop, other than home?
Students may only ride their assigned buses. Transporting students to an alternative, yet existing, stop on the student’s same Westwood route may only be granted if done so on a regular basis (example: three days per week). If the alternate stop is changing on a regular basis (example: month to month) it will be denied by the district.
The Westwood Enrichment Hub, which provides after-school programming for students in Westwood, is an alternate stop that is available on almost all elementary buses. Requests for alternative stops should be made in writing to both to the District Adminsitration at busregistration@westwood.k12.ma.us and Scherie Ciarrocchi, Bus Coordinator at schoolbus@westwood.k12.ma.us. In addition, schedules should accurately be indicated on a day-to-day basis in your child's elementary school School Dismissal Manager platform. Note: Transporting students for occasional play dates, lessons, or other reasons is not permitted.
Can children ride to the Westwood Enrichment Hub, even if they live in "walking zones"?
The Westwood Enrichment Hub, which provides after-school programming for students, is an alternate stop that is available for students in riding zones. Typically, students in walking zones are admitted on a case-by-case basis on yellow buses. However, in the afternoon ONLY, students in walking zones have a guaranteed seat on a yellow bus to the Hub.
To signal the intent to register for the afternoon ride, simply complete the registration form (blue button) at the top of this page. Even though the system will identify your student as ineligible because you live in a walking zone, the District Administration will receive your form and reach out to you to understand if you need transportation to the Hub. A bus fee per student will be due for all riders. Consistent with district policy, this is not prorated. Families in walking zones will need to pay by check, as the web-based form is not enabled for anyone in a walking zone.
Do kindergarten students have a separate bus?
No. Kindergarten students will be riding on the same bus as grades 1 through 5 and will be picked up and dropped off at designated bus stops. The District requires an adult to be at the AM and PM bus stop for all Kindergarten students.
What are the expectations about behavior on the bus?
Students are expected to behave in a manner that will provide optimum safety of the individual student as well as the safety of other students aboard the bus. A driver's first responsibility is driving the bus. Drivers are not bus monitors and the district does not provide bus monitors on yellow buses. Drivers should and will report safety issues, contact the Police Department, or if problems occur after dismissal, drivers may return a student to school should behavior on the bus so warrant. When a student is reported for violating a safety rule in or around a school bus, school officials will review the situation with the student. Parents may also be notified of the behavior. Depending on the severity of the offense or the frequency of violations, the student may: receive a warning, brief suspension from the bus, or be suspended from riding the bus for the remainder of the school year. Bus fees will not be refunded in these cases.
What should my expectation be about bus schedule times?
Our goal is to maintain the schedules that we provide at the beginning of the year for pick-up and drop-off of students. Given weather conditions, traffic etc., consistency is often dependent on the condition of the roads in Westwood. Please allow extra time for pick up and drop off.
Who should I contact if I have more questions?
During the year, all transportation-related issues should be reported to our Transportation Coordinator, Scherie Ciarrocchi, schoolbus@westwood.k12.ma.us or call 781-326-7500, x1338. For bus registration questions, including fee waivers and payment questions, you can email busregistration@westwood.k12.ma.us or call 781-326-7500, x1343.
