WPRO News and the Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Mayor Jorge Elorza has agreed to provide Providence high school students who live two or more miles from their school with free bus passes.
The Providence Journal reports Elorza made the announcement Thursday, a little over a week after members of the Providence Student Union staged a rally at City Hall.
Students called on Elorza to reduce the minimum distance students must walk to school to qualify for a bus pass.
They say Elorza promised while campaigning last year to reduce the minimum distance to two miles, but he hadn’t done it.
Before the change, a student had to live at least 2.5 miles from school to qualify for a bus pass.
Student union members say the change will help thousands of students in Providence.
