By: Mary Genson | Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle | Published November 10, 2025
BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Some Cranbrook students will have the opportunity to take a bus to school next year. For the 2026-27 school year, students in and around the Livonia area will be on the inaugural route.
The decision to add transportation for students at Cranbrook Schools was made in the interest of helping more families access a Cranbrook education.
“Cranbrook, as a non-public school, does not necessarily draw its students from a single surrounding neighborhood or district; rather, we appeal to a broad array of families from a wide-ranging and diverse geographic region,” Director of Schools Jeff Suzik said in an email. “We routinely have families who travel many miles (and who spend many minutes) delivering their children to and from school each day because of how much they value the Cranbrook experience. For some prospective families, personal circumstances do not make it feasible for them to do this, and hence they are not able to consider Cranbrook as an option, even though they’d love to do so. By providing daily transportation to and from the south-western suburbs we hope to make a Cranbrook education a reality for families like these. We know how much they and their children will benefit from their affiliation with Cranbrook, and likewise how much we will benefit from our affiliation with them.”
At this point, there is only one bus route planned for the 2026-2027 school year, but Director of Enrollment Drew Miller said they may expand on transportation in future years based on student interest.
It will be a traditional yellow school bus, operated by National Trails Bus.
Due to the schools’ proximity to one another, Cranbrook Schools is partnering with the Roeper School to provide transportation for students. Sharing a bus makes it more affordable for families and it lessens the environmental impact of having separate buses.
Miller said they are “pricing it not to make money but just to provide a service for our families and make it convenient for them to get to campus. It is not a profit center for us. This is something we’re trying to do for our current families and for our future families.”
It will cost families using the transportation $2,500 per year for the first child in a family. There will be a $500 discount for each additional sibling. This comprehensive pricing includes busing to school and back, and a year of before-care and after-care services.
Registration is not yet open for the 2026-27 school year; it will open in the spring. More details will be shared in the meantime.
For more information on Cranbrook and to see school news and resources, visit schools.cranbrook.edu.