Prince George’s County students no longer can take free Metrobus trips at the end of school each day, the latest program squeezed out during a tight budget year.

The program had allowed students from the county to ride Metrobuses for free from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. each school day. But when school started Monday, they had to pay the regular fare of up to $3 for express buses. The change could affect at least 60,000 middle- and high-schoolers in the county’s public schools.