INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
CHARGE TO RETAIN SCHOOL BOARDS CONSIDER PAY-TO-RIDE PROGRAMS TO SAVE FUNDING FOR CLASSROOM LEARNING
WRITTEN BY SYLVIA ARROYO
2,800 students daily, and less than 1,000 are high school students. Under the program, students from grades nine to 12 who live two miles or more away from their school are eligible to ride. Parents must pay an annual fee at the bus garage. Officials there take their photos, verify their addresses and review the bus rules with them. Te students use their ID cards solely for transportation, and must show it to the driver every time they board. At Falcon #49 School District, the pay-
No, this is not a transit bus. A student boards a First Student school bus with her student ID card as part of a pay-to-ride program.
G
ene Hammond, transportation director at Falcon #49 School District in Peyton, Colo., recalled when the school board
thought about eliminating transportation. “But it became apparent that the com-
munity wanted yellow school bus service, so fees were established,” he said. “Te fees help offset the transportation budget.” Brad Sprague, location manager with
First Student, which contracts with Lorrain (Ohio) City Schools, said the school board last year placed transportation for high school students on a to-be-cut list as the state does not require districts to transport high school students. But, “having seen the importance of
transporting high school students, combined with a relocation of the high school to an off-center, temporary location while a new building is being built, we decided to offer a pay-to-ride program,” he said. “For an alternative such as the pay-to-ride bus pass to come along, parents were very appreciative.”
CHANGES TO ACCOMMODATE NEED Hammond’s involvement with the dis-
trict’s pay-to-ride program began halfway into the 2011-2012 school year, when he became transportation director. “My understanding is that it was a short period of time to implement a fee for service,” he
20 School Transportation News April 2013
said. Also at issue, the bus stops were not popular because students had to walk greater distances to their stop. For the current school year, though, more stops were added to reduce walking distances and to make it more convenient for parents if they drive their child to the stop. “Tis year, it was a much smoother
process, partly because the program has a year under its belt,” he said. Sprague said, at first, the pay-to-ride
program at Lorrain City Schools was limited to the number of buses that could serve the high school. Tere were bus passes to fill only 350 spots. But the district offered more bus passes after a levy passed last November and after the district reinstated all-day kindergar- ten and other services in January. Since then, Sprague said the program has been successful for different reasons, two be- ing that the district can refer all high school transportation issues to First Student, and all eligible students have an identification card, which the they didn’t have before. “Tis allows for easier verification of rid- ership eligibility and easier revocation in the event of major rule infractions, thus keeping the routes relatively trouble-free,” Sprague said. He added that routes were reduced and the fleet became more efficient in conjunc- tion with the re-districting of all the routes. Lorrain City Schools transports about
to-ride program has no established locked zones, so if a parent is willing to pay, then their child — from K through 12 — is eligible. Te current fee structure allows parents a discounted rate if they prepay the entire annual fee. Otherwise, they pay the regular fee by month or by the ride. Out of 12,000 students at the district, about 3,600 students are eligible to pay to ride this school year, and that number is higher than last school year, Hammond said. Other students who ride but do not pay are students with special needs and students eligible for free or reduced lunches. Students with special needs still have ID cards, which are kept by the bus driver during boarding time, but are used to help Hammond with Medicaid reimbursements.
REAL SAVINGS Tough the program at Falcon #49 School
District produced some unintended conse- quences, such as increase traffic jams around schools due to more parents driving their children to school instead of paying to ride, overall the district already has experienced cost savings. Hammond said seven buses were taken off the road during the program’s first year. Tough three of those buses re- turned to the road to cover the additional bus stops, “direct cost savings to the district, de- pending upon the mileage, is about $20,000 per bus, and that includes wages, salaries and maintenance,” he said. Sprague said eliminating full-service
high school busing has saved the district an estimated $400,000, which can be re-ap- propriated for other uses. “Te biggest save is the students’ attendance,” he said. “Tat’s what this is all about.”
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