District reports improved bus on‑time rates and driver recruitment gains

Corvallis School District and its transportation partner briefed the board Feb. 5 on progress after a difficult 2024–25 year for student transportation, reporting improved on‑time performance, better driver retention and more robust communications.

Angela Taylor (operations manager) and Becky Weeks (transportation coordinator) told the board that recruiting and training efforts produced 19 hires so far this year with 14 drivers already behind the wheel, and that driver attendance rose to roughly 96% from about 85% this time last year. The district also reported a 40% increase in driver retention, introduced a safety/attendance incentive and used billboard and online recruiting to attract applicants.

Communication changes included disabling a GPS feature that did not suit local routing and focusing on in‑app messaging. App registration increased 21% with total users reported by staff; ridership was reported at about 1,370 students. On‑time performance — tracked starting November 2024 at about 75% — rose to the mid‑90s in December and was reported near 92% in January. Accident frequency fell from 3.3% last year to about 1.4% this year after added driver training and yard practice courses.

Staff also described route adjustments, middle‑school bell‑time changes, additional routes in high‑capacity areas and faster turnaround for implementing route fixes. For behavior incidents, drivers file incident reports, which go to schools for follow‑up; the district provides PBIS‑aligned training for drivers and sometimes assigns a second adult on routes with recurring challenges.

District staff recommended working with school offices to reach families without reliable real‑time communications and said it will explore a parent feedback survey to gather more direct input on bus performance.

Next steps: continued recruiting push in March, monitoring on‑time metrics and coordination with schools to scale interventions and communications.