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Honeoye board pauses plan to consolidate bus runs after transportation review
Summary
After a presentation by transportation coordinator Ray Thomas showing ridership patterns, bus and staffing trade-offs, the Honeoye Central School District board voted to pause efforts to consolidate to a single bus run, citing concerns about activity runs, driver hours and special-education monitoring needs.
The Honeoye Central School District board on Monday paused consideration of a plan to consolidate morning and afternoon bus runs into a single districtwide route after a staff presentation highlighted operational and cost trade-offs.
Transportation coordinator Ray Thomas told the board that roughly 75–80% of the student body rides daily and that consolidating runs could actually increase the number of routes needed — from seven to as many as nine or 10 — because shorter, more numerous routes would be required to cover the district while keeping buses within capacity. “What we're gonna discuss tonight…was the possibility of going to one bus route,” Thomas said, adding that his sampling showed the district is “right around the 80% of the total student body.”
Thomas outlined several practical constraints: the district currently runs activity and late buses used for clubs, practices and academic supports that would remain necessary under consolidation; legally required monitors for some CSE/IEP riders would complicate scheduling; and reducing driver hours could jeopardize retention. He also cited capital costs for vehicles — roughly $175,000 for a large diesel bus versus about $450,000 for an electric bus — and increased maintenance, insurance and training needs if more vehicles were added.
Superintendent Megan Fluke thanked Thomas for the analysis and said the district and finance committee would "press pause on exploring the one bus run at this time," while leaving the option open to revisit the idea later. Fluke said staff appreciated community and committee input on staffing and service impacts and that the district would "keep an eye on things and adapt as we move forward."
Why it matters: the change would have altered daily routines for families and students — eliminating some flexibility (for example, informal route changes and courtesy stops) and likely lengthening ride times for some — while creating trade-offs between fuel and maintenance savings and significant new costs in vehicles, staffing and specialized monitoring needs.
The board did not take a formal vote to adopt a new route plan; it instead paused further action pending additional information or changing district circumstances. The transportation presentation and slides will be available through the district's posted materials for parents and staff.
