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Transportation director reports eight routes eliminated, higher bus utilization after state‑minimum routing
Summary
The district eliminated eight bus routes and reported higher seat utilization across tiers after shifting to state‑minimum transportation; staff said time and safety limits prevent filling buses to 100%, and the district plans routing‑software upgrades to pursue more savings.
Mr. Johnson, the district's transportation lead, updated the board on routing changes and efficiency gains following adoption of state‑minimum transportation.
Johnson said the performance audit recommended using rider data to inform routing and contracting. He reported increases in average seat utilization — the middle school tier rose to about 86.5% while elementary tiers improved to the mid‑60s — and noted the district has already eliminated eight routes. He cautioned that physical capacity and time constraints limit how full buses can become; pushing to 100% capacity would lengthen route times and risk students arriving much later.
Staff also said the district is upgrading its routing software to a newer version from the same vendor and is exploring whether one or two additional route eliminations are feasible for next year. The board and staff discussed practical tradeoffs between cost savings and route time, special‑education routing changes caused by differing bell schedules, and the safety standard of two or three students per seat depending on grade level.
No formal action was required; the update was informational.
