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largebus
Advanced Member
USA
468 Posts |
 Posted - 09/23/2002 : 5:01:06 PM
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Because our school district is transferring sixth grade into the middle school there will be substantial alterations to transporation. The administration is considering a change from two routes (elementary and secondary) to three (elementary, middle and high school) effective next year. Without this change our district would need to purchase 11 new buses (along with the 10 yearly replacements) and hire 14 new drivers just to keep up. It is the belief of many that this new routing will save the district money. A committee is being formed to look into this and should have a report out by December. I'm curious as to what your opinions are-are 3 routes more effective? My guess is it varies with the individual districts and may be more beneficial in some districts than in others.
Logan C. Geen
Future Superintendent of Schools |
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John Farr
Top Member
USA
642 Posts |
Posted - 09/23/2002 : 5:59:07 PM
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Three routes or "tiers" are inherently more efficient. Fewer drivers, buses, pre-trip inspections, deadhead miles, less maintenance etc. A three tier system gives fewer drivers more hours, thus lower driver turnover and training costs.
School administrators have different goals, however. It may be oversimplifying, but most wish to start at 8:00 and release at 2:30, no matter what grade level, except maybe HS. To some of them, a one tier system would be ideal. Superintendants and business managers have a better view of the big picture and usually recommend the most efficient option --- unless school site administrators are very presuasive. It is the transportation department's job to make sure all of the financial facts are available to decision-makers. It is not a simple matter of buying more buses. There are additional operational costs which will go on year after year.
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kd4jfd
Top Member
USA
1170 Posts |
Posted - 09/23/2002 : 8:29:08 PM
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Or perhaps they could do it this way:
Bus picks up students from all grades, stops at one school (ours is elementary), drops off the students that go there, and another set of students, who switch buses, and pick up students going to the second school via shuttle.
If you need clarification, just e-mail me.
349 - A repair work in progress! |
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wagonmaster
Top Member
USA
2298 Posts |
Posted - 09/23/2002 : 9:29:27 PM
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The three run operation is clearly the most efficient and saves the district the most money. School administrators would love for all schools to have similar bell times. However, when they learn how many more teachers they can hire with the huge cost savings, they usually get on board.
We have been doing this for over 20 years and it absolutely works. If there is any negative side effect, it is that some schools want to go on field trips while others are still being transported to school. You must set very firm guidelines to the effect that NO field trips will be run or accepted that interfere with taking students to and from school. No exceptions! Once established, it's not hard to control.
Joe
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thomasvista2012
Top Member
USA
747 Posts |
Posted - 09/24/2002 : 08:13:55 AM
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Some school district have FOUR runs. Last year, Fulton County Schools in Atlanta split up the elementary schools, which half start at one time and the other half start at a later time. So, the drivers now have TWO elementary routes, a middle, and high.
The only way route efficiency can be at its highest if the school board cooperates and stunts start/end times across all elementary, middle, and high schools.
School Bus Terminal
http://www.schoolbusterminal.net |
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John Farr
Top Member
USA
642 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2002 : 5:45:38 PM
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We have a four tier system. We daily transport 9,000 regular ed. students on 39 large bus routes. The trick is that our service area is densley populated in only 44 square miles. And we mostly use 84 pax buses. Times: HS 7:00, MS 7:40, Group 1 Elem 8:15, Group 2 Elem 8:55. (there is a third middle school at 8:10). Someone once described our system as a "horizontal elevator."
Our special ed is another story! we use 40+ buses to a small number of kids all over the county and even to other counties. I know we are not alone with this expensive mandate.
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thomasvista2012
Top Member
USA
747 Posts |
Posted - 09/25/2002 : 6:07:33 PM
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quote:
Our special ed is another story! we use 40+ buses to a small number of kids all over the county and even to other counties. I know we are not alone with this expensive mandate.
Special-ed is always a problem, you can't really do much more to make it efficient besides having mixed ESE/regular routes depending on district policy. The only thing I see fit is buying small buses to transport these few ESE students per bus, instead of running larger buses that increase your operational costs. Makes no sense to run a 72 pax bus on a route with 7 students if you can do that route on a 30 pax bus or smaller.
School Bus Terminal
http://www.schoolbusterminal.net |
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Rich
Top Member
United States
5768 Posts |
Posted - 09/26/2002 : 12:38:29 PM
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Our district's system seems to work really well, at least in my opinion.
The drivers either choose or get assigned to a middle or high school run, and all get an elementary run.
High schools and middle schools start at the same time and end at the same time.
Once done with MS and HS runs, drivers go to their assigned elementary, which is the closest one to their last stop on the MS or HS run.
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God Bless America!
http://www.schoolbuscentral.cjb.net
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Thomas Ford 85-16
Top Member
USA
4177 Posts |
Posted - 09/26/2002 : 2:02:23 PM
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The regular ed routes in our district are on usually 2 and 3 tier systems. The middle schools and high schools both start and end around the same time so most drivers will have either an HS or MS run. They will also have one or two elementary schools. There are two "shifts" for elementaries. Half start around 8:30 and the others around 9 and end in the same fashion. But of course, there are also the countless shuttle runs, special ed runs, and other bus services.
Stop at: http://www.buses.cjb.net
Forums: http://thebusboy.proboards2.com
This is an industry where people brag about their times for 60-0, not 0-60. |
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thomasvista2012
Top Member
USA
747 Posts |
Posted - 09/26/2002 : 5:03:01 PM
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It's hard to maintain three-tier routes with special-ed. Often, the routes are very long with the few children living in distant locations. Because of this, lots of special-ed routes are very long and drivers do not have the time to do three runs and make it to each school on time at dismissal.
School Bus Terminal
http://www.schoolbusterminal.net |
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Debusguy
Senior Member
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - 10/04/2002 : 06:34:13 AM
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I think John Farr has the best insight into this question, in that a three-tier system would be most practical in densely populated districts with smaller square-mile profiles. The three factors of time, distance and seating capacity work against the three-tier system in suburban and rural districts. The turn-around time between the 'bells' would have to be kept around 45 minutes, to keep parents satisfied with the system. This is especially true as we approach the end of daylight-saving time in our area. Whether a district has a centralized campus system vs. many smaller delivery points is also a factor. LM
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BamaBusGuy
New Member
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 10/14/2002 : 7:13:29 PM
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I lived in Gulfport, Miss. when Laidlaw took over the operation. The City was running over 90 buses in a traditional mode. When they went to a three tierd format, they dropped to about 40 buses with each few buses having a tier more than 25 minutes.
It was an unequivocale success. It is just difficult to convince they school board that it will work.
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Topic |
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Going from Two Runs To Three
