Superintendent Crowley spearheads effort to increase shared transportation services

August 5, 2009—Not only is school bus transportation the safest way for students to travel to and from school, but under a plan to increase shared bus routes among neighboring districts, it will continue to become less expensive and more efficient.

This summer, superintendents, transportation supervisors and special education committee chairpersons from Berne-Knox-Westerlo, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Duanesburg, Middleburgh, Schoharie and Sharon Springs met to discuss opportunities to increase shared transportation services. Although not present at the meeting, the Schalmont Central School District is also involved in this endeavor.

Together, these school officials examined the feasibility of ride-sharing between districts, specifically for students traveling to vocational schools, private schools and special needs programs—some of which are located up to 50 miles outside of a student’s home district.

To help identify possible cooperative routes, the group discussed their routing schedules, drop-off locations, designated pick-up areas and operating schedules.

“By opening the lines of communication now we can begin coordinating bus routes with neighboring schools—significantly reducing transportation costs in all of our districts,” said Duanesburg Central School District Superintendent Christine Crowley.

Savings could be realized for fuel, overtime costs and wear and tear on vehicles. It would also give participating districts more flexibility with their bus fleets.

In Duanesburg, approximately 48 students will require transportation to 20 different locations outside of the district next year.

“It’s very expensive for us to transport students considering our limited number of buses, distance from many of the sites and unpredictable spikes in gas prices,” said Crowley. “We began ride-sharing as much as possible last year to cut costs and would like to see it continue again this year.”

Among the viable shared routes expected to continue next year is one between the Schalmont and Duanesburg school districts. Duanesburg students are picked up at a designated spot by a Schalmont bus that is en route to the BOCES Career and Technical School in Schoharie, which is much more efficient than sending two buses from both schools to the exact same location at approximately the same time.

Coordinating shared schedules
Coordinating schedules and timing the arrival and dismissal time at more than 20 different locations is a complicated process according to Duanesburg’s Head Bus Driver Pegi Venter.

“It’s a big jigsaw puzzle—I’m just trying to find the straight edges right now,” she said.

Venter has been working diligently during her limited summer hours to establish shared runs—staying in close touch with district transportation personnel to determine how best they can help each other.

“We have to accommodate a variety of student needs—all while making sure students are picked up at a reasonable time, arrive at school on time and spend as little time on the bus as possible,” Venter explained.

As the shared routes are developed, districts must also pay close attention to individual requirements for students with special needs.

For example, a student may require a teacher’s aide to help them off the bus, so it’s crucial that the bus arrive within the allotted time period, otherwise the child risks being late to class. Unfortunately, some districts may not have this information available until just before the school year starts, which makes coordinating bus runs especially challenging for transportation departments.

Buses could be late for a variety of reasons—heavy traffic, an accident or a child becoming ill on the way into school. Additionally, the amount of time it takes for a student to get on and off the bus is an estimate and can vary greatly depending on a student’s disability.

“It would be helpful to have a longer window to drop students off at schools in the event that any of these scenarios occurs,” said Venter. “But we do our best to adjust schedules to accommodate any issues that may arise throughout the year.”

Although the ride-sharing concept has gained favor, there are times when it makes more sense for districts’ buses to travel separately. For example, Berne-Knox-Westerlo is located too far from Duanesburg to make sharing transportation into Albany beneficial.

“While this is certainly an evolving process, there is no doubt that everyone is committed to helping each other out as much as possible,” said Crowley.