This report provides the first detailed picture of the features of the rural school bus ride. Data were provided by principals in 696 rural elementary schools in Arkansas, Georgia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Washington--states chosen to represent diversity in region, locale, and ethnic composition. The literature commonly cites 30 minutes as the standard for maximum duration of the one-way school bus ride for elementary children. Results indicate that the longest ride exceeded this standard at 85 percent of schools surveyed and exceeded 60 minutes at 25 percent of schools. Long bus rides were frequently compounded by other dangerous or unpleasant features: 100 percent of students double-routed, rough-ride index higher than average, emergency training not conducted regularly, and some or all buses without communication devices. However, differences among states in this regard were very large, with Arkansas having consistently higher prevalence of these features and Washington and New Mexico having lower prevalence than other states. Burdensome features of the school bus ride were also more common in rural schools with high poverty or low minority enrollment. As rural schools have consolidated, they have become more centrally located, enrolled more students, and increased their geographic domain. Correlations between longest ride and size of attendance area are substantial. It would be logical to speculate that rural school consolidation produces longer average bus rides. (Contains 18 references, statistical data tables, and the survey instrument.) (SV)