This study examines the impact of a bus driver attendance incentive program implemented in a rural Mississippi school district with the aim of improving bus driver attendance rates. There is a shortage of bus drivers across Mississippi which has made bus driver attendance paramount. Bus driver absenteeism causes disruptions in student…

The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of an electronic check-in, check-out (eCICO) intervention. The district's case manager (i.e., guidance counselor) implemented the eCICO intervention remotely via FaceTime on an iPad in collaboration with the bus driver who facilitated student wireless internet access to a mobile hot spot.…

Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have recently aligned efforts to reduce school absenteeism, particularly during kindergarten when excessive absences are highest out of all elementary grades. Little is known, however, about whether the way in which students get to school might influence if they go to school. To address this gap, this…

This report examines the structure of school transportation systems, the surrounding regulatory landscape, school transportation funding mechanisms, student safety, the impact of school choice, the growing need for school transportation data, and school transportation's effect on the environment. Drawing from these various perspectives, it asks…

California legislators swiftly passed a budget bill last week aimed at sheltering school busing dollars from a midyear budget cut many districts and advocates said particularly hurt rural school systems, along with urban districts with desegregation plans. While the measure, which Gov. Jerry Brown was expected to sign into law, would restore $248…

Background: Active school transport (AST), school travel using an active mode like walking, may be important to children's overall physical activity. A "school travel plan" (STP) documents a school's transport characteristics and provides an action plan to address school and neighborhood barriers to AST. Methods: We conducted a pilot STP…

Over the past several decades West Virginia has closed scores of small, locally-based schools (primarily high schools), as part of district-level consolidation. These consolidations have affected families and students in numerous ways. Most notably, students living in outlying towns are now required to travel much longer distances to reach…

A study comparing rural and suburban school bus rides surveyed 1,194 elementary principals in five states. Rural elementary schools were more likely than suburban schools to have bus rides of 30 minutes of more, attendance areas greater than 10 square miles, rough rides, and older students on the bus with elementary students. (Contains 41…

A study of bus transportation was conducted by the Department of Business at Central Michigan University to determine the feasibility of centralizing the transportation function of the seven rural schools in the COOR Intermediate School District in Michigan, who, at the time of the study, operated their own transportation systems. Investigation…

Inadequate public transportation in rural areas has long been a major impediment for rural residents' access to health care, jobs, and community activities and services. Particularly disadvantaged in transportation are the rural poor, elderly, and youth. This report highlights the benefits to be gained by passage of the Commission on Rural…

The computer-based system for routing school buses in rural areas which is discussed minimizes both transportation costs and the average student ride time. Route generation methodology is described and a flowchart of the algorithm is included. (Author/JJD)

Initially driven by school consolidation and later augmented by the mandate to desegregate, school busing systems have grown monumentally all over the United States. Busing policy choices have been made and expanded without regard to the impact on the central enterprise of schools, which is student learning. Anecdotes from Montana, the Navajo…