July 2006 Editor's Letter
By: Jill Pinheiro

How have high fuel costs affected your school's transportation program this year? If your students travel on public school buses, how have those schools' reactions to fuel costs affected your program?

Have you, or the affiliated public school, reduced the route of school bus service?

The National Association for Pupil Transportation, the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services, and the National School Transportation Association recently identified some potential effects of reducing general school bus service:

1. Reduction in service eliminates the protection students receive from a school bus.

2. Loss of available school transportation service places a burden on working parents or single parents who have come to depend upon the school bus as their child's only mode of transportation to school.

3. Reduction in school transportation service results in an increase in personal vehicle use during morning and afternoon rush hours.

4. The increase in personal vehicle use also increases the consumption of fuel as we place more vehicles on the road to replace the service that was provided by school buses.

Many schools have become creative in their approach to rising gas costs, reducing extra transportation programs, such as field trips, or cutting funds from other areas of your budget to reallocate funds in lieu of reducing the school bus route itself.

As you get ready to head into another school year, give careful consideration to how your school is going to deal with gas costs and what impact these costs have on the public school you may partner with on transportation services.

I'm always interested in hearing from you. You can reach me at jill@cspmag.com.

God Bless,

Jill Pinheiro
Managing Editor