Oregon district adds riders but decreases route buses

SALEM, Ore. — Even with the addition of two schools and more student riders last year, Salem-Keizer Public Schools managed to reduce its number of route buses.

Along with the two new schools in the routing mix, the district incorporated bell time changes in the 2012-13 school year. The routing team was able to increase overall efficiencies, reducing the number of large buses by 1% and small buses by 2% compared to the previous year.

The move was particularly significant when considering that Salem-Keizer has a 30-year history of 2% growth per year in large buses and 8% growth per year in small buses.

For 2012-13, the district ran 97 large bus routes, transporting 8,714 students and logging 7,532 miles daily. In the previous school year, the district ran 98 large bus routes, transporting 8,409 students and totaling 8,251 miles daily.

For small buses in 2012-13, the district ran 125 routes, transporting 2,278 students and logging 8,354 miles daily. The previous year, there were 128 small bus routes, transporting 2,100 students and totaling 8,113 miles daily.