Fast Facts

Public-Private Partnership with School Districts…

• The public-private partnership between New York State schools and school bus contractors is one of the most successful examples of government and the private sector working together.  With contractors providing nearly 60 percent of NY’s school bus transportation services, those schools are allowed to focus on their mission – educating children – leaving contractors to focus on safely transporting them.

Private School Bus Companies in New York State…

• Private school transportation companies provide service to approximately half of the school districts in New York State
• Nearly 60 percent of NY’s student transportation services is provided by private school bus companies
• Private school bus companies transport over 1.3 million children a day in roughly 28,000 school vehicles all across New York State
• Private school bus companies employ over 35,000 people statewide — providing safe working environments, highly competitive wages and benefits for union and non-union employees

School Districts and Taxpayers Benefit from Hiring Private School Bus Companies…

• Districts maintain control of the busing services through a detailed RFP and contract process which demands transparency, accountability, and the highest standards
• The Council of Great City Schools released a multiyear study that highlighted best practices in school operations — contractors scored very well by providing quality bus services for less money
• New York State contractors help save New York schools and taxpayers millions of dollars every year – these savings allow schools to reinvest in their programs, employees and schools
• Contractor-provided school bus transportation services can cost upwards of 20 percent less than school district-run bus services
• In difficult economic times, the savings realized by school districts can help avoid tax increases and teacher layoffs or cancellation of important programs

Safety…

• School buses are the safest mode of transportation in the country
• Private contractors meet or exceed state and federal school bus licensing, safety and training standards and in many cases the private school transportation industry provides training for school district drivers and employees
• School buses are designed and manufactured with special safety features that are not available on any other vehicle to ensure the safest possible ride for our children
• According to the National Academy of Sciences, half the students in the country go to school by school bus and half go to school some other way (private vehicles, walking or biking).  Among the half that use the school bus, there are an average 20 fatalities per year; but among the half that go some other way, there are 800 fatalities each year
• Teenagers are 44 times more likely to arrive at school alive if they take the bus than if they drive or ride with friends

Go Green…Ride Yellow…

• The U.S. school bus fleet is the nation’s largest public transportation fleet at two and a half times the number of vehicles of all other forms of mass transportation combined
• School buses provide 10 billion student trips per year in the US compared to 5.2 billion trips provided by transit buses
• Utilizing school buses is the most efficient way to transport school children; on average, it would take 36 cars to do the work of one school bus
• School buses significantly reduce fuel consumption in the US.  The average school bus uses 1,700 gallons of fuel per year — compare that to 36 vehicles that would collectively use 6,500 gallons of gas per year for the same trip to and from school – saving 4,800 gallons of fuel per bus per year
• School buses help save 2.3 billion gallons of fuel per year saving families more than $6 billion
• New diesel engine standards make today’s buses 98% cleaner than buses manufactured just two decades ago and today’s diesel fuels contain 97% less sulfur than the diesel fuels sold just a few years ago
• A teenager living 5 miles from school and driving a compact car with a 4 cylinder engine emits roughly 1.27 tons of CO2 by driving to school.  By taking the bus, that same teenager can reduce their carbon footprint to 0.12 tons of CO2

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