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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 3 - The School Bus Contractor Industry." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2005. Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/13809.
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13 CHAPTER 3 THE SCHOOL BUS CONTRACTOR INDUSTRY INTRODUCTION According to the National School Transportation Associ- ation (NSTA), about half of school-age children in the United States are bused to school. School districts have the option of operating their own fleet of buses, hiring school bus contrac- tors to provide transportation, or using some combination of the two. NSTA estimates that about one-third of school buses are owned and operated by school bus contractors. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) uses the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS) to manage data on the commercial vehicle opera- tors under its oversight. Information in MCMIS is obtained from the MCS-150 Form filed by carriers when applying for a U.S. DOT number. The form requires companies to describe their operating and cargo classifications, as well as to iden- tify the number and types of vehicles operated. Only compa- nies traveling interstate or with hazardous cargo are required to register with FMCSA and are therefore captured in MCMIS. MCMIS includes intrastate carriers for selected states as well, although coverage for intrastate carriers is incomplete on a national scale. In this synthesis, a school bus company is defined as in MCMIS: a firm operating a greater number of buses than trucks, and a greater number of school buses than motorcoaches. The states’ definitions of a school bus vary slightly from state to state. For example, Wisconsin defines a school bus as a vehicle carrying 10 or more passengers, or any vehicle with the legally required school bus markings, used for the pur- pose of transporting students. North Carolina defines a school bus as any vehicle whose primary purpose is to transport stu- dents on an established route to and from school, and is equipped with flashing red lights, a mechanical stop signal, and the words “School Bus” at least eight inches high. At the federal level, the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- tration (NHTSA) defines a school bus as a vehicle with an approved school bus body type (A, B, C, or D), or any vehi- cle functioning as a school bus by transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Statistics in this study generally refer to school bus body types, as well as non-school buses used as school buses. Because information is often reported for school buses in gen- eral and not separately for school bus contractors, the informa- tion presented here may either apply to all school buses (includ- ing district-owned fleets) or specifically for the school bus con- tractor industry. The coverage of each source is described for each statistic and in the section on sources and methods. A key data limitation is that MCMIS includes all interstate and selected intrastate school bus contractors, while data from industry associations represent the entire population of school bus contractors. Unlike motorcoach operators, many school bus contractors may only operate intrastate. Another data limitation is that for safety data, statistics are reported by NHTSA for school-bus–related incidents and not by owner- ship—in other words, there is no distinction between school- district–owned buses and contractor-owned school buses. In addition, statistics include the school bus body type as well as non-school buses used as school buses. The school bus body types are as follows: A Type A school bus is a conversion or body constructed upon a van-type cutaway front-section vehicle with a left- side driver’s door, designed for carrying more than 10 per- sons. Type A1 school buses have a gross vehicle weight rat- ing (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less, and Type A2 buses have a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds. A Type A school bus is shown in Figure 13. A Type B school bus is a conversion or body constructed and installed upon a front-section vehicle chassis, or stripped chassis, with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than 10 persons. Part of the engine is beneath and/or behind the driver’s seat. The entrance door is behind the front wheels. A Type C school bus, also known as a “conventional” school bus, is a body installed upon a flat-back cowl chassis with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for car- rying more than 10 persons. All of the engine is in front of the windshield and the entrance door is behind the front wheels. A Type C school bus is shown in Figure 14. A Type D school bus is a body installed upon a chassis, with the engine mounted in the front, midship, or rear; with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds; and designed for carrying more than 10 persons. The entrance door is ahead of the front wheels. Type D school buses are sometimes called “transit style,” with the designation “RE” for “rear engine,” or “FC” for “forward control.” A Type D school bus is shown in Figure 15. The following sections describe the school bus contractor industry size and segmentation, safety statistics, and economic indicators.

14 School Bus Contractor Number of Firms Number of School Buses Owned Number of School Buses Owned/Operated Fleet Size All For Hire All For Hire All For Hire 1,000+ 3 3 32,033 32,033 32,033 32,033 500-999 5 4 3,034 2,484 3,034 2,484 100-499 51 36 8,218 5,309 9,121 6,082 50-99 84 60 5,172 3,821 5,413 3,869 25-49 167 97 5,646 3,271 5,785 3,371 10-24 299 115 4,368 1,716 4,554 1,797 6-9 203 46 1,423 320 1,464 333 2-5 827 139 2,296 416 2,389 440 1 1,428 121 1,396 117 1,428 121 Total 3,067 621 63,586 49,487 65,221 50,530 Note: This table excludes 82 firms with equal-sized school bus and motorcoach operations, 595 firms with equal-sized school bus and trucking operations, and 2,157 bus firms that did not specify the type of vehicles they owned. Source: FMCSA MCMIS, 2000. TABLE 12 Number of school bus contractor firms, school buses owned, and school buses owned/operated, by fleet size, 2000 States own over 60,000 school buses and vehicles used as school buses. Firms own almost all of their vehicles with lit- tle additional leasing activity. Only about 600 of the firms in MCMIS report having for-hire service. As fleet size increases, firms are more likely to have for-hire service. An additional 3,000 firms could not be classified, either due to a lack of data or because they have equal operations in multiple categories (e.g., truck and motorcoach, motorcoach and school bus). As shown in Figure 16, of the school bus companies reg- istered in MCMIS, almost half operate a single vehicle and nearly three-quarters operate five or fewer vehicles. The figures obtained from MCMIS can be compared with data obtained from other industry sources. Table 13 presents data for the largest school bus contractors and number of vehi- cles by fleet size, as well as data for all firms and vehicles. School Bus Fleet magazine, an industry publication, conducts annual surveys of the largest contractor fleets, both interstate and intrastate. Its survey shows a greater number of large firms and vehicles than are reported in MCMIS, potentially because some of these firms may not have interstate operations and INDUSTRY SIZE AND EXTENT Carriers by Size Table 12 shows the number of carriers by size as obtained from MCMIS. According to this database (which includes all interstate but only selected intrastate firms), over 3,000 school bus contractor firms with business activities in the United Figure 13. Type A school bus. Figure 14. Type C school bus. Figure 15. Type D school bus.

15 therefore would not be registered in MCMIS. Industry figures for all firms and vehicles (including all interstate and intra- state firms) are significantly larger than MCMIS for-hire fig- ures. This result suggests that only approximately 20 percent of all school bus contractor firms are registered in MCMIS. Geographic Distribution The school bus contractor industry also can be described based on the geographic locations of each firm, as shown in Table 14 and Figure 17. The geographic locations were estab- lished by the MCMIS carrier address, and may or may not reflect the actual operating region of the company. In addition, MCMIS does not include all intrastate firms. Census Bureau regions were used to define geographic areas as follows: • West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming; • Midwest: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin; • South: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Colum- bia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia; • Northeast: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont; • Canada; • Mexico; and • Other: Puerto Rico, U.S. territories (including the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Marinara Islands). As shown in Figure 17, the school bus firms registered in MCMIS are heavily concentrated in the South and Midwest, but the majority of these firms are private and do not offer for- hire service (for example, a school bus operated exclusively by a church group). When considering only for-hire school 27% 47% 7% 10% 5% 5% 50+ 25-49 10-24 6-9 2-5 1 Note: A total of 3,067 firms is represented. This chart excludes 82 firms with equal-sized school bus and motorcoach operations, 595 firms with equal-sized school bus and trucking operations, and 2,157 bus firms that did not specify the type of vehicles operated. Source: FMCSA MCMIS, 2000. Figure 16. Percentage of school bus contractor firms by fleet size owned/operated, 2000. Number of School Bus Firms Region All For Hire West 364 67 Midwest 1,164 255 South 1,129 108 Northeast 385 176 Canada 24 15 Mexico 1 0 Other 0 0 Note: This table excludes 82 firms with equal-sized school bus and motorcoach operations, 595 firms with equal-sized school bus and trucking operations, and 2,157 bus firms that did not specify the type of vehicles they owned. Source: FMCSA MCMIS, 2000. Fleet Size Industry Firms MCMIS For-Hire Firms Industry Vehicles MCMIS For-Hire Vehicles 1,000+ 10 3 83,036 32,033 500-999 14 4 9,734 2,484 All 3,285 621 112,013 50,530 Source: School Bus Fleet magazine, “2003 Top 50 Contractor Fleets” (Industry Firms and Vehicles by Fleet Size); School Bus Fleet magazine, “State-by-State Transportation Statistics 2001 to 2002” (Industry Total Vehicles); Census Bureau 1997 Economic Census (Industry Total Firms). TABLE 13 Comparison of MCMIS (2000), School Bus Fleet (2002, 2003), and Census Bureau data (1997) TABLE 14 School bus firms by geographic region, 2000

16 Year Fatalities Occupant Fatalities Injuries Crashes 1991 134 17 Further analysis required 22,866 1992 124 10 Further analysis required 21,436 1993 141 13 Further analysis required 27,042 1994 107 4 Further analysis required 23,802 1995 123 13 Further analysis required 28,805 1996 136 10 15,000 26,699 1997 131 10 19,000 28,099 1998 128 6 17,000 27,371 1999 167 10 18,000 29,756 2000 147 21 20,000 28,065 2001 141 18 13,000 Further analysis required 2002 127 3 18,000 Further analysis required Note: Includes district-operated and contractor-operated school buses. Includes non-school buses used as school buses. Approximately one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors. Source: NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts; NHTSA, Report to Congress: School Bus Safety Crashworthiness Research, 2002. TABLE 15 School bus-involved fatalities, injuries, and crashes, 1991 to 2002 bus contractor firms, the geographic distribution is much more balanced between regions. Carriers by Segment School buses can be classified according to whether they belong to fleets operated by school districts or to fleets oper- ated by school bus contractor firms. Some contractors may specialize in subsegments of the industry; for example, pub- lic school students, private school students, and special needs students. Although no data are available to estimate the num- ber of firms offering such services, sources of revenue from these subsegments are reported later in this section. With the exception of special needs students that require different school bus equipment, many school bus firms contract with both public school districts and private school organizations. SAFETY This section reports fatality, injury, and crash statistics for crashes involving school buses. While statistics derived from the MCMIS database do not provide complete coverage for significant numbers of intrastate motor carriers, the statistics from NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) are regarded as true population totals, and statistics from the National Automotive Sampling System’s General Estimates System (GES), which reports crashes, are estimated for the entire vehicle population based on a representative national sample. Because NSTA estimates that about one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors, the safety statistics for the entire school bus population may be approx- imately three times as large as the statistics for contractors alone. In addition, the safety statistics include non-school buses used as school buses, which may overcount the fatali- ties, injuries, and crashes involving school buses operated by school bus contractors. Fatality and injury data include both occupants and non- occupants; occupant fatalities have been separated into another column. As shown in Table 15 and Figures 18, 19, and 20, the number of fatalities and injuries has remained roughly con- stant over the past decade, while the number of crashes has increased. Further analysis of GES data from the source files is necessary to obtain injuries and crash estimates for all years shown in the table. Although mileage statistics are not consistently available, the relatively constant number of fatalities and injuries over this period supports a decreasing fatality and injury rate. As a gen- eral indicator of vehicle-miles traveled, the NSTA reports that school buses travel approximately 4.5 billion miles annually. ECONOMY AND FINANCES This section provides economic and financial information on the school bus contractor industry, including sources of revenues, factors affecting profitability, driver compensation, Other – 0.00% Canada – 0.78% Mexico – 0.03% West – 12% Midwest – 38% South – 37% Northeast – 13% Note: A total of 3,067 firms is represented. This chart excludes 82 firms with equal-sized school bus and motorcoach operations, 595 firms with equal-sized school bus and trucking operations, and 2,157 bus firms that did not specify the type of vehicles operated. Source: FMCSA MCMIS, 2000. Figure 17. Distribution of school bus firms by geographic region, 2000.

17 full-time utilization, trends in school bus sales, trends in rev- enue, trends in passengers, trends in mileage, and distribution of passengers within the industry. Sources of Revenue Figure 21 shows the sources of operating revenue for the school bus contractor industry, both interstate and intrastate. Public school contracts are by far the largest source, consti- tuting 89 percent of total industry revenue. Approximately 4 percent of operating revenue is from charter bus service, both interurban and local. “Other” sources of operating rev- enue include advertising, freight service, limousine service, and employee bus service. Factors Affecting Profitability NSTA’s The ABC’s of School Busing and School Bus Fleet’s “2001 Annual Contractor Survey” cite the following factors as current issues affecting the profitability of the school bus contractor industry: • Driver shortages; • Rising insurance premiums and fuel costs; • Student management practices; • Support (or lack of support) from parents and adminis- trators; • School district budgetary limitations; • Growing number of state and federal mandates; and 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Year Fatalities Note: Includes district-operated and contractor-operated school buses. Includes non-school buses used as school buses. Approximately one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors. Sources: NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts; NHTSA, Report to Congress: School Bus Safety Crashworthiness Research, 2002. Figure 18. Fatalities in school bus-involved crashes, 1991 to 2002. 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Year Injuries Note: Includes district-operated and contractor-operated school buses. Includes non-school buses used as school buses. Approximately one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors. Source: NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts; NHTSA, Report to Congress: School Bus Safety Crashworthiness Research, 2002. Figure 19. Injuries in school bus-involved crashes, 1996 to 2002.

18 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Year Crashes Note: Includes district-operated and contractor-operated school buses. Includes non-school buses used as school buses. Approximately one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors. Source: NHTSA, A Report to Congress: School Bus Safety Crashworthiness Research, 2002. Source: Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census. Special Needs — 89% Local Charter Bus — 3% Private/Parochial School — 3% Special Needs — 2% Interurban Charter Bus — 1% Other — 2% Figure 20. School bus-involved crashes, 1991 to 2000. Figure 21. School bus contractor industry sources of revenue, 1997. • School district preferences based on state laws, age of district fleet, desire to outsource support services, and other factors. Driver Qualifications for Employment The basic qualifications for employment as a school bus driver are as follows: • Obtain a Commercial Driver’s License; • Pass a physical examination every two years (if trans- porting passengers across state lines); • Be 21 years of age (if transporting passengers across state lines); • Submit to random drug and alcohol testing; • Have no criminal record involving drunk driving, drug use, or hit-and-run driving; • Speak English well enough to read road signs; • Pass an FMCSA written exam; • Be even-tempered and emotionally stable; and • Be aware of the school system’s rules of discipline and conduct. Driver Compensation Table 16 shows driver compensation at school bus con- tractor firms by fleet size, based on School Bus Fleet’s “2003 Contractor Survey,” which reported average wages from 176 school bus contractor firms. According to the survey, drivers earn an average of $12.57 per hour, but drivers at the largest companies earn $0.57 more per hour ($12.98) than drivers at

19 the smallest companies ($12.41). The Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2004–2005 Edition reports a median hourly wage of $10.77 in 2002. However, the Handbook includes drivers working for school districts as well as drivers working for school bus contractors. Driver Work Schedules School bus drivers may work 8 to 10 hours per day and 40 to 50 hours per week. They may drive seven to nine hours per day. Their daily schedule is consistent, driving approximately three to four hours in the morning, possibly two hours during the midday, and three to four hours in the afternoon. The reg- ular work schedule is consistent throughout the school year. Drivers may take students on field trips, which will require driving up to 10 hours and working up to 15 hours in any one day. Field trips are more likely to occur in the spring, but may occur at any time throughout the school year. Quality of rest is consistent; it is almost always obtained at home, except during overnight field trips when it is obtained in hotel rooms. Full-Time and Part-Time Employment Table 17 shows the average hours per week worked by school bus drivers, including both contractor and district employees. The average was 32.2 hours per week, with over half working between 26 and 40 hours per week. Driver Duties The duties of a school bus driver typically include, but are not limited to, the following: • Inspect the bus before leaving the garage or terminal; • Be alert when driving in order to prevent crashes; • Exercise particular caution when children are getting on and off the bus; • Maintain order on the bus; • Clean up the interior of the bus; and • Prepare weekly reports on the number of students, trips, work hours, miles, and fuel consumption. Driver Regulations School bus drivers are subject to a number of FMCSA reg- ulations. These include but are not limited to the following: • Hours-of-service (HOS) regulations—The new HOS regulations that went into effect in January 2004 do not apply to school bus drivers. Old HOS regulations, those in effect on October 1, 2002, apply to employees of pri- vate operators, but not of government-owned operators (i.e., public school districts). The old HOS regulations stipulate that a school bus driver may not drive: – More than 10 hours, following 8 hours off duty; – After 15 hours on duty, following 8 hours off duty; and – After 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. • Medical standards and physical qualifications—Apply only to employees of private operators, not of school districts. • Drug and alcohol testing—Applies to all drivers of vehicles with a seating capacity of more than 15 pas- sengers. • Commercial Driver’s Licenses—Are required of all drivers of vehicles with a seating capacity of more than 15 passengers. School Bus Sales Table 18 and Figure 22 show historical sales of school buses by type, including sales to school districts and school bus contractors. In 2002, a total of over 40,000 school buses were sold, more than half of which were Type C, or “con- ventional” buses (those with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds and an engine in front of the windshield). Average prices for new school buses range from approximately $50,000 to $80,000. Fleet Size Average Wage 500+ $12.98 100-499 $12.93 25-99 $12.52 <24 $12.41 ALL $12.57 Source: School Bus Fleet magazine, “2003 Contractor Survey.” TABLE 16 Driver compensation at school bus contractor firms, by fleet size, 2003 Hours per Week Percentage of Drivers 1-15 10.8% 16-20 8.5% 21-25 12.1% 26-30 12.9% 31-35 13.7% 36-40 30.2% 41-45 4.1% 46-50 5.1% 51+ 2.6% Source: School Bus Fleet magazine, “2001 School Bus Driver Survey.” TABLE 17 School bus driver average working hours per week, 2001

20 Year Type A/B Type C Type D Total 1993 6,779 18,928 6,734 32,441 1994 6,779 21,005 7,321 35,045 1995 5,854 20,861 9,671 36,386 1996 5,948 22,016 9,270 37,234 1997 4,860 22,885 9,323 37,068 1998 7,560 20,913 9,264 37,937 1999 9,496 22,485 10,077 42,341 2000 9,007 23,630 10,545 43,182 2001 8,222 20,476 9,401 38,099 2002 8,790 22,686 8,602 40,078 Source: School Bus Fleet magazine, “2002 North American School Bus Sales.” TABLE 18 School bus sales by type and year, 1993 to 2002 Trends in Revenue As shown in Table 19 and Figure 23, public school districts spent over $5.0 billion on school bus transportation services in 2000, a 26 percent increase in real terms since 1991. While these numbers do not account for all revenue in the school bus contractor industry, they do indicate the general market size and growth rate. Expenditures are reported in 2000 dol- lars and adjusted for inflation. Trends in Passengers Table 20 shows the trends in the number of children attend- ing public schools and the number transported by school bus (school districts and school bus contractors combined). Although both numbers grew during the 1990s, the percentage of students transported on school buses was roughly the same in 2000 as it was in 1991. Trends in Mileage Table 21 and Figure 24 show approximate trends in route mileage for school buses, including both district and con- tractor school bus operations. The route mileage excludes Connecticut, New Jersey, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000 45,000 50,000 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Year Vehicles Sold Type D Type C Type A/B Source: School Bus Fleet magazine, 2002 North American School Bus Sales. Figure 22. School bus sales by type and year, 1993 to 2002. School Year Ended Purchased Services ($ Millions, 2000) 1991 4,226.162 1992 4,354.965 1993 4,476.338 1994 4,585.510 1995 4,534.868 1996 4,653.539 1997 4,839.441 1998 5,103.089 1999 5,321.152 2000 5,331.349 Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. TABLE 19 Purchased services for public school bus transportation, 1991 to 2000

21 the District of Columbia, for which no mileage was reported between 1998 and 2002. Partial information was available for the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Iowa, and Nevada. For data gaps in these states, data were repeated from the year most recent to the gap. Distribution of Passengers within Industry The two largest school bus contractor firms, Laidlaw Edu- cation Services and First Student, Inc., accounted for 58,059 buses in 2003 with 3.04 million students transported, accord- ing to School Bus Fleet magazine. NSTA, using the latest National Center for Education Statistics data for 2000, esti- mates that one-third of students using school buses—about 8.3 million—are transported by contractors. As a result, the top two school bus firms account for an estimated 37 percent of all students transported by school bus contractors. SOURCES AND METHODS Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Motor Carrier Management Information System, 2000. FMCSA operates and maintains the Motor Carrier Management Information System (MCMIS). The MCMIS Census File contains infor- mation on interstate commercial motor carriers and intrastate hazardous material carriers that are subject to the Federal -2.0% -1.0% 0.0% 1.0% 2.0% 3.0% 4.0% 5.0% 6.0% 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 School Year Ended Percent Change in Purchased Services from Previous Year Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. Figure 23. Percentage change from previous year in purchased services for public school bus transportation, 1991 to 2000. (Millions) School Year Ended Transported Students Total Students Percentage of Total 1991 22.00 38.43 57.3% 1992 23.17 38.96 59.5% 1993 23.44 39.57 59.2% 1994 23.86 40.15 59.4% 1995 23.69 40.72 58.2% 1996 24.16 41.50 58.2% 1997 24.09 42.26 57.0% 1998 24.34 42.77 56.9% 1999 24.90 43.19 57.7% 2000 24.95 43.81 57.0% Note: Includes district-operated and contractor-operated school buses. Approximately one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors. Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. TABLE 20 Public school students, total and transported by school bus by year, 1991 to 2000 Year Estimated Route Mileage for 46 States (Millions) 1998 3,906 1999 3,863 2000 4,204 2001 4,151 2002 4,242 Note: Includes district-operated and contractor-operated school buses. Approximately one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors. Source: School Bus Fleet magazine, “State-by-State Transportation Statistics, 1997–1998 School Year to 2001–2002 School Year.” TABLE 21 Estimated school bus route mileage for 46 states, 1998 to 2002

Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and the Hazardous Mate- rials Regulations. Intrastate nonhazardous material carriers are not captured for all states, but American Trucking Asso- ciations, Inc., estimates that the number of intrastate motor car- riers is roughly equal to the number of interstate motor carri- ers. The database is available online at: http://transtats.bts. gov/DatabaseInfo.asp?DB_ID=190&DB_URL=Agency_ID= 11&Agency_Desc=FMCSA&Subject_ID2=0. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educa- tion Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics. The Digest of Education Statistics is a compilation of educational statistics. The publication includes data from numerous sources and draws especially on the results of surveys and activities carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), such as the Common Core of Data Survey and the Statistics of State School Systems. Types of information in the Digest include revenues and expenditures, educational achievement, and student behavior, as well as statistics on enrollment, teach- ers, schools, and graduates from pre-kindergarten through graduate school. The annual digests for 1995 to 2002 are avail- able online at: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest. National School Transportation Association, The ABC’s of School Busing. NSTA is a national industry association of school bus contractors. Its information guide, The ABC’s of School Busing, provides several summary estimates for general school bus transportation as well as for school bus contractors specifically. The NSTA website is located at: www.schooltrans.com. School Bus Fleet magazine. This magazine compiles yearly statistics on the largest contractor bus fleets, the largest school district bus fleets, fatalities, school bus sales, bus driver and contractor surveys, and other information relevant to the school bus industry. School Bus Fleet magazine makes much of its data available online at: www.schoolbusfleet. com/t_inside.cfm?action=research. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Hand- book, 2004–2005 Edition. The Occupational Outlook Hand- book describes the nature of the work, working conditions, training and education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects for a wide range of occupations. Detailed esti- mates for each of the states and metropolitan areas are avail- able by specific industry through the occupational employ- ment statistics. BLS statistics by occupation are available at: www.bls.gov/bls/occupation.htm. U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traf- fic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts series. This is an annual publication of comprehensive national safety sta- tistics. The reports draw from NHTSA’s two primary data systems: the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), which began operation in 1975, and the National Automotive Sampling System’s General Estimates System (GES), which began operation in 1988. FARS is a census of all fatal traffic crashes involving motor vehicles on public roadways in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. GES contains a nationally representative probability sample of all police-reported crashes. This sample is used to estimate national statistics for nonfatal crashes. The Traffic Safety Facts series is available online at: www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/depart- ments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html#. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Report to Congress: School Bus Safety Crashworthiness Research. This 2002 study researches the potential use of seat belt restraint systems on school buses. As part of the report, researchers used the National Automotive Sampling System’s General Estimates System to estimate the number of school bus crashes by year, which is a statistic not reported in the Traffic Safety Facts series. School bus vehicle types and non-school buses 22 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Year Route Mileage (Millions) Note: Includes district-operated and contractor-operated school buses. Approximately one-third of school buses are operated by school bus contractors. Source: School Bus Fleet magazine, “State-by-State Transportation Statistics, 1997–1998 School Year to 2001–2002 School Year.” Figure 24. Estimated school bus route mileage for 46 states, 1998 to 2002.

23 used as school buses are included in these statistics. The study is available at www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-11/ SchoolBus/SBReportFINAL.pdf. Census Bureau, 1997 Economic Census. The economic cen- sus is conducted every five years and tracks indicators such as sales, annual payroll, and number of employees. In 1997, mail surveys were sent to more than five million firms. Statis- tics for smaller (nonemployer) firms are estimated from data obtained by federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service. The subject series reports for the 2002 Economic Cen- sus will be released in late 2005. Economic census data are available online at: www.census.gov/epcd/www/econ97.html.

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TRB’s Commercial Truck and Bus Safety Synthesis Program (CTBSSP) Synthesis 6: Operational Differences and Similarities Among the Motorcoach, School Bus, and Trucking Industries is designed as a single resource for information on profiles, safety statistics, and general business operations for these three commercial vehicle industries.

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