Despite the rising cost of bus transportation for students across the state, officials in Indian Prairie School District 204 say they’re finding ways to innovate, improve safety and increase accessibility.
Administrators have made recent advances in transportation technology, efficiency and connectivity, working with busing contractor First Student to streamline the district’s $31 million transportation operation.
Electric bus coming this spring
The transportation team is preparing the charging infrastructure for the first electric bus to join District 204’s fleet of 280 vehicles this spring, said Ron Johnson, director of support operations, at Monday’s board of education meeting.
Officials want to determine if the electric-powered bus is safe and reliable, and if it can make it through a full day without the need to charge. School board member Natasha Grover said she’s interested to see if electric buses could lower costs.
“I’ve always said, ‘I don’t care what powers the bus, as long as it’s reliable,’” Johnson said. “And if it saves some costs versus fuel, that would be wonderful.”
However, if the charging patterns of the first electric bus require more spare buses on hand, Johnson said it may not prove as worthwhile.
Stop-arm cameras
This is the second year since the district added exterior cameras near the stop-sign arm on each bus.
“We’re talking student safety and providing them an environment that they should feel safe in getting on the bus,” Johnson said.
The camera system allows bus drivers to flag the recording when they’re aware of a driver passing illegally while the stop sign is extended. This helps officials more quickly provide evidence to local police when stop-arm violations are reported.
School board member Mark Rising called this “so important” to counteract driver impatience and ensure safety around buses.
Wheelchair-accessible activity buses
Each high school in District 204 is soon to receive a new, wheelchair-accessible activity bus through $305,616 in funding from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
“They have a wheelchair lift on them with two wheelchair spots ready to go,” Johnson said. “This is going to help students that are in wheelchairs go out into the community for community-based in instruction.”
Tablets on buses and MyStop app
Johnson said District 204 was an early adopter to install tablets inside school buses, which provide online navigation for drivers. He said this helps when substitute drivers are needed to cover a route, and tablets are installed on all buses in the district’s fleet — even the oldest.
All Indian Prairie school buses also are connected to the MyStop app.
“It provides very timely information on the location of the bus and the ETA to the student’s stop,” Johnson said.
School board member Catey Genc said her family appreciates the information MyStop provides, especially during this recent cold snap.
“I love all the upgrades and updates that have been done to the buses,” Genc said. “I use MyStop frequently, the MyStop app, and it works very well. It is a godsend, and we can send our daughter out at the very last minute.”
Keeping costs in check
Transportation costs have been one one of the fastest-rising expenses during the past few years, spurred by bus driver shortages, minimum wage increases and fuel prices, Chief School Business Official Matt Shipley said.
“It’s why we’ve prioritized efficiency and routing and technology integration,” Shipley said. “We feel like we’re doing everything we can to manage these expenses — and they could be higher if we weren’t.”
Transportation costs increased by 10% a year for the past four years, while state funding remained stagnant. Shipley said this forced the district to use more local funds, including property tax revenue and transportation reserves, to cover the cost.
But the price negotiated in next year’s contract with First Student is only a 5% increase.
“We’re hopeful that some of this trend is starting to ease a little bit,” Shipley said.
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
