Bus ridership week begins, Buncombe County Schools seek more utilization

Press release from Buncombe County Schools:

Today marks the beginning of Bus Ridership Week across North Carolina. All this week, (September 26-30) the state will use total ridership numbers to determine local transportation funding for all school districts. Accordingly, Buncombe County Schools (BCS) is encouraging parents and students to utilize bus transportation-especially this week- as it seeks to maintain adequate funding levels to sustain its long history of both convenience, safety, and reliability.

Fonda Durner, BCS Transportation Supervisor, said it is very important that as many students ride the bus as many times as possible this week for many reasons. She points out that the state’s transportation budget was cut this year and this loss of resources makes a huge difference.

“Reduced funding could mean changes in service such as combining routes, double runs, and even a reduction in the number of buses operating,” said Durner. “State funding for buses are determined by three factors: The total number of buses operating, total expenditures, and the number of students riding buses this week.”

Year in and year out, buses are shown to be the safest way to get students to school, and they offer unparalleled convenience to families who utilize them every day. Another important consideration is that students riding the bus keep more cars off the road, especially in high-traffic areas near schools. Buncombe County and Asheville City school buses currently travel 17,000 miles daily transporting approximately 17,000 students to and from school.

To ensure continued funding it is important to have each of those students on the bus as many times during Bus Ridership Week as possible.

“Parents tell me all the time it’s hard to beat the safety, convenience, and reliability of the friendly neighborhood school bus,” said Durner. “We want to make sure we are able to keep it that way.”