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CNN(CNN) -- Bright yellow buses have long represented reliable daily journeys between home and the classroom, but schools are increasingly parking the durable icons and unintentionally compromising community coffers and student safety in the process.
When budgets plummet, experts say, administrators look to cut costs. Busing is easy to ax because its connection to the classroom is indirect.
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A community put out
Moehring is not the only person inconvenienced by the budget crunch. Other administrators, including the school superintendent, have helped direct traffic; teachers' nine-hour days are closer to 10, not counting extracurricular activities; and many parents have to get up earlier or arrange car pools.
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Fewer buses, more danger
Standard buses carry between 65 and 77 passengers, he said, so for every bus you take off the road, you're adding 30 to 40 cars, meaning more fuel consumption, pollution and wear on the infrastructure.
Plus, Dashney said, the average car weighs 3,500 pounds, about a 10th of what a bus weighs -- so "just the sheer size of the bus -- passenger size, physical size -- makes the bus safer."
Read more:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/01/16/school.bus.cuts/index.html
Cost of doing business
There are other ways to save money on transportation without cutting bus services, he said. School districts can save money by privatizing bus service, but they may lose flexibility.
Other options include renegotiating personnel contracts or consolidating buying power and repair costs across school districts. Rather than 10 districts buying two buses each, it's cheaper for them to buy 20 at once, he said.
Also, in states that allow it -- such as California and Massachusetts -- school districts are charging parents between $50 and $200 a year for bus service.
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