1	TRANSPORTATION REPORT East Brunswick Public Schools Board of Education Meeting September 21, 2006
2	Problems Experienced Last Year September 2, 2005 - Bus contractor notified district that it could not fulfill responsibilities Other contractors agreeing to accept these routes were ultimately unable to provide the service and did not advise EBPS of this fact even after repeated assurances Bus driver shortages Students in all grades and programs received inconsistent transportation services during the first several weeks of school District transportation software inadequate for the existing needs
3	District’s Immediate Response Last Year Communication with bus contractors to correct problems “Triage” system established for daily response to inquiries Realigned bus routes where possible Charter buses filled gaps in school bus service Administrators and EBPD aided in providing safe passage for students Six new 54-passenger school buses purchased September 26, 2005 – New school buses deployed
4	Additional Actions & Findings District-owned buses were found to improve the services provided to students Additional buses were purchased to further lessen district dependency on contracted services Replacement software evaluated, acquired and implemented to provide accurate and complete transportation routing data and bus passes.
5	Additional Actions & Findings Additional software training and refinement planned Integration of VersaTrans and SASi is critical In-house and contracted routes were “tested” by district bus drivers District determined routes given to contractors District buses serviced all summer academy routes District is servicing most mid-day kindergarten routes
6	Current Transportation Facts 7,111 students transported twice daily 6,646 to/from EBPS’ 11 school locations 116 to/from out-of-district special education placement locations 276 to/from private and parochial school locations 70 to/from vo-tech school locations 3 to/from charter school locations 498 transportation routes 248 54-passenger bus routes 198 other routes (78 in-district sp ed, 80 out-of-district sp ed) 52 mid-day kindergarten/preschool routes
7	Current Transportation Facts Services provided by Bus contractors Educational Services Commission Jointures with other districts EBPS-owned school buses 11 54-passenger school buses 3 16-passenger school buses 1 20-passenger school bus 1 25-passenger school bus 14 EBPS-employed drivers
8	Financial Impact To District In Fiscal Year 2006 - The transportation budget (original) totaled $7.5 million The transportation expenditures totaled $7.5 million In Fiscal Year 2007 – The transportation budget totals $7.6 million (+1.3%)
9	Short- & Long-term Expectations Continued refinement of transportation software Improve routing for special needs and zone crossers Improve end-of-day routing and schedule Continue to improve “customer service” in department Availability of bus route data to administrators (reports and SASi) Continued refinement of transportation software Implementation of VersaTrans eLink (March 2007) Expand district-owned bus fleet