The 1974 session of the General Assembly, through House Joint Resolution No. 89, directed the Commonwealth's Secretaries of Transportation and Education to conduct "a *** ERROR *** INVALID NUMBER study and report on methods by which school buses might be used in the periodic scheduled transportation of citizens." (Appendix A)

The primary purpose of the study is to determine whether and how school buses, purchased by public funds and available for additional service, could be used to satisfy transportation needs of other citizens particularly those in rural areas where other means of transportation are not readily available.

The conduct of the study was assigned to the Transportation and Public Safety Section of the Division of State Planning and Community Affairs in cooperation with the Division of Special Services of the State Department of Education.

Study Methods

A number of sources were investigated in the conduct of the study.

Supporting information was obtained by:

1. Review of national, state and local publications. (A computerized search of the Information Bank of the Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, did not produce reference to any material related to this study.)

2. Meetings and discussions with selected State human resource agencies.

a. Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation
b. Department of Vocational Rehabilitation
c. Employment Commission
d. Commission for the Visually Handicapped
e. Department of Health
f. Department of Welfare
g. Division of State Planning and Community Affairs
h. Office on Aging

(A limited study schedule made it impossible to contact all State agencies that may have provided input. The objective was to gain insight into the nature of particular agency transportation needs and to learn of some existing practices now being utilized to meet those needs.)

3. Coordination and contact with the Virginia Department of Highways and Transportation.

4. Contact with the Center for Urban and Regional Studies, Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University.

5. Contact and input from several planning district commissions.

6. Investigation of related experiences in Virginia.

a. Fairfax County
b. Arlington County

7. Contact and input from the Virginia Highway Safety Division.

8. Meeting with the Insurance Bureau of the State Corporation Commission.

9. Investigation of a related project in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

10. Discussion with the Commerce Counsel, State Corporation Commission.

11. Contact with the Division of Legislative Services (to determine the approaches taken by other states on the use of school buses for public transportation).

Related Public Transportation Studies

Concurrent with this study, the State is engaged in two other efforts aimed at the general problems of public transportation needs. Since all three studies have certain elements in common, a brief description of the other two studies would be informative and helpful.

1. The Commonwealth's Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety has applied to the Urban Mass Transportation Administration for a $50,000 technical studies grant to be used for an investigation of public transportation policy in Virginia. This study, requiring approximately 3 man-years of effort, will focus on the unique problems of small urban areas.

2. The Commonwealth's Secretary of Transportation and Public Safety has invited Virginia's twenty-two planning district commissions to submit proposals for rural public transportation demonstration programs. The State Department of Highways and Transportation is responsible for receiving and disseminating these proposals. An Inter-Agency task force will review all submittals. The Secretary will then transmit selected programs to the Federal Highway Administration for funding under the provisions of Section 147 of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1973. At present, the FHW A is in the process of drafting final regulations related to the submittal of these proposals. All applications must be received within 90 days of the announced regulations.

Summary

The report that follows reviews existing public and pupil transportation in Virginia; identifies selected transportation demands within the public sector; outlines experiences in providing increased transportation service with the school bus in the Commonwealth; touches upon restricting legislation, insurance and safety within the context of expanded use; and sets forth recommendations for a course of action that may wish to be implemented by the General Assembly and Administration.

The primary purpose of the school bus is to transport school children and that purpose must never be compromised. Along with transporting children, the safety of those children is paramount. Any expanded use of the vehicle must be limited and performed under conditions which would not alter the respect and concern for caution that the yellow school bus evokes among the motoring public.

The findings, therefore, recognize that there is excess capacity as far as vehicle use is measured and that equipment which now stands idle for much of the day could be assigned to serve transportation needs that are not now being met, or are being met in only a limited or expensive manner. Any added assignments should be limited, however, to a small percentage of a localities total school bus fleet and used only to serve public agency sponsors. This would ensure close control while supporting acceptable community services that are being offered through public funds. In addition, the school bus would not, and should not, become a substitute for a general transit vehicle.

Expanded use of the school bus to provide additional service to a community should be a local decision. The Commonwealth, through the Legislature and its administrative structure, can remove existing obstacles to such use, assist and provide incentives to those localities which may chose such a course, and carefully monitor and regulate any increased use to ensure that the prime purpose of the school bus is not sacrificed and the safety of children is not jeopardized.

The material that follows provides information upon which subsequent decisions concerning school bus utilization can be made or upon which further study may be based. The recommendations that are presented merely reflect the study findings; it is intended that they serve as a point of departure from which those responsible for policy can accept, reject or modify, as the subject is reviewed and further evaluated.