Committee on the Environment

What transportation service is free but costs taxpayers $25 billion a year?

That is a great pop quiz question. It could be augmented with all kinds of other surprising numbers around transportation and education.

Yes, this is right. The topic is school transportation in the US. It has a hefty price tag: Try this: More than have of all students nationwide are shuttled to school on public expense every day at an average cost of somewhere around at least $700 bucks per year (costs vary widely by state), that is 6.5% of the total education cost per student. It is about 1/3 of what the average US household spends on car fuel per year and about 14 times what the average American spends on books.

In summer when the roads are much less clogged, we realize how much real estate...

For full article click

here

Community Architect: Schools: When Transportation Replaces Education

Archplanbaltimore		remove preview
Community Architect: Schools: When Transportation Replaces Education   View this on Archplanbaltimore >

------------------------------
Nikolaus Philipsen FAIA
Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
Baltimore MD
------------------------------

great observation and research!

Awareness is the first step toward solutions. I am fortunate to live in Portland, OR with a great public transportation system and many walkable neighborhoods, but even here, many parents still drive their kids to school.

------------------------------
Alan Scott FAIA
Director
YR&G
Portland OR

This post raises interesting issues.  Yes, school buses are a big expense and do add to traffic.  However, many alternatives would increase the use of fuel, and add in a big way to air pollution and increase traffic congestion and vehicle miles traveled considerably.  For instance in many places more children arrive at school from their family car than they do by bus. And many high schoolers 16 and older drive to school often by themselves.  How many of us drive past a long line of cars at our neighborhood elementary schools, middle schools and high schools to see these cars frequently with only 1 or 2 children in them at a time. Bus transportation is much more economical, less costly and has less impact on the environment than transport by car does. As far as the added traffic on the highways from buses,  well there is a lot more traffic from the dozens of cars it would take to transport those children.  I expect that summer traffic is lower not as much from less buses as it is for less cars going to school and due to the fact that a sizable percentage of families are out of the urban areas on vacation at any time. A drop of even 5-10% is a lot.

A lot of parents will drive their children across the street to school. What??? Why???

Solutions!  Smaller schools. Neighborhood schools with dense mixed-use residential neighborhoods nearby, with safe routes to school.  Traffic calming, slow speed limits, crossing guards, dedicated and separated bicycle lanes, the reemergence of bike racks at K-12 schools, etc.  Parent chaperones for 'walking school buses' and along bike routes. Parents need to know their children are safe. yes, watcful caring eyes require person power, time.  Engage our retired??? When we don't take the time to provide watchful parenting what happens?  We drive! When cars are needed, carpool with 3,4 or 5 children per car. Better yet, viable mass transit - full buses, not 1/3 full.  More ideas?

Cheers,

------------------------------
Ralph Bicknese, AIA, LEED Fellow
Principal
Hellmuth & Bicknese Architects, LLC
St. Louis, MO