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Davie bus routes tightened for savings
Trimming of distance, time will begin Jan. 5 after schools' holiday
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Published: November 4, 2008
MOCKSVILLE - Starting next year, there will be fewer school-bus stops in Davie County.
Last night, the Davie County Board of Education voted 6-0 to approve changes in bus routes that would save the school system about $37,000 in transportation costs.
The changes won't take effect until Jan. 5, the first day students come back to school after the Christmas holiday, school officials said.
With the financial crisis and a downturn in the national economy, state officials asked local school systems to find ways to cut costs.
Davie County school officials decided to look at ways to cut down on rising transportation costs, said Todd Naylor, the system's transportation director.
The current average fuel price for this school year is $3.30 a gallon, and the school system has spent about $94,000 in fuel costs through Oct. 30. During the same period last year, the school system spent about $65,000.
Under the plan that the school board approved last night, buses would travel down fewer side streets and limit the number of stops in subdivisions and residential areas, Naylor said.
That would shave off about 16 minutes a day in travel time and cut average mileage traveled by 4.7 miles a day, school officials said.
Naylor said that although fuel prices are going down, there's still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the economy.
"Your guess is as good as mine," he told the school board about the economy.
Other school systems, including the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools, have re-evaluated bus routes as a way to cut costs, Naylor also said.
Information about the Davie County changes will be posted soon on the school system's Web site, www.davie.k12.nc.us. School administrators also plan to distribute information for students to take home.
■ Michael Hewlett can be reached at 727-7326 or at mhewlett@wsjournal.com.
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