Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-22
School Bus Usage.

0CAOOA DuS OSdRCs
According to information gath
cred by the ONCE of Education,
United States Department of the
Interior, approximately 100000
children are carried to and from
school daily by this means of
transportation. and the bus which
became stalled in the Colorado
snow was only one of nearly So
900 such motor vehicles which
daily serve about 1900 schools
throughout the United States.
Since 1869, when the first State
law for transportation of school
children was passed by MaSSa-
chusetts, and followed by similar
laws in Vermont in 1876 and
Maine in 1880, practically all
States have enacted some form
of legislation permitting trans
portation OF children to and from
school. Delaware and wyoming,
in 1919, were among the last
States to enact school tranSporta-
ton legislation. In many States
transportation Is compulsory for
pupils living a certain distance
from the school building.
The cost of school bus service
in the United States during 1890
is said to have been approximate
ly $40, 100000. OF this amount
Indiana probably expended more
than any other State, nearly $4,-
600, 900, while North Carolina,
Louisiana, Ohio, Iowa, Mississippi,
Minnesota and California, each
disburSed more than a million
dollars for school bus operation.
Practically ever State operated
more school buses in 1890 than
in any previous year, statistics
show.
Maryland Expenditures.
Probably no better example of
the increase Of bus transportation
for school purposes can be cited
than a presentation of expendi-
ture figures for school bus trans
portation in Maryland. In 1920
this State paid SOS, 900 for trans
portation of school children. In
1880, just 10 years later, this dis
bursement had been increased to
$500, 900, nearly 10 times as much.
In Colorado, where a bus trag-
edy took place last year, 1875
schools were served by $50 buses
last year, and more than 10000
children depended upon buses
for their daily trip to and from
school, at a total cost of $3.50 600,
the 1880 report of the National
Association Of Motor Bus Oper-
atorS reveals.
Much of the success of "con-
Solidated" rural high schools is
attributed to the motor bus of to-
day and to improved highways.
A decrease in the number of small
rural schools has been paralleled
by an increase in consolidated"
schools, the ONCE of Education
reports. consolidated" schools
have been established at the rate
of more than 1000 per year dur
ing the past 10 years. From 1918
to 1928 one-room schools de-
creased from $4,000 to $4,000,
while the number of "consoli-
dated" schools increased from
5000 to $1,000.
According to recent informa-
ton, from 1926 to 1880 the num-
Der Of school buses increased
from $1,000 to $4,000, and the
school bus route mileage climbed
from 250,000 miles to approx
mately 425,00O miles. School
buses travel more than half of
the total mileage travelled by all
types of BUSES carrying passen-
gers or freight, records show.
Every precaution is taken to
safeguard the lives of school
child passengers, and as the re-
suit school bus accidents have
been kept at minimum. "Chil-
dren should be as safe in the
school bus as they are in the
school ROOM" is common Slo-
gan, and stringent measures are
taken to make this statement a
fact.
Safety Teaching Helpful.
Safety teaching in the class
room has proved effective in de-
creaSing accidents on school
buses, and safety devices on
buses have also aided greatly in
preventing mishaps. Bus drivers
are usually carefully selected.
Physical fitness, experience,
moral character, and special abil-
ity are generally among the con-
Siderations in their selection.
In many communities through
out the United States the school
bus has become a factor almost
as important and necessary to
the education of boys and girls
as the school desk or the black
board.