High Fuel Prices Mean a Hard Road for School Buses (1/2)

High fuel prices are affecting all areas of life, including education.The United States has an estimated four hundred seventy-five thousand school buses. Each day they carry more than twenty-five million children, half of all schoolchildren in the country.

But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers. When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged fifty-five cents a liter nationally. The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and eight cents, by the end of school in June.

Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council, an industry coalition. He says fuel prices negotiated for schools are not much lower than others have to pay.

As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs. Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled. Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels. And a few places are investigating hybrid" class="hjdict" word="hybrid" target=_blank>hybrid fuel-electric technology. Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams. And some school districts may end any bus service not required by law.