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BOURBONNAIS – When transporting more than 1,900 students per day with less than two dozen drivers, efficiency is key.
Scott Austin, transportation director for Bourbonnais Elementary School District 53, gave the school board an update Tuesday on efforts to create more centralized bus stops and keep parents in the loop on changes.
Streamlining bus stops has been an ongoing process during the past few years, Austin said.
With the number of students who must be picked up each day, stopping in front of everyone’s front door is not possible.
In an optimized route, stops are at centralized locations such as corners, rather than in the middle of the street, he said.
“Sometimes we may have routes that are going to frustrate parents at the beginning of the year, and then once they have been through it a few weeks, they’re going to be OK,” Austin said.
Although centralized stops might not align with individual families’ preferences, they are necessary for balanced and efficient routes, he said.
“Our goal is to make decisions that best serve the community, even if they might not be ideal for everyone,” Austin said.
Superintendent Adam Ehrman noted that the district aims to communicate changes as quickly as possible so families have time to adjust.
“They won’t love that the bus stop had normally been right in front of their house but now requires them to walk down a block,” Ehrman said. “We are presuming there’s going to be some type of reaction to that.”
The transportation department also is working on putting information onto the district’s website.
Austin said that nearby districts such as Bradley Elementary, St. George Elementary and Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School have information on their websites regarding bus schedules, routes and stops.
“I would say we do not put this information on our website right away because it’s going to be constantly evolving,” he said. “But at least families can know exactly where their stop will be.”
The mission and policies of the transportation departments also are shared by other school districts.
“We’ve got nothing on our website whatsoever, and other districts are much more in depth on sharing some of the information,” Austin said.
Transportation stats
The district transports a higher percentage of its students compared with the state of Illinois, with 81.6% of Bourbonnais students boarding the bus and an average of 52% statewide.
With a current staff of 22 drivers, three drivers in training and 18 bus aides, the district transports 1,918 students per day for a total of 1,265 miles driven daily. The mileage total represents an increase of 250 miles over the previous year.
“Like every year, our driver shortage has presented challenges, and this year has been one like I haven’t seen since I got into transportation,” Austin said. “But our team’s dedication and perseverance has been truly remarkable.”
Bourbonnais school buses make a combined 406 stops per day for morning and afternoon pickups of general education students, plus 37 more for special education students.
“This is the number that amazes me the most – we currently are running 148 routes every day,” Austin said. “… I think that’s pretty amazing, all of those components moving together to get our students where they need to be to be successful.”
The fleet has 24 total 77-passenger buses, plus buses for special needs students, two mini buses and three minivans. The state of Illinois has about 23,000 buses on the road.