Building a
Community Bus:
Guide to Coordinating
Pupil and Public
Transportation
October 2004
Draft October 2004
Draft
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Information
If you would like copies of this document in an alternative format large print, Braille,
cassette tape, or on computer disk, please call Washington State Telecommunications Relay
Service TTY 1-800-833-6388, Tele-Braille 1-800-833-6385, Voice 1-800-833-6384, and
ask to be connected to (360) 705-7097.
Prepared by the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute for the Agency Council on Coordinated Transportation
and the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Building a Community Bus:
Guide to Coordinating
Pupil and Public
Transportation Agency Council for Coordinated Transportation
i
Page
Chapter 1 What is the Purpose of this Document?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Describe the Environment in Washington State for Coordinating Community
Transportation With Pupil Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Identify Regulatory and Other Barriers to Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Offer Strategies and Techniques to Overcome Barriers and Implement Coordination Projects . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2 The Coordination Challenge
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
The Silo Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Why Coordinate? Whats In It for Us? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
So What ARE the Bene ts of Coordination to a School District? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
What is Effective Coordination? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Are There Successful School/Community Coordination Models? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Chapter 3 Overview of the Partners, the Resources, and the Rules
. . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Providers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
The Resources (Funding and Expenditures) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Transportation Funding in Washington State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Rules and Corresponding Philosophical Rationales
(Federal and State Statutory Environment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 4 Key Elements of a Coordinated System
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Basic Coordinating Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Riders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Jobs and Bene ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Community Perspective and Priorities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 5 CoordinationMaking It Happen
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Join Your Local Coalition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Pick the Low-Hanging FruitOpenness to Serendipity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Identify Immediate Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Chapter 6 Future Trends
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Legislative Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Consolidate Funding Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Waive Some State and Federal Regulations While Maintaining
Community Values and Philosophical Goals of Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Hybrid Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
New Text ii
Agency Council for Coordinated Transportation
Building a Community Bus: Guide to Coordinating Pupil and Public Transportation
Page
Chapter 7 Resources
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Organizations and Websites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
For Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Appendix A School/Community Coordination Projects in Washington State
. . . 35
Mason County After School Transportation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Ferry County Maintenance Coordination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Pierce County Boys and Girls Club . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Appendix B Washington State Public Transportation Transit Authorities
. . . . . . . 39
Appendix C ACCT Local Coordination Coalitions and Contact Persons
. . . . . . . 41 Agency Council for Coordinated Transportation
1
Identify attitudinal, perceptual, and regulatory
Identify attitudinal, perceptual, and regulatory
barriers specific to the coordination of school
transportation.
Suggest possibilities for coordination that
Suggest possibilities for coordination that

preserve our cultural values to protect children.
These values are reflected in terms of vehicle
standards, operation characteristics, and driver
screening and training for the transportation of
school children.
To do this, the document will:
Describe the Environment in Washington
State for Coordinating Community
Transportation With Pupil Transportation
School buses are everywhere
School buses are the most numerous vehicles for
providing public transportation in the state of
Washington. In every part of the state, school districts
either own and operate buses, or contract for school
bus services. While school transportation is certainly
more complex than it was 25 years ago, in virtually
every place many school buses only transport school
children in traditional fashion, home-to-school,
school-to-home, a few hours morning and afternoon,
180 days a year.
Resources are limited
In many rural areas, school buses are the only buses
and transportation through community-based organi-
zations may be very limited. However, the states
pupil transportation funding formula does not fully
cover the costs of providing pupil transportation as
operated by most districts. Many school districts must
supplement with locally generated funds, funds taken
from basic education, or must limit transportation
services to the basic regulatory requirements.
At the same time, communities are struggling to find
mobility options for elderly, disabled, and low-income
people who have no means to transport themselves.
Transportation is fundamental to quality of life,
economic vitality, and a vibrant community. In
recognition of this, the public makes a consider able
investment in public transportation to ensure access
to education, training, jobs, child care, goods and
services, medical care, social and recreational

activities, and other necessary life purposes.
Because of this public investment, it is incumbent
upon us to use the public dollar to the best advantage
when operating our public programs, particularly
in times when budget constraints can result in
service reductions.
Coordination is one tool in our toolbox to help us
manage our resources better. Through coordination,
we can:
Offer more rides to more people, serving a greater
Offer more rides to more people, serving a greater
number of people within current resources.
Maximize the use of the public dollar by
Maximize the use of the public dollar by

eliminating duplication and inefficiency.
Avoid or reduce the amount of service cutbacks
Avoid or reduce the amount of service cutbacks
that might otherwise be necessary.
Attract new money by demonstrating wise
Attract new money by demonstrating wise
use of scarce resources and responsiveness to

community need.
Though coordination makes sense intuitively, it
is difficult to achieve across the different public
programs with their different missions, funding
mandates, rules and regulations, administrative

struc