The new school bus transportation system that’s being tested at 30 schools in the Pearl City, Aiea and surrounding areas will restore rides for about half of the 2,000 students whose routes were cut last school year.

It’s also using newly cultivated data and high-tech software to cut down on the number of trips and buses included in contracts, with the hope of ultimately saving the department money and getting more kids rides to school. A key change is that contracts will now be issued based on buses rather than routes taken.

The new system is being phased in, starting with the 30 schools this upcoming school year. It’ll then be rolled out to all Oahu schools next fall and all Hawaii schools in 2015. 

Raymond L’Heureux, the Department of Education’s assistant superintendent for school facilities and support services, said it’ll take time to clean up the data and perfect the system but that reform efforts — dubbed the “Get on Board” initiative — are on time and on track.

Many of the old contracts that were blamed for the skyrocketing school bus costs, which nearly tripled to $70 million between 2006 and 2012, are still in effect.

“We’re going to let those run their course,” L’Heureux said. 

The new request for proposal, which is being released this week, has the updated data system built into it. School bus companies will have a year to respond to those requests, which L’Heureux said would enhance competition and keep costs down.

Read Civil Beat’s coverage of the DOE’s runaway bus costs in its series Taken for a Ride. 

Photo courtesy of Katherine Poythress.

— Alia Wong