Joel Caviness
Director of Transportation
Ronnie Branson
Asst. Transportation Director /
HWY 64 EAST - 127 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
POST OFFICE BOX 128
PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA 27312
(919)542-2715
Fax: (919)542-1208 / Allison Farrish
Administrative Assistant
To Director of Transportation
Cost Clerk
Joy Garner
TIMS Data Manager
May 2, 2010
Bus Drivers,
The 2009-2010 school year is nearing its end, with only five weeks of school remaining. The week of May 2-8 is School Bus Driver Appreciation Week, and we honor our school bus drivers and thank them for a job well done.
This year we have been faced with many challenges and made many changes in our transportation services. After the third quarter of the school year we have cut our spending by approximately $300,000.00 and decreased our annual bus inspection score from 83 last year to 46 this year. (The lower the score, the better.) We have accomplished this by changes made in the day-to-day operation of the bus garage and by making adjustments in our bus routes. We realize that some of these changes have had negative impacts on some people, but feel we have made progress in dealing with the state’s mandated cuts in transportation.
You have transported almost 3,800 students each day, and have driven almost 1 million miles over the roads of Chatham County without a major incident. Your job is often behind the scene without a lot of recognition from time to time, but it is just as important to the school system as any other job. I feel that everyone in the education system is equally important to the education of our children, regardless of their job. It takes everyone doing their jobs to make this system work. You are an important part of each child’s life; you are the first and the last person in the system to see each student rider each day. Your positive attitude can have a lasting affect on our students. Thank you for all you do to transport our students to and from school in a safe and efficient manner.
Did you realize that North Carolina’s school buses transport more passengers and travel more miles than UPS and Fedex combined if you compare passengers to packages.
Below are some facts from the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services (NASDPTS) that show how important your job is to the safety of the students and our environment:
Every day, more than 26 million children take the safest and most environmentally friendly way to get to school: the yellow school bus. The nation’s school bus transportation system carries more than half of the country’s children to school each day, saving an estimated 17.3 million cars from roads surrounding schools each mourning. By reducing the number of cars on the road, the school bus transportation system is providing an estimated annual national savings of 2.3 billion gallons of fuel and $8 billion in gas cost.
Other environmentally friendly statistics found are:
17.3 million: Total number of private vehicles needed to transport students currently riding on all school buses.
822 million gallons per year: Total fuel used by school bus fleet.
$3.4 billion per year: Total cost of fuel used by the U.S. school bus fleet.
$131 per year: Cost of fuel per child transported by school bus.
3.1 billion gallons per year: Total fuel for cars replaced by buses.
$11.4 billion per year: Cost of fuel for cars replaced by school buses.
62.4 billion: Total annual car mileage saved by students riding school buses.
346.6 million: Total daily car mileage saved by students riding school buses.
36: Average number of cars needed to transport students currently riding one school bus.
As you can see, you are not only an important part of our school system, but you are also important in conserving our environment. Again, I would like to thank you for all you do to keep our students safe.
Sincerely,
Joel Caviness
Director of Transportation
Chatham County Schools