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Digest of Education Statistics
2015 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 236.90. Students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1929-30 through 2012-13
School year Average daily
attendance,
all students
Students transported at public expense Expenditures for transportation (in unadjusted dollars)1 Expenditures for transportation (in constant 2014-15 dollars)2
Number Percent of total Total3 (in thousands) Average per student transported Total3 (in thousands) Average per student transported
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1929-30 21,265,000 1,902,826   8.9 $54,823   $29   $758,038   $398  
1931-32 22,245,000 2,419,173   10.9 58,078   24   953,439   394  
1933-34 22,458,000 2,794,724   12.4 53,908   19   963,509   345  
1935-36 22,299,000 3,250,658   14.6 62,653   19   1,079,066   332  
1937-38 22,298,000 3,769,242   16.9 75,637   20   1,249,671   332  
                         
1939-40 22,042,000 4,144,161   18.8 83,283   20   1,410,459   340  
1941-42 21,031,000 4,503,081   21.4 92,922   21   1,410,499   313  
1943-44 19,603,000 4,512,412   23.0 107,754   24   1,463,581   324  
1945-46 19,849,000 5,056,966   25.5 129,756   26   1,683,492   333  
1947-48 20,910,000 5,854,041   28.0 176,265   30   1,790,467   306  
                         
1949-50 22,284,000 6,947,384   31.2 214,504   31   2,143,654   309  
1951-52 23,257,000 7,697,130   33.1 268,827   35   2,420,773   315  
1953-54 25,643,871 8,411,719   32.8 307,437   37   2,705,759   322  
1955-56 27,740,149 9,695,819   35.0 353,972   37   3,116,357   321  
1957-58 29,722,275 10,861,689   36.5 416,491   38   3,451,707   318  
                         
1959-60 32,477,440 12,225,142   37.6 486,338   40   3,917,402   320  
1961-62 34,682,340 13,222,667   38.1 576,361   44   4,538,272   343  
1963-64 37,405,058 14,475,778   38.7 673,845   47   5,170,988   357  
1965-66 39,154,497 15,536,567   39.7 787,358   51   5,840,213   376  
1967-68 40,827,965 17,130,873   42.0 981,006   57   6,827,263   399  
                         
1969-70 41,934,376 18,198,577   43.4 1,218,557   67   7,634,796   420  
1971-72 42,254,272 19,474,355   46.1 1,507,830   77   8,672,386   445  
1973-74 41,438,054 21,347,039   51.5 1,858,141   87   9,432,262   442  
1975-76 41,269,720 21,772,483   52.8 2,377,313   109   10,145,611   466  
1977-78 40,079,590 21,800,000 4 54.4 2,731,041   125 4 10,320,032   473 4
                         
1979-80 38,288,911 21,713,515   56.7 3,833,145   177   11,685,975   538  
1980-81 37,703,744 22,272,000 4 59.1 4,408,000 4 198 4 12,043,547 4 541 4
1981-82 37,094,652 22,246,000 4 60.0 4,793,000 4 215 4 12,054,160 4 542 4
1982-83 36,635,868 22,199,000 4 60.6 5,000,000 4 225 4 12,056,903 4 543 4
1983-84 36,362,978 22,031,000 4 60.6 5,284,000 4 240 4 12,286,937 4 558 4
                         
1984-85 36,404,261 22,320,000 4 61.3 5,722,000 4 256 4 12,804,238 4 574 4
1985-86 36,523,103 22,041,000 4 60.3 6,123,000 4 278 4 13,317,526 4 604 4
1986-87 36,863,867 22,397,000 4 60.8 6,551,000 4 292 4 13,938,948 4 622 4
1987-88 37,050,707 22,158,000 4 59.8 6,888,000 4 311 4 14,072,885 4 635 4
1988-89 37,268,072 22,635,000 4 60.7 7,550,000 4 334 4 14,744,466 4 651 4
                         
1989-90 37,799,296 22,459,000 4 59.4 8,030,990   358 4 14,969,488   667 4
1990-91 38,426,543 22,000,000 4 57.3 8,678,954   394 4 15,338,672   697 4
1991-92 38,960,783 23,165,000 4 59.5 8,769,754   379 4 15,017,937   648 4
1992-93 39,570,462 23,439,000 4 59.2 9,252,300   395 4 15,364,369   656 4
1993-94 40,146,393 23,858,000 4 59.4 9,627,155   404 4 15,583,182   653 4
                         
1994-95 40,720,763 23,693,000 4 58.2 9,889,034   417 4 15,561,053   657 4
1995-96 41,501,596 24,155,000 4 58.2 10,396,426   430 4 15,926,180   659 4
1996-97 42,262,004 24,090,000 4 57.0 10,989,809   456 4 16,368,182   679 4
1997-98 42,765,774 24,342,000 4 56.9 11,465,658   471 4 16,777,693   689 4
1998-99 43,186,715 24,898,000 4   12,224,454   491 4 17,583,639   706 4
                         
1999-2000 43,806,726 24,951,000 4 57.0 13,007,625   521 4 18,185,182   729 4
2000-01 44,075,930 24,471,000 4 55.5 14,052,654   574 4 18,995,386   776 4
2001-02 44,604,592 24,529,000 5 55.0 14,799,365   603 5 19,656,715   801 5
2002-03 45,017,360 24,621,000 5 54.7 15,648,821   636 5 20,338,019   826 5
2003-04 45,325,731 25,159,000 5 55.5 16,348,784   650 5 20,792,839   826 5
                         
2004-05 45,625,458 25,318,000 5 55.5 17,459,659   690 5 21,556,975   851 5
2005-06 45,931,617 25,252,000 5 55.0 18,850,234   746 5 22,420,081   888 5
2006-07 46,132,663 25,285,000 5 54.8 19,979,068   790 5 23,163,673   916 5
2007-08 46,155,880 25,221,000 5 54.6 21,536,978   854 4 24,077,748   955 4
2008-09 46,173,477   21,679,876   860 4 23,903,735   948 4
                         
2009-10 45,919,206   21,819,304   870 4 23,826,919   950 4
2010-11 46,118,737   22,370,807   888 4 24,429,167   970 4
2011-12 46,400,465   22,926,700   905 4 24,543,381   969 4
2012-13 46,567,834   23,233,698   914 4 24,164,005   950 4
—Not available.
1 Unadjusted (or “current”) dollars have not been adjusted to compensate for inflation.
2 Constant dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to a school-year basis.
3 Excludes capital outlay for years through 1979-80, and 1989-90 to the latest year. From 1980-81 to 1988-89, total transportation figures include capital outlay.
4 Estimate based on data appearing in January issues of School Bus Fleet.
5 Estimate based on data reported by School Transportation News.
NOTE: Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Statistics of State School Systems, 1929-30 through 1975-76; Revenues and Expenditures for Public Elementary and Secondary Education, 1977-78 and 1979-80; Common Core of Data (CCD), "National Public Education Financial Survey," 1987-88 through 2012-13; Bobit Publishing Co., School Bus Fleet, "School Transportation: 2000-2001 School Year" and "2010 Fact Book"; School Transportation News, "K-12 Enrollment/Transportation Data," 2001-02 through 2007-08; and unpublished data. (This table was prepared September 2015.)

2015 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest