Transportation

Question:
What percentage of students are transported at public expense and how much does the public spend on transportation on a per-pupil basis?

Response:

The expenditure for public school student transportation was $1,152 per student transported in 2018–19 (in unadjusted dollars).

Students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1980–81 to 2018–19
School year	Students transported at public expense (number)1	Students transported at public expense (percent of total)1	Expenditures for transportation (in thousands)2, 3 [In unadjusted dollars]	Average expenditure per student transported2 [In unadjusted dollars]	Expenditures for transportation (in thousands)3, 4 [In constant 2020–21 dollars]	Average expenditure per student transported4 [In constant 2020–21 dollars]
1980–81	22,294,0005	59.1	$4,408,000	$1985	$13,390,703	$6015
1990–91	22,145,0005	57.6	8,678,954	3925	17,054,411	7705
1999–2000	24,669,0005	56.3	13,007,625	5275	20,219,323	8205
2000–01	24,621,0005	55.9	14,052,654	5715	21,120,154	8585
2001–02	24,780,0006	55.6	14,799,365	5976	21,855,458	8826
2002–03	24,807,0006	55.1	15,648,821	6316	22,612,970	9126
2003–04	25,252,0006	55.7	16,348,784	6476	23,118,666	9166
2004–05	25,368,0006	55.6	17,459,659	6886	23,968,276	9456
2005–06	25,448,0006	55.4	18,850,234	7416	24,927,926	9806
2006–07	25,337,0006	54.9	19,979,068	7896	25,754,694	1,0166
2007–08	25,305,0005	54.8	21,536,978	8515	26,771,014	1,0585
2008–09	25,095,0005	54.3	21,679,876	8645	26,577,537	1,0595
2009–10	24,779,0005	54.0	21,819,304	8815	26,492,129	1,0695
2010–11	24,709,0005	53.6	22,370,807	9055	26,627,075	1,0785
2011–12	24,493,0005	52.8	22,926,700	9365	26,511,915	1,0825
2012–13	24,355,0005	52.3	23,237,941	9545	26,431,962	1,0855
2013–14	24,694,0005	52.7	23,845,036	9665	26,705,332	1,0815
2014–15	24,566,0005	52.2	23,961,692	97552	26,641,977	1,0855
2015–16	24,413,0005	51.7	24,325,727	9965	26,865,567	1,1005
2016–17	24,359,0005	51.5	25,350,714	1,0415	27,491,864	1,1295
2017–18	24,301,0005	51.5	26,211,145	1,0795	27,798,333	1,1445
2018–19	24,245,0005	51.4	27,938,958	1,1525	29,029,189	1,1975

¹ Includes private school students who were transported at public expense.
² Unadjusted (or "current") dollars have not been adjusted to compensate for inflation.
³ Excludes capital outlay for all years except 1980–81.
⁴ 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.
⁵ Estimate based on data appearing in January issues of School Bus Fleet.
⁶ Estimate based on data reported by School Transportation News.
NOTE: Data in this table represent the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2022). Table 236.90. Students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1929–30 through 2018–19 [Data table]. In Digest of education statistics. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 23, 2022, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d21/tables/dt21_236.90.asp.

Related Tables and Figures:  (Listed by Release Date)

• 2023, Digest of Education Statistics 2022, Table 236.10. Summary of expenditures for public elementary and secondary education and other related programs, by function: Selected school years, 1919–20 through 2019–20
  
• 2023, Digest of Education Statistics 2022, Table 236.20. Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education and other related programs, by function and subfunction: Selected school years, 1990–91 through 2019–20
  
• 2023, Digest of Education Statistics 2022, Table 236.30. Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education and other related programs, by function and state or jurisdiction: School year 2019–20
  
• 2023, Digest of Education Statistics 2022, Table 236.40. Total expenditures for public elementary and secondary education and other related programs, by function and state or jurisdiction: School year 2018–19
  
• 2023, Digest of Education Statistics 2022, Table 236.60. Total and current expenditures per pupil in fall enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by function and subfunction: Selected school years, 1990–91 through 2019–20
  
• 2023, Digest of Education Statistics 2022, Table 236.75. Total and current expenditures per pupil in fall enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by function and state or jurisdiction: School year 2019–20
  
• 2022, Digest of Education Statistics 2021, Table 236.85. Unadjusted and geographically adjusted current expenditure per pupil in fall enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by function, district poverty level, and locale: 2018–19