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Digest of Education Statistics: 2015
Digest of Education Statistics: 2015

NCES 2016-014
December 2016


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.)