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Digest of Education Statistics
2016 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 2013-14
School year Average daily atten-
dance, all students
Students transported at public expense Expenditures for transportation (in unadjusted dollars)1 Expenditures for transportation (in constant 2015-16 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   $763,160   $401  
1931-32 22,245,000 2,419,173   10.9 58,078   24   959,880   397  
1933-34 22,458,000 2,794,724   12.4 53,908   19   970,018   347  
1935-36 22,299,000 3,250,658   14.6 62,653   19   1,086,356   334  
1937-38 22,298,000 3,769,242   16.9 75,637   20   1,258,114   334  
                         
1939-40 22,042,000 4,144,161   18.8 83,283   20   1,419,989   343  
1941-42 21,031,000 4,503,081   21.4 92,922   21   1,420,028   315  
1943-44 19,603,000 4,512,412   23.0 107,754   24   1,473,469   327  
1945-46 19,849,000 5,056,966   25.5 129,756   26   1,694,866   335  
1947-48 20,910,000 5,854,041   28.0 176,265   30   1,802,563   308  
                         
1949-50 22,284,000 6,947,384   31.2 214,504   31   2,158,137   311  
1951-52 23,257,000 7,697,130   33.1 268,827   35   2,437,128   317  
1953-54 25,643,871 8,411,719   32.8 307,437   37   2,724,039   324  
1955-56 27,740,149 9,695,819   35.0 353,972   37   3,137,411   324  
1957-58 29,722,275 10,861,689   36.5 416,491   38   3,475,027   320  
                         
1959-60 32,477,440 12,225,142   37.6 486,338   40   3,943,868   323  
1961-62 34,682,340 13,222,667   38.1 576,361   44   4,568,933   346  
1963-64 37,405,058 14,475,778   38.7 673,845   47   5,205,923   360  
1965-66 39,154,497 15,536,567   39.7 787,358   51   5,879,670   378  
1967-68 40,827,965 17,130,873   42.0 981,006   57   6,873,388   401  
                         
1969-70 41,934,376 18,198,577   43.4 1,218,557   67   7,686,377   422  
1971-72 42,254,272 19,474,355   46.1 1,507,830   77   8,730,977   448  
1973-74 41,438,054 21,347,039   51.5 1,858,141   87   9,495,987   445  
1975-76 41,269,720 21,772,483   52.8 2,377,313   109   10,214,155   469  
1977-78 40,079,590 21,800,000 4 54.4 2,731,041   125 4 10,389,755   477 4
                         
1979-80 38,288,911 21,713,515   56.7 3,833,145   177   11,764,925   542  
1980-81 37,703,744 22,272,000 4 59.1 4,408,000 4 198 4 12,124,913 4 544 4
1981-82 37,094,652 22,246,000 4 60.0 4,793,000 4 215 4 12,135,598 4 546 4
1982-83 36,635,868 22,199,000 4 60.6 5,000,000 4 225 4 12,138,360 4 547 4
1983-84 36,362,978 22,031,000 4 60.6 5,284,000 4 240 4 12,369,948 4 561 4
                         
1984-85 36,404,261 22,320,000 4 61.3 5,722,000 4 256 4 12,890,744 4 578 4
1985-86 36,523,103 22,041,000 4 60.3 6,123,000 4 278 4 13,407,500 4 608 4
1986-87 36,863,867 22,397,000 4 60.8 6,551,000 4 292 4 14,033,120 4 627 4
1987-88 37,050,707 22,158,000 4 59.8 6,888,000 4 311 4 14,167,962 4 639 4
1988-89 37,268,072 22,635,000 4 60.7 7,550,000 4 334 4 14,844,080 4 656 4
                         
1989-90 37,799,296 22,459,000 4 59.4 8,030,990   358 4 15,070,622   671 4
1990-91 38,426,543 22,000,000 4 57.3 8,678,954   394 4 15,442,300   702 4
1991-92 38,960,783 23,165,000 4 59.5 8,769,754   379 4 15,119,399   653 4
1992-93 39,570,462 23,439,000 4 59.2 9,252,300   395 4 15,468,171   660 4
1993-94 40,146,393 23,858,000 4 59.4 9,627,155   404 4 15,688,463   658 4
                         
1994-95 40,720,763 23,693,000 4 58.2 9,889,034   417 4 15,666,184   661 4
1995-96 41,501,596 24,155,000 4 58.2 10,396,426   430 4 16,033,778   664 4
1996-97 42,262,004 24,090,000 4 57.0 10,989,809   456 4 16,478,766   684 4
1997-98 42,765,774 24,342,000 4 56.9 11,465,658   471 4 16,891,043   694 4
1998-99 43,186,715 24,898,000 4   12,224,454   491 4 17,702,435   711 4
                         
1999-2000 43,806,726 24,951,000 4 57.0 13,007,625   521 4 18,308,042   734 4
2000-01 44,075,930 24,471,000 4 55.5 14,052,654   574 4 19,123,719   781 4
2001-02 44,604,592 24,529,000 5 55.0 14,799,365   603 5 19,789,517   807 5
2002-03 45,017,360 24,621,000 5 54.7 15,648,821   636 5 20,475,423   832 5
2003-04 45,325,731 25,159,000 5 55.5 16,348,784   650 5 20,933,317   832 5
                         
2004-05 45,625,458 25,318,000 5 55.5 17,459,659   690 5 21,702,615   857 5
2005-06 45,931,617 25,252,000 5 55.0 18,850,234   746 5 22,571,552   894 5
2006-07 46,132,663 25,285,000 5 54.8 19,979,068   790 5 23,320,168   922 5
2007-08 46,155,880 25,221,000 5 54.6 21,536,978   854 4 24,240,418   961 4
2008-09 46,173,477   21,679,876   860 4 24,065,230   955 4
                         
2009-10 45,919,206   21,819,304   870 4 23,987,895   957 4
2010-11 46,118,737   22,370,807   888 4 24,594,211   977 4
2011-12 46,400,465   22,926,700   905 4 24,709,197   975 4
2012-13 46,553,754   23,237,941   914 4 24,331,701   957 4
2013-14 46,784,541   23,845,024   933 4 24,558,667   961 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 2013-14; 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 July 2016.)

2016 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest