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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 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 2014-15
School year Average daily
attendance,
all students
Students transported at public expense Expenditures for transportation (in unadjusted dollars)1 Expenditures for transportation (in constant 2016-17 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   $777,188   $408  
1931-32 22,245,000 2,419,173   10.9 58,078   24   977,525   404  
1933-34 22,458,000 2,794,724   12.4 53,908   19   987,849   353  
1935-36 22,299,000 3,250,658   14.6 62,653   19   1,106,326   340  
1937-38 22,298,000 3,769,242   16.9 75,637   20   1,281,241   340  
                         
1939-40 22,042,000 4,144,161   18.8 83,283   20   1,446,091   349  
1941-42 21,031,000 4,503,081   21.4 92,922   21   1,446,131   321  
1943-44 19,603,000 4,512,412   23.0 107,754   24   1,500,554   333  
1945-46 19,849,000 5,056,966   25.5 129,756   26   1,726,021   341  
1947-48 20,910,000 5,854,041   28.0 176,265   30   1,835,698   314  
                         
1949-50 22,284,000 6,947,384   31.2 214,504   31   2,197,808   316  
1951-52 23,257,000 7,697,130   33.1 268,827   35   2,481,927   322  
1953-54 25,643,871 8,411,719   32.8 307,437   37   2,774,112   330  
1955-56 27,740,149 9,695,819   35.0 353,972   37   3,195,083   330  
1957-58 29,722,275 10,861,689   36.5 416,491   38   3,538,905   326  
                         
1959-60 32,477,440 12,225,142   37.6 486,338   40   4,016,364   329  
1961-62 34,682,340 13,222,667   38.1 576,361   44   4,652,920   352  
1963-64 37,405,058 14,475,778   38.7 673,845   47   5,301,619   366  
1965-66 39,154,497 15,536,567   39.7 787,358   51   5,987,750   385  
1967-68 40,827,965 17,130,873   42.0 981,006   57   6,999,735   409  
                         
1969-70 41,934,376 18,198,577   43.4 1,218,557   67   7,827,668   430  
1971-72 42,254,272 19,474,355   46.1 1,507,830   77   8,891,470   457  
1973-74 41,438,054 21,347,039   51.5 1,858,141   87   9,670,543   453  
1975-76 41,269,720 21,772,483   52.8 2,377,313   109   10,401,912   478  
1977-78 40,079,590 21,800,000 4 54.4 2,731,041   125 4 10,580,740   485 4
                         
1979-80 38,288,911 21,713,515   56.7 3,833,145   177   11,981,189   552  
1980-81 37,703,744 22,272,000 4 59.1 4,408,000 4 198 4 12,347,794 4 554 4
1981-82 37,094,652 22,246,000 4 60.0 4,793,000 4 215 4 12,358,675 4 556 4
1982-83 36,635,868 22,199,000 4 60.6 5,000,000 4 225 4 12,361,488 4 557 4
1983-84 36,362,978 22,031,000 4 60.6 5,284,000 4 240 4 12,597,333 4 572 4
                         
1984-85 36,404,261 22,320,000 4 61.3 5,722,000 4 256 4 13,127,702 4 588 4
1985-86 36,523,103 22,041,000 4 60.3 6,123,000 4 278 4 13,653,957 4 619 4
1986-87 36,863,867 22,397,000 4 60.8 6,551,000 4 292 4 14,291,078 4 638 4
1987-88 37,050,707 22,158,000 4 59.8 6,888,000 4 311 4 14,428,398 4 651 4
1988-89 37,268,072 22,635,000 4 60.7 7,550,000 4 334 4 15,116,945 4 668 4
                         
1989-90 37,799,296 22,459,000 4 59.4 8,030,990   358 4 15,347,651   683 4
1990-91 38,426,543 22,000,000 4 57.3 8,678,954   394 4 15,726,161   715 4
1991-92 38,960,783 23,165,000 4 59.5 8,769,754   379 4 15,397,324   665 4
1992-93 39,570,462 23,439,000 4 59.2 9,252,300   395 4 15,752,508   672 4
1993-94 40,146,393 23,858,000 4 59.4 9,627,155   404 4 15,976,849   670 4
                         
1994-95 40,720,763 23,693,000 4 58.2 9,889,034   417 4 15,954,160   673 4
1995-96 41,501,596 24,155,000 4 58.2 10,396,426   430 4 16,328,512   676 4
1996-97 42,262,004 24,090,000 4 57.0 10,989,809   456 4 16,781,679   697 4
1997-98 42,765,774 24,342,000 4 56.9 11,465,658   471 4 17,201,535   707 4
1998-99 43,186,715 24,898,000 4 57.7 12,224,454   491 4 18,027,842   724 4
                         
1999-2000 43,806,726 24,951,000 4 57.0 13,007,625   521 4 18,644,581   747 4
2000-01 44,075,930 24,471,000 4 55.5 14,052,654   574 4 19,475,252   796 4
2001-02 44,604,592 24,529,000 5 55.0 14,799,365   603 5 20,153,289   822 5
2002-03 45,017,360 24,621,000 5 54.7 15,648,821   636 5 20,851,803   847 5
2003-04 45,325,731 25,159,000 5 55.5 16,348,784   650 5 21,318,114   847 5
                         
2004-05 45,625,458 25,318,000 5 55.5 17,459,659   690 5 22,101,553   873 5
2005-06 45,931,617 25,252,000 5 55.0 18,850,234   746 5 22,986,464   910 5
2006-07 46,132,663 25,285,000 5 54.8 19,979,068   790 5 23,748,840   939 5
2007-08 46,155,880 25,221,000 5 54.6 21,536,978   854 4 24,686,006   979 4
2008-09 46,173,477   21,679,876   860 4 24,507,598   972 4
                         
2009-10 45,919,206   21,819,304   870 4 24,428,842   974 4
2010-11 46,118,737   22,370,807   888 4 24,553,278   975 4
2011-12 46,400,465   22,926,700   905 4 24,447,086   965 4
2012-13 46,553,754   23,237,941   914 4 24,373,361   959 4
2013-14 46,829,716   23,845,036   933 4 24,625,440   963 4
2014-15 47,064,337   23,961,692   932 4 24,567,019   956 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 2014-15; 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 October 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest