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Digest of Education Statistics: 2018
Digest of Education Statistics: 2018

NCES 2020-009
December 2019


Table 236.90. Students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1929-30 through 2015-16
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 2017-18 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   $794,708   $418  
1931-32 22,245,000 2,419,173   10.9 58,078   24   999,560   413  
1933-34 22,458,000 2,794,724   12.4 53,908   19   1,010,118   361  
1935-36 22,299,000 3,250,658   14.6 62,653   19   1,131,265   348  
1937-38 22,298,000 3,769,242   16.9 75,637   20   1,310,123   348  
                         
1939-40 22,042,000 4,144,161   18.8 83,283   20   1,478,689   357  
1941-42 21,031,000 4,503,081   21.4 92,922   21   1,478,730   328  
1943-44 19,603,000 4,512,412   23.0 107,754   24   1,534,380   340  
1945-46 19,849,000 5,056,966   25.5 129,756   26   1,764,929   349  
1947-48 20,910,000 5,854,041   28.0 176,265   30   1,877,079   321  
                         
1949-50 22,284,000 6,947,384   31.2 214,504   31   2,247,351   323  
1951-52 23,257,000 7,697,130   33.1 268,827   35   2,537,875   330  
1953-54 25,643,871 8,411,719   32.8 307,437   37   2,836,647   337  
1955-56 27,740,149 9,695,819   35.0 353,972   37   3,267,108   337  
1957-58 29,722,275 10,861,689   36.5 416,491   38   3,618,679   333  
                         
1959-60 32,477,440 12,225,142   37.6 486,338   40   4,106,902   336  
1961-62 34,682,340 13,222,667   38.1 576,361   44   4,757,807   360  
1963-64 37,405,058 14,475,778   38.7 673,845   47   5,421,129   374  
1965-66 39,154,497 15,536,567   39.7 787,358   51   6,122,728   394  
1967-68 40,827,965 17,130,873   42.0 981,006   57   7,157,525   418  
                         
1969-70 41,934,376 18,198,577   43.4 1,218,557   67   8,004,121   440  
1971-72 42,254,272 19,474,355   46.1 1,507,830   77   9,091,903   467  
1973-74 41,438,054 21,347,039   51.5 1,858,141   87   9,888,538   463  
1975-76 41,269,720 21,772,483   52.8 2,377,313   109   10,636,394   489  
1977-78 40,079,590 21,800,000 4 54.4 2,731,041   125 4 10,819,253   496 4
                         
1979-80 38,288,911 21,713,515   56.7 3,833,145   177   12,251,271   564  
1980-81 37,703,744 22,272,000 4 59.1 4,408,000 4 198 4 12,626,140 4 567 4
1981-82 37,094,652 22,246,000 4 60.0 4,793,000 4 215 4 12,637,267 4 568 4
1982-83 36,635,868 22,199,000 4 60.6 5,000,000 4 225 4 12,640,143 4 569 4
1983-84 36,362,978 22,031,000 4 60.6 5,284,000 4 240 4 12,881,304 4 585 4
                         
1984-85 36,404,261 22,320,000 4 61.3 5,722,000 4 256 4 13,423,629 4 601 4
1985-86 36,523,103 22,041,000 4 60.3 6,123,000 4 278 4 13,961,748 4 633 4
1986-87 36,863,867 22,397,000 4 60.8 6,551,000 4 292 4 14,613,230 4 652 4
1987-88 37,050,707 22,158,000 4 59.8 6,888,000 4 311 4 14,753,646 4 666 4
1988-89 37,268,072 22,635,000 4 60.7 7,550,000 4 334 4 15,457,714 4 683 4
                         
1989-90 37,799,296 22,459,000 4 59.4 8,030,990   358 4 15,693,621   699 4
1990-91 38,426,543 22,000,000 4 57.3 8,678,954   394 4 16,080,664   731 4
1991-92 38,960,783 23,165,000 4 59.5 8,769,754   379 4 15,744,414   680 4
1992-93 39,570,462 23,439,000 4 59.2 9,252,300   395 4 16,107,604   687 4
1993-94 40,146,393 23,858,000 4 59.4 9,627,155   404 4 16,337,002   685 4
                         
1994-95 40,720,763 23,693,000 4 58.2 9,889,034   417 4 16,313,802   689 4
1995-96 41,501,596 24,155,000 4 58.2 10,396,426   430 4 16,696,592   691 4
1996-97 42,262,004 24,090,000 4 57.0 10,989,809   456 4 17,159,975   712 4
1997-98 42,765,774 24,342,000 4 56.9 11,465,658   471 4 17,589,296   723 4
1998-99 43,186,715 24,898,000 4 57.7 12,224,454   491 4 18,434,229   740 4
                         
1999-2000 43,806,726 24,951,000 4 57.0 13,007,625   521 4 19,064,871   764 4
2000-01 44,075,930 24,471,000 4 55.5 14,052,654   574 4 19,914,267   814 4
2001-02 44,604,592 24,529,000 5 55.0 14,799,365   603 5 20,607,588   840 5
2002-03 45,017,360 24,621,000 5 54.7 15,648,821   636 5 21,321,849   866 5
2003-04 45,325,731 25,159,000 5 55.5 16,348,784   650 5 21,798,671   866 5
                         
2004-05 45,625,458 25,318,000 5 55.5 17,459,659   690 5 22,599,771   893 5
2005-06 45,931,617 25,252,000 5 55.0 18,850,234   746 5 23,504,629   931 5
2006-07 46,132,663 25,285,000 5 54.8 19,979,068   790 5 24,284,191   960 5
2007-08 46,155,880 25,221,000 5 54.6 21,536,978   854 4 25,242,483   1,001 4
2008-09 46,173,477   21,679,876   860 4 25,060,053   994 4
                         
2009-10 45,919,206   21,819,304   870 4 24,979,521   996 4
2010-11 46,118,737   22,370,807   888 4 25,106,763   997 4
2011-12 46,400,465   22,926,700   905 4 24,998,177   987 4
2012-13 46,553,754   23,237,941   914 4 24,922,790   981 4
2013-14 46,829,716   23,845,036   933 4 25,180,551   985 4
                         
2014-15 47,064,337   23,961,692   932 4 25,120,814   978 4
2015-16 47,247,505   24,325,894   943 4 25,331,812   982 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.
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 2015-16; 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 2018.)