The Annual School Bus Fleet Magazine Survey of the 100 largest school district transportation operations for the 2008-2009 school year indicates that Saint Paul operates with a high degree of efficiency:

Saint Paul was No. 33 in the number of transported students, but is No. 59 in the number of buses used to transport those students.
Saint Paul averaged 103 students transported by each bus whereas the national average was 68 students per bus. This was the 7th highest total number of students transported by each bus of the 100 largest school districts surveyed.

Students Experiencing Homelessness
During the 2009-2009 school year Saint Paul provided transportation to 434 students experiencing homelessness from temporary or emergency shelter locations outside of the District back to their school or origin within Saint Paul. This is the highest total reported by a Minnesota school district and over 4 1/2 times greater than the second highest reporting district. The 434 students did not include students experiencing homelessness who were residing at a temporary or emergency shelter location within the District.

Safety Compliance
All Saint Paul school bus contractors were in compliance with District contract and operational standards for the 2008-2009 school year.

District safety staff conducted random compliance audits of all of our contractors this spring. All contractors were found to be in compliance with contract requirements. The areas examined were:

Compliance with Federal Regulations and Minnesota Statutes

Application for employment
Driver license records
Information from previous employer
Physical examination
Record of moving violations
Annual review of driving record
Driver qualification cards
Testing program for the presence of alcohol or controlled substances

Compliance with Contract Requirements:

Vehicle maintenance procedures
Vehicle maintenance records
Wheelchair Lift types
Wheelchair restraint systems
Driver training program
Driver licensing
Training of special needs drivers
Driver training and qualification files
Street supervision

Based upon District records, the average Saint Paul regular and substitute driver has 5.68 years of experience. The average years of experience per contractor based upon current driver records is:

Centerline Charter Corporation 4.63 years (1)
First Student Snelling 7.52 years
First Student Oakdale 6.04 years
Monarch Bus Service 4.12 years (2)
Safe-Way Bus Company 6.34 years
Sunburst Transit 2.52 years (3)

Notes:

Centerline Charter Corporation dropped from 80 routes awarded in 2006-2007 to 9 routes awarded in 2007-2008. The company was awarded 75 routes for 2008-2009. Many of their experienced drivers transferred to other contractors in 2007-2008.
Monarch Bus Service began providing service to the School District with the 2001-2002 school year with an award of one route. The company was awarded 25 routes in 2002-2003, 7 routes in 2003-2004, 45 routes in 2004-2005, 50 routes in 2005-2006, 70 routes in 2006-2007, 70 routes in 2007-2008, and 70 routes in 2008-2009. Based upon this history an average of 4.12 years per driver shows the company is building retention and experience.
Sunburst Transit is a new contractor with 25 routes awarded for the 2008-2009 school year.

On Time Performance
For the Month of September, 2009:

99.18% of morning, noon, and afternoon route trips ran on schedule
98.8% of morning routes arrived at school on schedule
99.9% of afternoon routes arrived at school on schedule
98.3% of noon routes ran on schedule
99.65% of trips ran on schedule after leaving the school
Percentage of early or lateness attributable to contractor = 44.5%
Percentage of early or lateness beyond control of contractor = 55.5%

For the month of October, 2009:

District route buses performed:

16,568 AM trips
16,644 PM trips (not including ALC)
2,320 ALC Trips
2,252 Noon trips

99.2% of morning, noon, and afternoon route trips ran on schedule
99.1% of morning route trips arrived at school on schedule
99.6% of afternoon route trips arrived at school on schedule
98.7% of noon route trips ran on schedule
99.78% of trip trips ran on schedule after leaving the school
Percentage of lateness attributable to contractor = 39.0%
Percentage of lateness beyond control of contractor = 61.0%