For the sixth year, compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled school buses are taking children in Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda to elementary and middle schools, in an innovative school bus program that benefits clean air while relieving traffic congestion.
In 1994, the three communities searched for the most effective local congestion management project to utilize their share of Measure C funds, generated by a countywide 1/2 cent sales tax. The single, most serious cause of traffic snarls in the area proved to be the cars in which children are driven to and from school. These cars, idling around the schools, also emitted air pollution.
Years before, the three school districts had eliminated school bus service to cut costs. Resumption now of school bus service could reduce traffic congestion, and using low-emission buses would provide further clean air benefits. The Contra Costa Transportation Authority, which administers distribution of Measure C funds, approved the project as being the most cost-effective of the proposed congestion management projects.
To undertake the project, the three cities and their school districts signed a joint powers agreement to form the Lamorinda School Bus Transportation Agency. The governing board consists of one member from each of the three city councils and the three school boards. The Parents Advisory Group consists of a representative from each of the three middle schools and ten elementary schools, and its members act as liaisons between the schools and the Agency.
To start up the project, buses had to be purchased. The newly-formed Agency applied for and received a Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) grant of $700,000 from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) to purchase 17 CNG school buses. (The TFCA receives money from a $4 surcharge on motor vehicle registration fees.) Fees collected from parents of children riding the buses would provide additional operating funds.
Successful from its beginning, the program has increased its ridership yearly. During the 5 years of the program, 6 more buses—diesel because CNG vehicles were not available—have been added to the original 17 CNG buses.
In the 1998-99 school year, 1,813 students, 25 percent of the K-8 enrollment in the three cities, rode school buses. Ridership was higher for the middle schools than for the elementary schools. Middle schools have waiting lists for bus space; more students also rode County Connection buses to and from school. The Agency estimates that the program eliminated 187,200 vehicle trips per year. In addition, the CNG buses emit less oxides of nitrogen and particulate matter than diesel-fueled buses.
Measure C funds have provided more than 55 percent of the funds for the program. Contributions of parents accounted for 35 percent. The state Department of Education and the TFCA contributed to the remainder of the total 1998-99 budget of just under $1.25 million.
The 1999-2000 school year begins the second 5-year contract period for transportation services. The only bid the Agency received was from Durham Transportation, the contractor that had served the Agency during the first 5 years. The bid, however, was 18 percent higher than their 1994 bid. Overall costs of operating the program have risen by 21 percent in the same period. This increase will be offset by a 5 percent raise in the fees parents pay and by drawing upon reserves.
Operating CNG buses is more expensive than operating diesels, but the Agency is committed to CNG. The buses now have to go to a fueling station in San Ramon, costly and inconvenient. The Agency is pursuing plans to build its own CNG station, probably in Moraga, to be finished in the fall of 2000. The station will be also be available for use by the public. It will be financed by a $200,000 grant from the Petroleum Violations Escrow Account and $160,000 of Agency money.
The Lamorinda School Bus Transportation Program demonstrates that small agencies such as these three school districts can band together to create a successful project with ambitious goals, in this case significant reductions in both traffic congestion and air pollution.
Adelia Sabiston
For more information:
Juliet Shanks, Lamorinda School Bus Transportation Agency, 925-284-1968 (through the City of Lafayette).