Question:
What percentage of students are transported at public expense and how much does the public spend on transportation on a per pupil basis?
Response:
In 2004-05, 55 percent of students in public schools were transported at public expense at a cost of $692 per pupil ($737 in 2006-07 dollars).
| Public school students transported at public expense and current expenditures for transportation: Selected years, 1980-81 to 2004-05 [In constant 2006-07 dollars] |
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| School year | Average daily attendance, all students | Students transported at public expense (percent of total) | Expenditures for transportation (in thousands)1,2 | Average expenditure per student transported2 | |
| 1980-81 | 37,703,744 | 59.1 | $10,387,767 | $466 | |
| 1990-91 | 38,426,543 | 57.3 | 13,229,869 | 601 | |
| 1991-92 | 38,960,783 | 59.5 | 12,953,230 | 559 | |
| 1992-93 | 39,570,462 | 59.2 | 13,252,033 | 565 | |
| 1993-94 | 40,146,393 | 59.4 | 13,440,764 | 563 | |
| 1994-95 | 40,720,763 | 58.2 | 13,421,677 | 566 | |
| 1995-96 | 41,501,596 | 58.2 | 13,736,605 | 569 | |
| 1996-97 | 42,262,004 | 57.0 | 14,117,839 | 586 | |
| 1997-98 | 42,765,774 | 56.9 | 14,471,050 | 594 | |
| 1998-99 | 43,186,715 | 57.7 | 15,166,193 | 609 | |
| 1999-2000 | 43,806,726 | 57.0 | 15,685,033 | 629 | |
| 2000-01 | 44,075,930 | 55.5 | 16,383,848 | 670 | |
| 2001-02 | 44,604,592 | 55.0 | 16,954,256 | 691 | |
| 2002-03 | 45,017,360 | 54.8 | 17,541,892 | 711 | |
| 2003-04 | 45,325,731 | 55.2 | 17,934,183 | 716 | |
| 2004-05 | 45,625,458 | 55.3 | 18,587,008 | 737 | |
1
Excludes capital outlay for years 1990-91 to the latest year. For 1980-81, total transportation figures include capital outlay.NOTE: 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. Some data have been revised from previously published figures.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2008). Digest of Education Statistics, 2007 (NCES 2008-022), Table 176.Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)
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