Sullivan Schools Consider Bus Leasing
July 23, 2014
Big aim is to avoid increasing maintenance costs
by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com
With new regulations and increased costs for purchasing and maintaining bus fleets, Sullivan schools may opt to begin leasing their busses, rather than purchasing them outright.
The need for a lease was discussed both during and after Sullivan schools transportation supervisor Cary Suhl’s annual transportation report last month.
In his report, Suhl explained that the district has 25 vehicles in its fleet, including 16 school busses and that bus drivers drove an average of 709 miles each day to get students to and from school at an average cost of $2,210.33 per day. For the 13-14 school year, the district’s fleet underwent 154,143 miles of travel, down 2,812 miles from a year ago. The majority of the fleet also enjoyed slightly better gas mileage this past school year, and the average cost per gallon of diesel had also fallen just less than 12 cents. The 13-14 budget stipulated $80,000 for fuel, but the total came in $14,573.07 less at $65,426.92 as of June 12.