Bus Acquisition and Facility Expansion Plan for Lamar Consolidated ISD (LCISD) Prepared by Texas Transportation Institute April 2006

Composition of LCISD School Bus Fleet, By Age

Bus Replacement Planning LCISD Current School Bus Fleet  Regular Program 178 buses Median age 14 years; average age 12.2 years Oldest 25 years; 82 are pre-1990 buses 9,100 miles per year on average per bus  Special Program 26 buses Median age 14 years; average age 11.2 years Oldest 20 years; 12 are pre-1990 buses 11,600 miles per year on average per bus

Observations on School Bus Fleet At 62%, LCISD has almost double the percentage of 10+ year old buses as peer agencies 44% of the LCISD fleet is pre-1990 as compared to 16% of bus fleets nationally There has not been a consistent procurement history Older buses have high emission levels, high maintenance costs, poorer fuel mileage

Bus Replacement Planning Criteria for school bus replacement schedule  Years of service  Miles of service  Ongoing maintenance requirements/cost

Past Research: Expected Economic Life of School Buses California and Washington state (1980’s):  Maintenance costs increase significantly after year 12 South Carolina (2000):  Established bus replacement at 15 years  Replace earlier if mileage exceeds 250,000 Los Angeles ( )  Established bus replacement at 15 years  Replace earlier if mileage exceeds 200,000 New Jersey (2006)  Established uniform bus replacement at 15 years  Found bus refurbishment programs not cost-effective

Adopted Bus Replacement Criteria: Age 12 years  Denton ISD ( years) 13 years  Alvin ISD 15 years  Clear Creek ISD  Northside ISD 16 years  Humble ISD 20 Years  Mansfield ISD

LCISD Maintenance Cost per Mile & Avg Annual Miles by Service Age of Bus Fleet

Recommendation: Regular Bus Replacement Plan LCISD Regular Fleet Replacement Plan  Regular Program Goal 15 year service life On average replace 13 buses per year (current fleet)  Special Program Goal 15 year service life On average replace 2 buses per year (current fleet) Note: Annual replacement buses will increase as fleet expands to meet growth

Recommendation: Purchase Expansion Buses to Match Growth Assumes current policies continue Two growth scenarios base on 2005 demographic projects:  “Most Likely” – student enrollment increases from 18,760 in 2004 to 32,508 in 2014 (+73%)  “High Growth” – student enrollment increases from 18,760 in 2004 to 34,731 in 2014 (+85%)

Bus Acquisition Scenarios

Comparison of Bus Acquisition Plans: Most Likely and High Growth Scenarios

Maintenance Capacity vs. Fleet Growth

Recommendation: Increase Maintenance Capacity for Expanded School Bus Fleet Current facility is near capacity Additional capacity is required to provide adequate space for expanding school bus fleet One maintenance location increases cost to operate unproductive miles to reach all routes in large school district area

Requirements for Maintenance Facility Building  Maintenance bays  Driver area Parking  Bus parking and circulation  Employee/visitor parking  Fueling lanes/other

Requirements for Maintenance Facility Considerations  Right of way acquisition  Construction  Fixed operating costs  Spreading expenditure over time  Reduced operating costs by reducing unproductive mileage Strategy:  Two facilities/100 buses each  Located: southern and northwestern

Maintenance Capacity vs. Fleet Growth