As La Porte ISD campuses report a successful start to the 2011-2012 school year, the district’s Transportation Department has seen a significant increase in the number of students taking advantage of bus transportation available to and from school.
District enrollment remains stable from last year, with 7,732 students enrolled as of Sept. 1, 2011. This year, however, 5,450 students have registered for bus transportation, up significantly from the approximately 3,200 who were signed up during 2010-2011.
Corey Marlar, La Porte ISD director of maintenance, transportation and operations, explained that the average number of riders on a daily basis is approximately 4,870, compared with 2,720 last year. This number continues to increase and will probably rise again following football season when before- and after-school practices are over for the junior high athletes, he noted.
Approximately 1,500 more students ride the bus on the afternoon routes when compared to the morning routes, Marlar added. In addition, this year the district is seeing many more high school students taking advantage of bus transportation.
With the increased number of riders, Transportation Department employees are working hard to ensure that students are picked up and delivered home in a timely manner. To help relieve crowded conditions on some buses, the La Porte ISD Board of Trustees authorized the purchase of 10 additional buses at its Aug. 30 meeting.
“While we don’t have a concrete reason for the increase in ridership this year, we are committed to serving our La Porte ISD families and want to thank our parents for their patience as we work through these ‘growing pains,’” Marlar said.
Parents who have not yet registered their child for bus transportation but would like to do so should contact the LPISD Transportation Department at 281-604-7177. |
