Burbank Unified renews transportation services contract with First Student, Inc.
The Burbank Unified School District renewed its transportation-services contract with its longtime school-bus provider for another three years during a school board meeting Thursday.
The district issued a bid to hear from other transportation-service providers, but school officials ultimately agreed First Student Inc was the preferred company. The district has used First Student Inc. since 2012 for home-to-school special education transportation as well as field trips.
The renewed contract will be through 2020 with possible extensions “year-to-year through mutual consent for an additional two years,” according to a staff report.
For a home-to-school service during the 2017-18 school year, the base rate for four hours will be $322.57. For extracurricular events beginning at three hours, the cost will start at $309.49. For eight hours, it will be $641.36.
Though the transportation provider is still “the best” one, Burbank Unified School District Supt. Matt Hill said the company’s “rates keep going up.”
Hill said he and board president Steve Ferguson are brainstorming ways to find alternative methods of transportation for students.
“We’re exploring ride-sharing groups that are starting. It will be something we do before this contract expires,” Hill said.
Unlike Uber, where users must be 18 years old to request a ride, the California-based start-up HopSkipDrive was created by three mothers for children 6 years old or older.
Hill added that they will be looking at other districts that are using ride-hailing services to see if it’s a viable alternative.
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