SIMI VALLEY : Schools Seeking to Boost Bus Ridership
The Simi Valley Unified School District is looking for ways to increase bus ridership to bring in additional revenue to the district.
Ridership declined 50% between the 1993-94 and 1994-95 school years, according a report released to school board members this week.
Last fall, the district began charging bus fees of $300 for the first child and $200 for the second child in a family to use the buses, but only 300 students signed up.
The board lowered rates to $200 for the first child and $150 for the second in October, and ended up with 706 riders last year. But 1,371 students rode the bus in 1993-94, when the service was free to those living beyond a certain distance from the school.
In both years the district charged $100 for the third child in a family and $50 for the fourth child to ride the bus.
Charging riders raised $60,000 for the district last year. District officials had hoped to raise $190,000.
The district is studying several plans to recoup riders, including a bus pass booklet and a monthly bus pass, which would appeal to occasional users of the service.
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