Assist students in succeeding in their educational endeavors by providing them with safe, economical transportation to Butte College.
Butte College Student Transportation consists of 1 supervisor, 10.28 FTE bus operators and 2.25 FTE mechanics, and runs one of the largest student funded transportation services in California. Transportation is provided to all students who wish to use the service from most of the population centers in Butte and Glenn Counties to the main campus. The group also supports travel for educational and athletic, off-site field trips. Additionally, we collaborate with Glenn County Transit and Butte County Transit to assist our students with connecting their service to expand transportation needs that our buses cannot provide.
The following are goals from the previous strategic plan and program review and the current status:
• Evaluate bus routing to provide maximum student accessibility while attempting to stay within fee based income. Ongoing.
• Reduce overtime whenever possible. Ongoing.
• Track student ridership on a monthly basis. Ongoing.
• Provide driver and mechanic training programs to promote the safety and efficiency of the fleet. Ongoing.
• Implement a bus replacement program. Pending funds.
• Monitor transportation industry to evaluate use of electric buses to reduce the carbon footprint of the bus fleet. Ongoing.
• Replace or upgrade shop equipment. Ongoing.
Strategy 1 - Training
Provide driver and mechanic training programs to promote the safety and efficiency of the fleet.
Enhanced driver and mechanic training enables the Student Transportation employees to provide and maintain a safe and efficient�vehicle fleet for transporting the students to and from the campuses.
Strategy 2 - Bus Route Analysis
Evaluate each semester the bus system, including alternatve transportation services, to provide student accessibility to the Main Campus while attempting to stay within the fee based income.
Ridership levels and timing may vary by semester, depending on class scheduling.
Strategy 3 - Preventive Maintenance Program
Improve preventive maintenance program to optimize vehicle and equipment longevity.
Preventive maintenance is more cost effective than corrective maintenance. Preventive maintenance extends the life of vehicles and equipment.
Strategy 4 - Equipment Replacement
Continue to implement equipment replacement plan.
All equipment has a finite life and will eventually need to be replaced. Proactive planning for this replacement will allow better decision making and an orderly process. The average expected life is 15 years. The District will need to replace the bus lift, transmission jacks, and other bus related tools and equipment.
Strategy 5 - Employee Cost
Minimize overtime costs.
Overtime is expensive for the District.
Strategy 6 - Bus Replacement
Implement a bus replacement plan as funding becomes available.
All buses have a finite life and will eventually need to be replaced. Student Transportation operates 13 buses. Of these 13 buses, 7 buses were purchased in 2003 and most have more than 500K miles on them. Additionally, these 7 buses are on the CARB Diesel Emissions program and have been retrofitted to be emissions compliant. These retrofit devices also have a finite life and may fail, requiring them to be replaced at significant cost ($15K-$20K) to stay operational.
Strategy 7 - Carbon Footprint
Monitor transportation industry to evaluate use of electric buses to reduce the carbon footprint of the bus fleet.
Although the bus fleet assists with reducing the District's carbon footprint, it still is a significant user of carbon based fuel. Reduction of fuel usage or using renewable fuel will contribute to reducing the District's carbon footprint.
Strategy 8 - Increase Budget Due to Decreased Student Fee Revenue
Due to low enrollment, student fee revenue has decreased. If the District requires bus services to remain at its current level, the budget must be funded to cover employees cost and fuel and bus maintenance costs.
Funding is needed to meet current student transportation needs.
Strategy 9 - Maintain Staff Level
Fill positions as they become vacant.
To continue maintaining current bus services, positions needs to be filled as they become vacant.
Strategy 10 - Establish an ASE Master Mechanic Certification Program
ASE Master Mechanic Certification is an industry standard and mechanics who obtain this certificatin will be compensated an addtional 5%.
Offering this additional compensation for mechanics having the experience and skills required to obtain the master certification will help attract and retain highly skilled mechanics.
Authorization from Leadership to fill vacant bus operator position and assistance from Human Resources to recruit the position.
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| Original Priority | Program, Unit, Area | Resource Type | Account Number | Object Code | One Time Augment | Ongoing Augment |
| Description | Supporting Rationale | Potential Alternative Funding Sources | Prioritization Criteria | |||
| 1 | Student Transportation | Personnel | 123042101699001 | 52170 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Authorization to Fill Vacant Bus Operator Position | To continue maintaining current bus services, this position must be filled. |
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| 2 | Student Transportation | Operating Expenses | 123042101699001 | $0.00 | $1,101,630.00 | |
| Student Transportation Operating Budget | Due to low enrollment and the waiving of fees for on-line students, student fee revenue has decreased but the requirement to support student home to school transportation has not changed. This augmentation will fund the continuation of the current services we provide, the cost for the cola and benefit increase for 22-23, and the cost increase for diesel fuel which is $1.532/gallon and we use approximately 50,000 gallons of diesel annually. Employee benefit and cola increase - $70,918.00, Fuel increase - $76,600.00, Operating/Current Employee Expenses $954,112.00. Total augmentation: $1,101,630. (This is based on a revenue amount of $569,002.00) |
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| 3 | Student Transportation | Equipment | 123042101699001 | 55612 | $2,100,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Bus Replacement of 7 Buses | To maintain current level of bus services, 7 buses will need to be replaced. These buses were purchased in 2003 and most have more than 500K miles. Total cost replace 7 buses is $2.1M. ($300K x 7 = $2.1M). These 7 buses are on the CARB Diesel Emissions program and have been retrofitted to be emissions compliant. These retrofit devices also have a finite life and may fail, requiring them to be replaced at significant cost ($15K-$20K each) to stay operational. Additionally, the wheel chair lifts may need to be replaced due to age, wear and unavailability of parts to repair them ($40K-$50K each). |
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| 4 | Student Transportation | Equipment | 123042101699001 | 56410 | $35,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Portable Power Bus Wash Machine | The purchase of this equipment will improve the level of service, aesthetics and help keep the buses maintained in a clean and safe condition. It will also help reduce the employee labor time required to manually wash the buses, and may reduce repetitive motion injuries. |
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| 5 | Student Transportation | Equipment | 123042101699001 | 56410 | $10,000.00 | $0.00 |
| Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System | Due to hard water conditions, mineral build up and heave, water spotting are a constant battle when washing buses. Water spotting on windows and mirrors is a safety concern and removing them is time consuming and labor intensive. |
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