The kid who fell asleep and was left alone for hours on a bus operated by D.C. Public Schools may have stolen the show in school bus coverage last week, but the real story is a bizarre new proposal from the Federal Transit Authority that would prevent the District from using Metrobus to get kids to school, a long-standing practice that transports about 20,000 kids a day during the school year. The Examiner reports that the rule, which is applicable to all transit systems that receive federal funds, is designed to protect the charter bus industry, but will likely cost the city millions of dollars more than had been budgeted for student transport.

According to a District Department of Transportation spokesperson, Metro currently operates “tripper busses” – extra routes that run during school hours. Families pay $26 a month for the extra buses, and the District subsidizes the program by paying Metro another $26 per month for each student, costing the city around $5 million in fiscal 2007. The new rule would eliminate “tripper” service that is primarily designed for students, rather than the general public.

If the new FTA rule were to go into effect before the 2008-2009 school year and affect any current routes, “we will not have sufficient time to make other arrangements and obtain the necessary funding,” Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso cautioned the FTA. Or, as Matthew Yglesias more plainly puts it, “good bye economies of scale, hello inefficiency.”

Photo by AlbinoFlea