About Us

Our Transportation Department Mission Statement

Our Transportation Department Mission is to provide for the students of Northside Independent School District who are eligible to ride the bus with the safest transportation possible between school and home and during extra curricular activities.

Our Departmental Personnel

When fully staffed the Transportation Department consists of 1,000 employees.

The Student Population We Serve

We daily transport approximately 37,000 elementary, middle and high school students. Our "three-tier transportation system" consists of staggered starting and dismissal times at each elementary, middle and high school campus. This staggered campus scheduling enables each school bus to serve the maximum number of students possible at each campus level. In this three-tier system of arrivals and departures we gain the optimal vehicle usage from our bus fleet.

Our Fleet Structure and Fuel Use

Our current fleet structure consists of 590 buses. Because of the 2004 Bond Issue passage our fleet will also grow by another 243 new diesel buses through school year 2008/2009 for a total fleet size then of 816. This rapid bus flleet growth reflects 3000 students added per year while replacing older and far less fuel efficient buses with new fuel efficiency units. We have a healthy mix of buses fuelled by propane, diesel or unleaded fuel. Some of our buses are fueled by propane and unleaded gas. This creates a diverse bus fleet structure that anticipates any future possible national fuel supply changes.

• Propane Fueled Buses. 106 buses (18% of our fleet) are propane fueled. Using propane as a cleaner burning bus fuel has resulted in significantly reduced bus maintenance costs. We have been recognized by the US Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy with a Clean Cities National Partner Award.
• Diesel Fueled Buses. 222 diesel fueled buses currently make up 38% of our fleet. Our diesel buses use the newer "low sulphur" or "green diesel" fuels that comply with Federal Clean Air Standards.
• Unleaded/Propane Fueled Buses. 237 of our buses (40% of our fleet) are now bifueled. Each of our buses have dual tanks onboard--one for propane and another for unleaded gasoline. These bifueled buses provide excellent flexibility for fuel sources to keep our fleet running smoothly.
• There are 25 unleaded fuel-only buses in our fleet or 4% of the entire fleet.

Bus Route Mileage Per School Year

Based on the most current data available, the state reimbursed bus route miles traveled during the 2003-04 school year was 6,907,975 miles. This bus route mileage includes providing 8,369 field trips. Bus route mileage totals also include our Transportation Department's support for NISD athletic functions.