Latest / The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending
How School Districts Waste Millions on Unused Bus Routes
Every school day, thousands of yellow buses crisscross American neighborhoods — but many are running nearly empty. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dig into a 2025 Government Accountability Office report that found school districts waste an estimated $4.2 billion annually on inefficient bus routing. They break down the specific case of one mid-sized district in Ohio that, by switching to a dynamic routing algorithm, cut its bus fleet by 18 percent and saved $1.4 million per year. They explore why most districts still use pen-and-paper planning, the perverse incentives that reward districts for…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.