Overview

The student transportation office provides essential services in support of student transportation in Washington state. In addition to overseeing the allocation of operations funding and the school bus depreciation and replacement systems, the office authorizes all school bus drivers, manages the state bidding process for school buses, provides a training program for school bus driver instructors and provides additional services for the school districts, school bus drivers, parents and citizens of the state. We work with the Washington State Patrol to ensure safe school buses through the school bus inspection program. The safe transportation of the students of Washington is our primary concern.

Student Transportation Facts

There are about 10,600 school bus drivers in Washington State, driving 9,300 school buses. Each day almost 500,000 students ride the yellow school bus, a total of about 500,000 miles. Enough miles to drive to the moon and back, each day!

The school bus drivers of Washington state undergo an extensive training program prior to getting behind the wheel of a school bus and refresher training every year. This training helps to ensure that riding a school bus is the safest way to get to school.