Abstract

Using GIS to Determine Equitable Funding for School Bus Transportation
Track: Transportation
Authors: Cathy Walker

The Student Transportation Allocation Reporting System (STARS) was developed to determine equitable funding for school bus transportation for each of Washington 's 295 school districts. STARS uses statistical analysis along with GIS based parameters to calculate the expected cost of providing school bus transportation within each school district. STARS is a Silverlight/.NET application that allows school districts for the first time to view, edit, and maintain their current bus route information within a browser based web mapping application. The web mapping application was created using the ArcGIS Server Silverlight API and allows each user to view and edit the location and information regarding their bus routes. In addition, school district users can create new bus routes within the STARS system, without needing to use school bus routing software which most school districts in Washington don't have the budgets to purchase.