About 650 buses carry Milwaukee Public Schools students on a typical weekday. District transportation official David Fifarek said the cost of filling a standard bus has climbed from roughly $260 to more than $450 as diesel prices have risen.
MPS buys busing through three-year contracts with private companies. Those contracts set a fuel benchmark that rises with inflation, and the district pays a surcharge when actual fuel costs run above it. One recent contract benchmark was $4.14 a gallon.
Fifarek said that if prices stay near current levels, the district faces an unplanned cost of about $3.4 million to $4 million.
To save money this year, the district consolidated some stops and eliminated 150 routes, at roughly $25,000 in savings per route cut.
MPS is also adding electric buses, with 50 already in service and another 100 expected over the next two years, which officials say should reduce exposure to fuel price swings.
