HISD leaders question savings for new hub bus system

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Houston school district announced a new bus hub system to be in their words, "more reliable and efficient."

It may one day be that but at least according to parents we've heard from it certainly isn't in the first few days.

Students have reported longer wait times and missed classes.

One way to measure efficiency is in dollars saved.

In this case HISD emails show the district has no idea if this plan that disrupted bussing for 20,000 students will save any money.

In an August 5 email, the school's chief operating officer writes the superintendent, "there is no immediate (financial savings) number we can provide because we will have to quantify actual riders that use magnet transportation versus (how many are) eligible."

In other words, the more parents who opt out of the hub system, the more dollars saved.

When asked about the lack of concrete savings today one board member told us she expects concrete numbers late this fall.

But the district told us, "the focus... is to increase route efficiency... If we realize a cost savings... we likely wouldn't see it until the end of the 2019-2020 school year."

That's two years away.

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