Did you know that BGCOR has its own fleet of buses, with six bus routes that pick up nearly 500 kids from 19 schools in Bradley County … every single school day?
One thing that we have learned since our simple beginnings in 1964 is that as times have changed, transportation has become one of the single largest barriers to getting kids to a Club near them each day after school.
In some communities around the country, public school buses are able to handle that additional transportation challenge, but in Bradley County (and most of the Ocoee Region), our school buses are already maxed out.
But not giving those kids who need us most a way to get to the Club every day was an unthinkable outcome, so we’ve been slowly but surely building our bus fleet and routes in order to get to where we are today.
But there’s another challenge when it comes to providing bus transportation for kids.
Department of education regulations require that buses be retired after 17 years of service, no exceptions. In our current fleet, we have five buses that are scheduled to be retired in the next two years. The CARES Act was able to provide funds that we can use for two buses, and we are hoping that the American Rescue Plan will provide funds for two more. But we still needed funds for at least one more bus, so we called on our long-time partner, United Way of the Ocoee Region, for help.
Thanks to Stephanie Linkous and the United Way allocations team, our request was granted! And that’s no small request! According to BGCOR CEO, Derrick Kinsey, new buses can normally cost around $60k, but because of the continued manufacturing shortages caused by COVID shut-downs, prices have skyrocketed to as high as $85,000 at some dealers. It is possible to get used buses for around $25–30,000, but those don’t have as many years of life in them, and so when you calculate the cost per year, a new bus gives us a much better return on our investment.
Ensuring child safety is fundamental to the mission of Boys & Girls Clubs of the Ocoee Region. You can read more about our safety strategy here. But for our Board and Staff, safety extends beyond our walls and includes our bus program. We keep our fleet well-maintained, our drivers are exceptional, and the bus experience is meant to be equally as positive as the Club experience itself. So when you see one of our buses around the Ocoee Region—clearly identified by our logo and contact information on all sides —you can feel confident that we believe Great Futures start with a safe, enjoyable bus ride from the schools to the Clubs. We even include a Child Safety Hotline number on each bus so that you can call if you ever see anything that needs to be addressed.
Our young people deserve nothing less than our constant focus on their safety and our firm commitment to helping them achieve Great Futures.
And that help begins with a simple bus ride.
Our deepest gratitude goes out to the United Way for helping make sure that bus ride continues to be possible for the kids who need us most!
