Columbia Public Schools begins the 2025-26 school year Tuesday, featuring its partnership with a new school bus provider.
Beginning on the first day of school, district bus routes will be run with busses provided by DS Bus Lines.
In an email to families on Friday, the district announced that one of the key safety features highlighted by DS Bus Lines will not be available at the beginning of the school year. The Beacon Connect Mobile Family app, which will reportedly provide parents with alerts about students’ busses, will not be available until September.
The app was one of the features emphasized in the new partnership during a 2024 transportation department meeting.
The Columbia School Board announced the three-year contract with DS Bus Lines in February 2024. The district has projected a 21.7% increase in student transportation costs for this school year.
The district used Student Transportation of America bus services for the past 10 years, according to the Columbia Missourian.
According to the district, other safety features provided by DS Bus Lines include:
- Drivers wearing blue safety vests
- No turning right until traffic lights turn green
- White roofs and tinted windows to reduce internal heat by 10-15%
- Bus cameras on the inside and outside of vehicle that can be accessed remotely
- Built-in booster seats on specific busses
- Electric vandal locks
- Driver tablets for communication between dispatch and busses
