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MPS has performed two studies for Fairfax County regarding bell time options. FCPS was interested in exploring the possibility of shifting school start times to allow high schools to start between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M. instead of the typical start time in the current schedule of 7:20 A.M. The system operates approximately 1,500 buses on a three-tier bell schedule which permits the balancing of requirements to obtain economies of travel time, the number of buses required for each tier, and the number of out of boundary bus routes. The results of the study indicated that substantial investments would be required to make this change that would result in an approximate doubling of transportation costs.
The second study was intended to perform a more detailed analysis of what additional possibilities may be available to reduce the cost and/or improve transportation services. This highly complex and detailed review will be completed in late 2006.