USAG-Yongsan saves thousands of dollars using LRC buses

By Capt. Paul J. Yi, 403rd AFSBJune 9, 2015

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Seoul Elementary School buses and drivers at U.S. Army Garrison-Yongsan, Republic of Korea wait for the students to board the bus while a security monitor -- inside bus number 1057 with reflector vest -- checks each student boarding her bus. (Photo b... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

YONGSAN, Republic of Korea -- Logistics Readiness Center-Yongsan school bus services saved nearly $750,000 and tallied zero bus accidents during the school year that just ended, Army officials said.

LRC-Youngsan's bus support played an important role with the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) here during the 2014-2015 school year.

LRC-Yongsan is a subordinate element of the 403rd Army Field Support Brigade, U.S. Army Sustainment Command.

The organization dedicated 24 drivers to transport approximately 1,600 pre-kingergartern to senior high school students daily. The shuttles also supported transportation for special education programs.

More than 40 routes were used to travel throughout the installation, weaving in and out of some of the busiest traffic in the world. The shuttle also supported 184 activity trips during the school year. In all, the buses travelled more than 9,700 miles. The enforcement of the safety program resulted in zero school bus accidents.

"This is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of our drivers," said Ken Bakameyer, transportation specialist, Seoul Student Transportation Office USAG-Yongsan.

Col. Maria Eoff, USAG-Yongsan commander, said Installation Management Command and U.S. Army Materiel Command, the LRC's higher headquarters, partner to accomplish many installation functions.

"One such mission is the LRC-Yongsan's support to USAG-Yongsan through the DoDDS shuttle bus system, a critical and essential service that transports our children to and from geographically dispersed installations," she said.

LRC-Yongsan conducts an annual review of all routes to evaluate the efficiency of the roads and the number of buses required. The agency realized an annual cost savings of $747,026 by using LRC-Yongsan buses as opposed to contracting them on their own.

"By partnering with the military to utilize TMP (Transportation Motor Pool) operations, we achieve an annual savings of about two-thirds the cost of a commercial contract," said Bakameyer. "The savings are huge, especially over the course of several years. That's money that can be reinvested in our classrooms to help achieve better learning outcomes for our students."

According to Bakameyer, the LRC-Yongsan Transportation Division continues to seek improvement for efficient operations and to find ways to reduce cost while enhancing the safety and service of the student transportation mission.

"We enjoy a great working relationship with our TMP counterparts and remain committed to continuously reviewing and refining our operations to ensure safe, cost-effective and timely transportation services," he said.