BILLINGS— Billings Public Schools is considering building a bus barn on a 40-acre plot of land near 48th Street West and Central Avenue.
According to the school district’s executive director of transportation, Lindsay Gran, the district is looking to decrease contract costs with school bus providers.
Watch the report:
“In our area, it's really, really difficult to attract a contractor for the volume of buses we have,” she said.
Gran said a bus barn would provide more competition among providers, which would allow the district to negotiate to lower costs. First Student was the only provider that offered a contract to the district in 2024, which allowed First Student to negotiate to a 57% higher rate.
First Student stores buses at its own facility in Billings.
“They kind of have an advantage in the market that way, because, you know, they don't have to invest in infrastructure to house their vehicles,” said Gran. “Hopefully (with) the bus barn, we will create that competitive environment where we can better control costs, which would be a much better deal for the local taxpayer.”
Gran said smaller, nearby school districts could use the bus barn as well.
“There are a lot of outlying school districts that also operate with the school bus contractor. So maybe there would be some benefit if they had interest in participating in this. Maybe we can secure some better costs if we're all looking at it as a group,” she said.
Francis Hamm, regional director of operations at Harlow’s School Bus Service in Montana, told MTN Wednesday that he would be interested in servicing Billings if a bus barn was built.
“I think it is a very good investment, not only for the district, but for the community to be able to have that on site,” said Hamm.
The bus barn would take up about 15 acres of that land. Gran hinted the remaining 25 acres could be used for a high school in the future.
“That's the intention is that the remaining portion of that land would be used for a school building in the future,” Gran told MTN Wednesday.
“It would just be kind of on a smaller plot of land… so maybe we look at building up instead of out,” she added.
A new high school on the West End of Billings is a popular idea among Billings parents.
“I think if we could get a high school out here, that would be absolutely amazing,” said Billings mom Brittney Barr, whose child will be attending high school in the fall.
Even though a new high school could be in the future, the school district is focusing on the bus barn right now. Gran estimates it will be completed in 2028 at the earliest but will likely take longer.
“There's a lot to happen before we can ever break ground. And then hopefully we're going to be able to… apply for some congressional dollars,” said Gran.
First Student issued MTN a written statement Wednesday in response to the bus barn plans.
“We value our partnership with Billings School District and the collaboration that supports student transportation in the community. Our team remains focused on safety and reliability for students and families,” said the statement.
