Almost 1,800 elementary school children in rural Iceland utilised the school bus services offered by their municipalities last year, RÚV reports. There are currently 221 school bus routes in service in the countryside, but how much these routes are utilised by schoolchildren varies considerably.
Four municipalities had 100 students or more taking the school bus on a regular basis. Borgarbyggð, in West Iceland, topped the list, with 119 young school bus riders. One hundred and ten students in the Northern fjord town of Skagafjörður also took the bus, followed by 106 in Rangárþing eystra in South Iceland, and 101 in Flóahreppur, also in South Iceland. A number of other municipalities had less than 100 riders, but more than 50: Þingeyjarsveit (North; 99), Eyjafjarðarsveit (North; 78), Bláskógabyggð (West; 76), Húnaþing vestra (North; 75), and Hvalfjarðarsveit (West; 70).
There are three school bus routes offered in the municipalities around Reykjavík, but these are significantly less utilized. For instance, only 20 took the bus in Kjósarhreppur, only 14 in Kjalarnes, and only 12 in Mosfellsdalur. What percentage this ridership represents of their full student bodies has not been reported.
