POWAY – School bus cutbacks in the Poway Unified district have reduced the number of student passengers by as many as 1,300 a day, officials said as the first week of the 2008-09 year ended.

In a cost-cutting move announced in May, the district dropped about a third of its bus routes, eliminating service to 11 elementary schools and any route that wasn't drawing at least 50 riders a day.

The district initially estimated that at least 1,500 students who used bus transportation would lose access, said Tim Purvis, director of transportation. The actual number now looks to be about 1,200 to 1,300, he said.

Sales of $399-a-year annual school-bus passes reached 3,387 as of yesterday morning, and at least 100 others have expressed interest in obtaining one, Purvis said. Sales are expected to reach about 3,600 by next week, he said.

In the biggest change in home-to-school transportation in the district's history, bus schedules were revised to focus on students living the farthest from their schools. Five of the district's 25 elementary schools were left with bus service.

To be retained, routes needed at least 50 daily passengers, a standard that eliminated some middle school and high school routes that had been carrying as few as 15 to 20 students. The district also eliminated the opportunity to buy one-way passes, an option that appealed to parents who drove their children to school but couldn't get away from work in time to pick them up.

Purvis said the $399 passes don't quite cover the cost of providing bus service. However, any increase would be counterproductive, losing more passenger revenue than would be gained, he said.

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Jeff Ristine: (760) 737-7578; jeff.ristine@uniontrib.com