Wake doesn't have the longest bus rides in the state.

The latest DPI report shows that the average ride time for a Wake student this past school year was 19 minutes, unchanged from the 2006-07 school year. The state average is 24 minutes for bus riders.

The average distance of the longest 5 percent of student ride times in Wake was 9.75 miles, worse than the state average of 8 miles. But the average ride times of that 5 percent of students in Wake was 64 minutes, better than the state average of 74.43 minutes.

Rising fuel costs are forcing Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools to make changes in bus service for the upcoming school year.

As noted in today's Charlotte Observer, the school district plans to make elementary students walk about two-tenths of a mile, while stops for middle- and high-school runs will be about four-tenths of a mile from homes. It had been less than one-tenth of a mile this past school year.

To put it in perspective, Wake elementary students now walk three-tenths of a mile to the bus stop. It's a half-mile for middle school and high school students.