To draw comparisons for assessing transportation costs and developing recommendations for legislative action in New York, this study compares school transportation policies and practices that may be related to differences in transportation costs in eight states having the largest public school enrollments for 1980. Data were obtained from existing publications and from a survey of transportation directors in California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The report reviews literature relating to school transportation costs, describes the methodology used to collect data, and presents findings from the study and recommendations for legislative action. Factors such as the scope of state mandates, the extent of the transportation system, practices concerning public versus private ownership of transportation fleets, and state reimbursement policies for school transportation were examined. Higher transportation cost per pupil was associated with more transportation mandates, more frequent use of smaller buses, greater miles traveled per pupil, and larger nonpublic school transportation systems. Lower cost per pupil was related to larger numbers of pupils transported, larger number of pupils transported per bus, larger percentages of district-owned versus private contractor transportation fleets, and the use of formula mechanisms that limited spending and encouraged efficiency in state transportation reimbursement. Included are 8 tables, 2 figures, and 39 references. (MLF)