Riding the bus to the pool will be less expensive this summer. But whether Lawrence youngsters get a lower-priced ride to school in the fall remains to be seen.

The Public Transit Advisory Committee on Thursday put off for a month a decision on offering discounted fares to the city’s kindergarten through 12th-grade students. Instead, the committee approved offering a reduced summer bus rate to holders of monthly and yearly passes to city pools.

“We’ve got room on the bus,” said committee chairman Danny Kaiser. “Let’s do what we can to fill it up.”

Jimmy Gibbs, the city’s aquatics supervisor, said the pools and buses had many common customers.

“It seems like a marriage that would be natural,” he said.

Under the program approved Thursday, swimmers can purchase a $20 summerlong bus pass when purchasing swimming tickets. A monthly swimming pass costs $16; a yearlong pass is $135.

A one-way trip on a city bus is 50 cents for most riders. The swimming program will be open to riders of all ages.

The idea was inspired by the success of the city’s partnership with Kansas University. Students who participate in the KU on Wheels program also can purchase reduced-rate fares on the T.

The city started its KU program in fall 2003, allowing students to board city buses by showing their KU on Wheels pass. More than 480 students, who pay an extra fee, signed up for the program during the fall semester. Ridership climbed above 1,000 people per day in September, officials said, though it dipped to 853 per day during the traditionally slow month of December.

Transit committee members will consider reduced fares for K-12 students in March.

“Our goal is not revenue generation for a program like this,” Kaiser said. “Our goal is ridership, then the revenue generation will come.”