Bus Utility and Safety in School Transportation Opportunity and Purchasing Act of 2008 - Directs the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants, on a competitive basis, to rural local educational agencies (LEAs) to pay the federal share (75%) of costs of purchasing new school buses.
Requires the Secretary, in providing such grants, to give priority to rural LEAs that: (1) are transporting students in a bus manufactured before 1977; (2) have a strained fleet of school buses; or (3) serve a school required by law to provide transportation to students to enable them to transfer to another public school served by the rural LEA.
Authorizes the Secretary to use up to 5% of formula grants for non-urbanized areas to carry out this Act.