School Bus Fleet, February 2019

NEW YORK CITY The city council voted in January to advance several bills that aim to increase oversight of various aspects of school bus service including how routing and complaints are handled and requiring GPS on all buses The Student Transportation Oversight Package STOP increases reporting requirements for the New York City Department of Education DOE such as mandating that it report on policies and goals related to providing school bus service the duration of school bus routes bus delay frequency and complaints about routes bus employees and other school bus services according to a news release from the New York City Council The package also includes a bill that requires the DOE to create and distribute a school bus transportation guide Another bill in the package requires the placement of two way radio and GPS systems on school buses Authorized parents and guardians would also be given access to the real time location of their childs school bus whenever it is in use All of the citys 10000 school buses will need to have the system installed by September according to WABC and 6000 of those buses are currently equipped with the technology Additionally the council advanced legislation that would require the Department of Records and Information Services DORIS to list city agency reports on its website and on legislation that would clarify for the purposes of enforcing prohibitions against unauthorized commuter van services that definitions of for hire vehicle and commuter van do not include a bus service operating pursuant to a contract with any government Many of our citys families rely on school buses to get their children to and from school in a safe and timely manner and they deserve better than the dismal conditions and service they faced at the start of the school year and during Winter Storm Avery said Council Member Mark Treyger chair of the Committee on Education This legislation will provide access to comprehensive data about our citys school transit services creating the layers of transparency and accountability we need to work towards a safer way of getting our kids to and from school with dignity and respect Below are more details on some of the bills of note in the package Introduction 89 C would require the DOE to report twice a year on the number of school bus routes scheduled to take less than an hour between one and two hours and over two hours and the average length of time scheduled for school bus routes in each community school district The bill would also require the DOE to share actual school bus transportation times as recorded by GPS trackers with the council twice a year Introduction 451 B would require the DOE to distribute a school bus ridership guide in hard copy and electronically to all students and parents This guide would include a description of eligibility for school bus services what the services entail and information for parents and students living in temporary housing and students in foster care Introduction 926 B would require the DOE to share with parents and post on its website how they can file a complaint about a school bus employee the process by which the department investigates such a complaint and the possible results of such an investigation The bill also requires the DOE to share the protocols for school bus services in inclement weather emergencies Introduction 929 B would require the DOE to report twice a year on all of 8 SCHOOL BUS FLEET FEBRUARY 2019 WWW SCHOOLBUSFLEET COM NEWS WWW SCHOOLBUSFLEET COM New York City Advances School Bus Service Oversight Bills By Nicole Schlosser The New York City Council advanced several bills that aim to increase oversight of various aspects of school bus service including how routing and complaints are handled and requiring GPS on all buses File photo courtesy Katrina Falk Continued on page 14