School Bus Fleet, June 2018

prestolite com sales@ prestolite com 800 354 0560 2018 Prestolite Electric Inc Every minute you spend worrying about the electrical system on your bus is a minute wasted At Prestolite were helping you focus on more important matters You need buses Not drama Superior electrical output even at idle Maximum starting torque Increased battery charge Unsurpassed reliability 25 JUNE 2018 SCHOOL BUS FLEET and a show of hands indicated that most or all of the attendees in the room are doing so Bluth also suggested having drivers regularly review surveillance footage so that they see whats happening on their bus In many cases more training is needed to equip school bus drivers and aides in dealing with behavioral challenges Bluth noted and the presence of surveillance systems doesnt diminish that need Too many school districts make this error she said They think when they have video cameras that they can lessen the behavior training SBX attendees also connected with school bus OEMs and suppliers during one on one meetings group presentations and networking functions The annual event is free for the school bus operators who are selected to attend thomas mcmahon@ bobit com road equipment Illinois California is doubling down on electric vehicles with a proposed 130 million of its share of the funding to be used for acquiring electric school transit and shuttle buses Discussing discipline In another session Linda Bluth engaged with SBX attendees on the subject of student behavior on the school bus Bluth recommended that transportation directors promote the concept of the school bus being an extension of the classroom with the same expectations for discipline and support from school administrators Students need to know the consequences of misbehavior she said Superintendents have to support that the principal is responsible for behavior on the bus Meanwhile transportation directors and managers should ride on buses a minimum of twice per year Bluth said Maureen Heath chief administrative officer for Southwestern Ontario Student Transportation Services in Canada suggested that recruiting materials be developed at the state province or national levels The idea would be to provide resources that any operation could use to promote the value of being a school bus driver so that everyones not doing their own thing as Heath put it Theres power in a broader voice she said I agree with you wholeheartedly Martin said Assessing alt fuels Also at SBX SBF General Manager James Blue led a panel session in which officials from Blue Bird IC Bus and Thomas Built Buses answered questions about alternative fuels covering such issues as total cost of ownership emissions and fueling infrastructure Blue asked the panelists whether a business case can be made for investing in alt fuel school buses even if grant funding cant be obtained to support the purchase Thats a difficult question said Jim Crowcroft North American dealer and fleet sales manager for Thomas Built Buses Right now if you do the math it can be challenging to make the numbers work but there are other intrinsic benefits of alternative fuels Randy Ray school bus sales director for IC Bus said that the financial factor in alternative fuels depends on what happens with fuel prices but so far propane is the best bet when it comes to recouping the extra investment in alt fuel school buses Generally propane can pay for itself Ray said Rusty Mitchell executive director of product marketing and planning for Blue Bird said that there has been a huge conversion rate over to propane in recent years with many fleets making the switch without any help from grants You have many private contractors that have gone with propane Mitchell noted They have run the numbers and it makes sense for them On the funding front the Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust will provide states with a total of nearly 3 billion for projects to cut nitrogen oxide from large vehicles During the SBX panel discussion the OEM officials said that some states have been choosing to include school buses in their plans for the funds while some are focusing on other types of vehicles such as mass transit in the case of Georgia or off Were losing drivers every day to the gas wells Theyre starting out at 19 to 25 per hour Were starting just under 13 per hour Tony Harris transportation supervisor Preston County W Va Schools