Buses World News

In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry

27.8.13

* USA - SCHOOL BUS SERVICES: Are they as safe as we think they are?

* Oregon - Maybe not as safe as you think

Portland.ORE,USA -KATU News, by Anna Canzano -Aug 19, 2013: -- How safe will your children be when they step on a school bus in a few weeks? ... A far-reaching search of public documents, and interviews with current and former officials involved in school bus safety in Oregon, reveal everything from buses that are in bad condition to falsified inspection records... Ultimately, it is the certified inspectors from the school district and state who are responsible for keeping buses safe. It's a system that has only been in place since 2007... The On Your Side Investigators requested three years worth of school bus inspections from our largest local districts. The documents reveal problems ranging from expired fire extinguishers and loose seats to exhaust systems that were starting to rot... In nearly every school district that inspectors visited in the past three years, they found buses in such bad shape that the vehicles are immediately taken out of service - 19 in Portland, 12 in Canby, 11 in Gresham and 9 in Tigard-Tualatin (just to name a few)... Rob Saxton, Oregon's deputy superintendent of public instruction, repeatedly insisted that the state has a history of success in keeping kids safe and making sure the 3,700 school buses on the roads are working the way they are intended... In comparison, Washington state takes a very different approach. The Washington State Patrol inspects every school bus ever year, with additional surprise inspections on 25 percent of the fleet...

* Utah - After beating caught on tape, school district adds cameras to buses to help stop bullying

(Photo, by Mark Johnston/Daily Herald: Alpine School District bus cameras)
Alpine,UTH,USA -The Daily Herald, by Barbara Christiansen -August 20, 2013: -- Students who are bullying may not be able to hide behind their peers' reticence from snitching this year, as the Alpine School District adds video cameras to its buses... Nearly 21,000 students ride about 19,000 miles a day in the state's largest district, and that's just to and from school. It doesn't count field trips and extracurricular activities. District officials have purchased camera systems to use in the buses, with a plan to eventually equip its fleet of almost 300 buses... ASD is spending $93,800 for 48 school bus video systems from Gatekeeper Systems, Inc.... District spokesman John Patten said the district had a pilot program with the cameras and determined they were helpful...

Labels: school bus maintenance, school bus safety

14.8.10

Green Buses * USA - Shelby School Buses Being Retrofitted to Help Air

Memphis,TENN,USA -AP/The Daily News –12 Aug 2010: -- Two-hundred fifty Shelby County school buses are being retrofitted with clean air technology designed to reduce pollution... It is a joint project among the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, Shelby County Schools and Cargill Corn Milling Inc. of Memphis... According to a news release from the health department, the retrofit will reduce the level of exhaust fumes entering the passenger cabin... Shelby County Schools carries 24,000 children each day for a combined distance of more than 3.7 million miles every year... (Photo by Matthew Craig - Memphis City Schools and Shelby County School students, like these at Cordova Middle School, got to go home early today because of threats of an ice storm)

Labels: green buses, school bus maintenance

3.5.08

BUSES MAINTENANCE * USA - Local school buses rolling on the miles

School buses have always been a privilege for parents. Reasons include gas consumption and more time in the morning and afternoon

Clanton,AL,USA -The Clanton Advertiser, by Ashley McCartney -2 May 2008: -- ... The Chilton County School Transportation Department is constantly working hard at getting local kids to and from school safely... As simple as this sounds, the department is facing pressure from high gas prices. After sitting down and looking at their mileage and bus stops, Supervisor Greg Dejarnett said he was amazed to see just how much money they have to spend in a month on fuel alone... Without paying for maintenance and things for the buses, the department is paying around $200,000 per school year to transport kids to and from school. They are currently working on a new budget for the next school year...

Labels: school bus maintenance

12.9.07

Buses Maintenance * USA - Okayed by CMS fail state inspections

“Multiple safety issues” cited in reports – repairs at Orr Road are worst

Charlotte,NC,USA -WCNC, by JEFF SONIER -September 10, 2007: -- How safe are the buses that your kids are riding to and from school? That may depend on the mechanics who work on those buses... North Carolina law says every school bus has to be checked at least once every 30 days by local school system mechanics. But what if those mechanics don't find serious safety or mechanical problems? Or what if they don't fix what they do find?... The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction show that state school bus inspectors parking dozens of Charlotte Mecklenburg school buses that were found unsafe, or mechanically unfit – even after they were okayed by CMS mechanics... The inspection records for bus number 1065 illustrate the problem. CMS mechanics at Orr Road said the bus was fine. But that’s not what state inspectors reported. They parked number 1065 for what they called “multiple safety issues” – finding problems with the brakes, the exhaust system, the suspension, the backup lights, the brake lights and the front warning lights...

Labels: school bus maintenance