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Jake
Top Member
USA
3527 Posts |
 Posted - 10/28/2015 : 09:09:55 AM
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I was taking a moment to look at some of the various bus-related fan sites today and I've noticed that almost all of them are now gone. I can remember 10 years ago when I joined SBF that there were tons of these websites.
It's a shame to see how so many of them have faded away over the past few years. I can understand, though. Running a website is not an easy process and free photo sharing websites (such as fickr and facebook groups) have eliminated the reason to create photography websites.
As of this weekend, it appears Bus Explorer is gone. School Bus Land is gone and School Bus Central before that.
Does anyone know of any enthusiast sites that are still active?
School Bus Web is still going strong.
http://www.schoolbusweb.com/
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Sherm
Top Member
USA
621 Posts |
Posted - 10/29/2015 : 04:09:01 AM
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| I think part of the reason is that buses really aren't fun to look at anymore because they all look alike. Without the variety in manufacturers and specs, there's really no point in my opinion. If you've seen one IC conventional bus, you've seen them all for the last 10 years. Same with Blue Bird and Thomas. |
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Thomasbus24
Administrator
USA
4544 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2015 : 08:27:37 AM
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What he said ^
Also, it's just not a fun business anymore (for those actively involved). I'm looking back at 16 years ago when I started driving and comparing it to today. You can't have the fun that you could back then...no joking around, no trying to help out a kid going through a tough time, nothing. It's regulated out of existence.
I'm glad I clicked on something besides the garage section today...thanks for the post. |
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1983WardFord
Top Member
USA
1395 Posts |
Posted - 10/30/2015 : 1:18:47 PM
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| Not only those two comments, but the environment of today's world nearly criminalizes taking photos of a school bus. I can't visit a lot of the yards I used to due to fences or surveillance cameras, and at any type of field trip (where I'm not driving a bus), I feel like all eyes are on me as I photograph a bus. I still do, but nowhere near the frequency I used to. |
Due to the current economic condition, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off until further notice. |
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seyster7
New Member
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2016 : 08:52:59 AM
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| I'm late commenting on this, but when I was a kid my parents told me to a bus garage to look at the buses and I have always had a passion for them. Who knew 16 years later I would be driving those buses ;). The above comments are correct, once you've seen a CE or BE, you've seen them all! Even though, there are specs on CE's that vary between districts/companies, they're relatively the same. But, yes, it's pretty much frowned upon these days to photograph a bus. It's sad we've gotten to that point in our society. |
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Kodie
Top Member
United States
2028 Posts |
Posted - 06/20/2016 : 5:03:16 PM
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| Let me add that the majority of the people in this industry do not offer any support or positivity. It is full of negative, unhappy people, just trying to get through another day. It makes it hard to enjoy when nobody wants to take the time to help others. |
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seyster7
New Member
7 Posts |
Posted - 06/21/2016 : 08:17:49 AM
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| Kodie, I 100% agree. I'm young and have been seen as a "target" to the "veteran" drivers. Considering I was told during a ride along that I wouldn't be working here long because I am young, I quickly found that some drivers treat this as a job to get by; whereas I have had a passion for buses for years and finally have the opportunity to grow into a good driver and potentially move up, I don't treat bus driving as just a job. |
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Dianne Briony
New Member
9 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2016 : 11:15:46 PM
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| Yes, I noticed that Bus fan sites are not present anymore, Maybe its because its not allowed anymore since school buses are required to follow a standard color that could be more safe for students riding the bus. |
Dianne Briony |
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Brook Peacock
Senior Member
116 Posts |
Posted - 07/12/2016 : 01:13:22 AM
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| I have noticed that as well. I don't know any others but I'll post here when I find one. |
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Jake
Top Member
USA
3527 Posts |
Posted - 07/14/2016 : 1:40:58 PM
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Lots of good points in this thread. The industry is way different than it was 11 years ago when I first became active in this community. Not only are you seeing staffing changes and changes in the environment, but things aren't as interesting as they used to be. Most fleets are uniform now (if not, they are getting close to be). Also, most of the bus models currently on the market have went without major design changes for almost ten years. And with that, all of the variety from the 90's is starting to rapidly disappear.
Another good point to make is that we are all fragmented now across the web. With the rise of social media and other bus fan sites biting the dust, a lot of us have quit using discussion forums (or quit following the industry altogether). SBF has slowed down a lot compared to 8-9 years ago and I'm not sure of any other bus fan sites outside of School Bus Web and maybe one or two others. |
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Bus fan sites slowly fading away?
