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Volusia bus techs hone skills, compete for ‘Top Shop’ title

For the second year in a row, Volusia County (Fla.) Schools conducted an in-house technician skills competition to coordinate training along with team-building exercises.

Volusia has four bus garages, each of which competes as a team for the bragging rights to be designated as “Top Shop” for one year. The Top Shop title comes with two trophies, which are prominently displayed in the winning shop. Additionally, whenever the winning shop is called over the two-way radio, dispatch refers to it as Top Shop.

This year’s event consisted of a bus inspection where 26 items were “rigged,” a NASCAR pit stop event rewarding the fastest time in exchanging the rear dual tires on a bus, and a driving skills test on a designed course. The parts staff also participated with a written exam and customer service evaluation.

Each area of the competition has a point value, and the team with the highest total of points is designated Top Shop.

The competition is designed to promote teamwork. Rules are established such that without teamwork, they will likely not be successful.

During the bus inspection portion, each predetermined fault found is awarded one point, and the proper repair of the finding scores two points. The state inspection form must be completed properly, and the form also has a point value.

The NASCAR event is timed, and the teams must swap the rear dual tires from left to right, following shop procedures.

The parts staff members must use the Internet to research part numbers. They are only provided with a school bus number and a part description. They must also multitask by providing any parts the technicians need to make the repairs noted during their bus inspection.

The competition ends with a driving skills test in which the driver is selected by the team and all team members hop aboard the bus. The driver must maneuver the bus properly and successfully complete four skills tests within 10 minutes.

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Denver enhances service with bus shuttle system

At Denver Public Schools, students in the Far Northeast and Near Northeast communities have a new way to access greater school options and opportunities: the Success Express.

The shuttle system, which began with the 2011-12 school year, supports all students attending a participating Far Northeast or Near Northeast school by providing safe, convenient and reliable yellow school bus transportation.

Any student can board the bus at any stop and ride it to his or her participating school of choice. Students can also take advantage of extended service hours — the Success Express runs from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. to support before- and after-school activities.

The shuttle system offers three pickup times and three drop-off times at each stop.

Each bus has an aide on board to ensure that students get on and off at the right places — and safely. Students also wear ID tags showing which school they attend.

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Columbus saves $110K with electronic inspection report

For several years, the Columbus (Ohio) City Schools transportation department has been using the Zonar Electronic Vehicle Inspection Report (EVIR) for pre- and post-trip inspections to ensure compliance, and they continue to find new ways to save money with the program.

In an executive summary report provided by Zonar, it was noted that the average time for Columbus City Schools bus drivers to complete an inspection was six minutes and 58 seconds. However, the time budgeted was 15 minutes. So by decreasing the budgeted time to 10 minutes, an annual savings of $110,000 was realized.

The Columbus transportation department also implemented Zonar HD-GPS. Shortly afterward, the transportation department ran a Zonar-produced speed report and found that many bus drivers had exceeded the 55 mph speed limit at least once a day. These data were posted anonymously, and the next day there was a 50-percent reduction in buses exceeding the speed limit.

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Collier County trains new riders on bus safety

In the first week of the school year, the transportation department at the School District of Collier County (Fla.) began sending its trainers to elementary schools throughout the district to deliver an important message — safety — to kindergartners.

The transportation trainers, who also instruct bus drivers, presented the big, yellow school bus to the new riders at their school. The trainers covered the “Tips for School Bus Riders” section found in the “Are We There Yet? Staying Safe Between Home and School” guide that was sent home with the students so they could share what they learned.

The interactive session focused on teaching the first-time bus riders how to be safe and adhere to all of the rules, such as:

• Never picking up anything dropped under the bus
• Staying away from the 12-foot “danger zone” around the bus
• Always making sure the driver can see you
• Never walking behind the bus

Kindergartners practiced a school bus stop pickup in the school bus loop with the yellow and red lights.

The topic of stranger danger was also covered. The kindergartners were taught to communicate with their bus driver and always ask questions or talk about any concerns.

To conclude the training session, the kindergartners received the aforementioned guide and a “Be Cool, Follow the Rules” paper they can color that shows the proper way to depart the bus and the “no walk zone” around the bus.

The transportation staff asked that parents reinforce the importance of bus safety and review the materials provided. Information is also available on the transportation department’s website, www.collierschools.com/transportation.

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Salem-Keizer earns awards, cuts accidents

The transportation staff at Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Salem, Ore., earned some high-profile awards, among other accomplishments during the past year.

Director of Transportation Michael Shields was named Supervisor of the Year by the Oregon Pupil Transportation Association. Head Mechanic David Farley received the association’s Golden Wrench award, which recognizes an outstanding student transportation technician.

In other news, Salem-Keizer’s transportation, student services and technology departments collaborated to implement an electronic request for transportation, which Shields said resulted in improved processing time for special-needs students receiving transportation services.

“98.5 percent of requests are processed in less than five days,” Shields said. He noted that the district also reduced processing time for summer school students and routes from one month to one week.

Among other changes, Salem-Keizer reduced accidents by over 25 percent, developed new bell times for the 2011-12 school year and renewed its ISO certification.

The transportation department also instituted a positive-acknowledgement award called “The Pickle.”

“Individuals that provide extraordinary customer service receive a card that describes the behavior, a statement of thanks and a little plastic pickle,” Shields explained.

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Northside ISD gets $2M to buy propane buses

Northside Independent School District (ISD) in San Antonio recently received a $2,001,682 check for buying 122 Blue Bird propane buses.

The funding includes a rebate of about $1.4 million, about $250,000 in grant monies to upgrade the transportation department’s four existing propane stations and about $350,000 for its new fifth propane station.

Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter visited the school district in late August to present the check.

“Northside ISD has been committed to using propane for the past 30 years,” said Rafael Salazar, director of transportation at the district. “Our community and our staff recognize and enjoy the cleanliness of propane.”

Salazar also noted that Northside ISD was the first in the country to purchase the Blue Bird Propane-Powered Vision in 2007.

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Buffalo hosts first-time riders, parents

The Buffalo (N.Y.) City School District held its annual School Bus Open House on the morning of Aug. 20.

Director of Transportation Al Diamico said that the event is a great way to stress  school bus safety to parents and students — and it shows that the district is committed to safety.

“We gave first-time riders and their parents a chance to get acclimated to the school bus,” Diamico said. “We gave rides to the students in our new integrated safety seats from IMMI.”

The open house also had stationary buses in which parents could see the latest safety features, such as lap-shoulder belts, GPS, surveillance cameras and the Child Check-Mate system.

“The children that may have had apprehension about riding the school bus left there with smiles on their faces, as did the parents, who are entrusting their child to the district for the very first time,” Diamico said.