SchoolBus logo in red and orange
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Thomas McMahon

Executive Editor

Thomas had covered the pupil transportation industry with School Bus Fleet since 2002. When he's not writing articles about yellow buses, he enjoys running long distances and making a joyful noise with his guitar.

Newsby Thomas McMahonApril 11, 2014

Nebraska state pupil transportation director Russ Inbody passes

Inbody, who worked for the Nebraska Department of Education for 37 years, died last month after a long illness. Nebraska Council of School Administrators officials call Inbody "an invaluable resource and support for school districts in his work in school finance, transportation services and negotiating the ever-complicated [school finance] formula."

Read More →
Newsby Thomas McMahonApril 9, 2014

District's new plan targets better bus evacuation drills

At Bedford (Ohio) City School District, officials say that changes in the school bus evacuation drill program have led to safer and more focused training for students and staff. Supervisor of Transportation Patrick Carney shares the details on the new drill system.

Read More →
Newsby Thomas McMahonApril 8, 2014

Turkey flies into school bus window

In Ashland, Mass., police respond to what they describe as “a strange call”: a 25-pound turkey had flown into and broken a window on a school bus. A few students on the bus are treated for minor injuries by a school nurse.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Articlesby Thomas McMahonApril 3, 2014

Parkway launches CNG bus project with $1.5M grant

After securing federal highway funds, the Missouri school district buys 30 compressed natural gas buses and builds a fast-fill fueling station. Here's a look at how Parkway won the grant and what it expects with the new buses including savings in fuel and maintenance costs.

Read More →
Newsby Thomas McMahonApril 2, 2014

New York transportation director earns doctorate

After four years and countless hours of academic work, Peter Lawrence of Fairport Central School District achieves the title doctor of education. Here, he discusses the challenging process of getting the degree, how his dissertation tied in with pupil transportation and the skills he built that can help him in his career.

Read More →
Newsby Thomas McMahonMarch 31, 2014

Update: Indiana gov. signs bill on bus funding losses

The bill, signed into law last week, is designed to give flexibility to school districts facing transportation budget reductions. The legislation allows districts that have lost at least 10% of their transportation fund levies due to property tax caps to use money from other funds to pay for transportation through 2016.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Newsby Thomas McMahonMarch 26, 2014

Update: District switches to 3-tier transportation

The board at Minnesota’s South Washington County Schools approves a plan to adjust bell times from four to three tiers, which will go into effect for the 2014-15 school year. However, the board decides against shortening walking distances to the levels at which they had been up until last school year.

Read More →
Newsby Thomas McMahonMarch 20, 2014

First Observer security training to come back online

After more than a year on hiatus, the government program is set to come back online soon to resume the training of transportation professionals in security awareness. Bill Arrington and Steve Sprague of the Transportation Security Administration discuss the ongoing efforts to launch First Observer 2.0.

Read More →
Newsby Thomas McMahonMarch 17, 2014

NHTSA: 0.35% of fatal crashes were school transportation related

The latest federal data show that of the 348,253 fatal motor vehicle traffic crashes from 2003 to 2012, 1,222 were classified as related to school transportation. A large majority (71%) of those killed in school transportation-related crashes in that 10-year span were occupants of other vehicles.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Newsby Thomas McMahonMarch 14, 2014

Pickup truck loses control, kills school bus driver

In a snowstorm near Aspen Park, Colo., last week, the driver of a bus with other bus drivers on board had pulled over to put on snow chains. A Colorado State Patrol trooper tells SBF that a pickup truck attempted to slow down and lost control, crashing into the bus and fatally striking John "Jack" Garland, one of the bus drivers who had gotten out to help.

Read More →