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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 McMahonSeptember 13, 2012

NYC Dept. of Education honored for GIS work

The department receives a Special Achievement in GIS award at an Esri conference. Alex Robinson, executive director of the department’s Office of Pupil Transportation, tells SBF that in addition to the more than 8,000 school buses on routes daily, "we couldn’t do what we do without amazing mapping technology and GIS experts."

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Newsby Thomas McMahonSeptember 13, 2012

EPA offers $2M in rebates for school bus replacement

The EPA’s first-ever rebate program will be a pilot focusing specifically on replacing older school buses. School districts and contractors will be among those eligible for the program, which will provide rebates ranging from $20,000 to $30,000.

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Newsby Thomas McMahonSeptember 10, 2012

Blue Bird sponsors NASCAR's Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The school bus manufacturer and ROUSH CleanTech will be the primary sponsors of 2011 Nationwide Series champion Stenhouse and his No. 6 team at the Chicagoland Speedway on Saturday. "The bright yellow Ford Mustang will definitely stand out on the track," Stenhouse says.

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Newsby Thomas McMahonSeptember 6, 2012

NAPT glitzes up awards ceremony

Taking a few cues from Hollywood, the association will add a literal red carpet and "swag" bags to its awards banquet this fall. Officials discuss the format changes with SBF.

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Newsby Thomas McMahonSeptember 5, 2012

Pittsburgh’s new school bus contract to save $1.8M

The school district collaborated with its 19 transportation providers to come up with the new agreement, which freezes a rate increase, among other changes. Director of Pupil Transportation Ted Vasser tells SBF about how the deal was worked out.

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Newsby Thomas McMahonSeptember 4, 2012

Ohio state director Pete Japikse steps down

The 32-year veteran of pupil transportation retires from state service, but he will soon begin a new role with the Ohio School Boards Association in which he says he will “continue working with the great people in this business.”

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Newsby Thomas McMahonAugust 30, 2012

Dallas buys over 100 new buses, adds belts

Dallas County Schools has been acquiring a variety of new equipment for its giant fleet, from new school buses to lap-shoulder belts to stop-arm cameras. The district recently took delivery of 103 new Saf-T-Liner C2s from Thomas Built Buses. Director of Transportation Aaron Hobbs discusses the developments with SBF.

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Newsby Thomas McMahonAugust 23, 2012

Parents call for return of yellow bus service

Some parents in Minneapolis are voicing their concerns about a new move to have high school students use the transit system instead of riding yellow buses to school. Shelly Jonas of the Minnesota School Bus Operators Association tells SBF that the fact that these parents are demanding yellow buses is an encouraging sign for school bus contractors, for whom competition from transit agencies is a national issue.

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Newsby Thomas McMahonAugust 21, 2012

Ga. first lady promotes school bus safety

Sandra Deal tours the state to promote the “Stop Means Stop” campaign, which aims to raise awareness about the need to stop for school buses. The issue has added urgency in Georgia, where three students were killed by illegally passing motorists in the last two school years on record.

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Newsby Thomas McMahonAugust 20, 2012

National survey finds 88K stop-arm passes

NASDPTS reports that the one-day sample represents nearly 16 million violations in one school year, up from about 13 million based on the 2011 count. Executive Director Bob Riley tells SBF that the results show that stop-arm running is "still a serious problem."

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