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SEARCHOne year later, we’ve pushed past our first goal of 100 subscribers on our School Bus Fleet YouTube channel. Thanks to everyone who subscribed so far, and to those who’ve helped spread the word about The Route.
To celebrate the 100-subscriber milestone, check out the recipe for cheeseberry pie!
Image: Canva
Back on Sept. 21, 2021, we rolled out the inaugural episode of School Bus Fleet’s first official video podcast, The Route.
Every week or so, we aim to share the top headlines from schoolbusfleet.com or introduce busy viewers to knowledgeable folks from the student transportation industry. We try to keep it to 15 minutes or less. You can watch on YouTube or listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
One year later, we’ve pushed past our first goal of 100 subscribers on our YouTube channel. Thanks to everyone who subscribed so far, and to those who’ve helped spread the word about The Route. It’s much appreciated. So much so that I’ve revealed the recipe for my late father’s glorious cheeseberry pie to celebrate the occasion. (You’ll find it accompanying this editor’s note.)
We’re not quite at the 50-episode mark yet, but we’re close enough that I feel safe picking several favorites from the earliest journeys of The Route:
This episode, featuring guest Stephen Owens from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, gave me a great opportunity to dive into the bus driver shortage crisis as schools returned from pandemic shutdowns.
In this installment, I was grateful for insights from experts like Carol Bowes of Person County Public Schools in North Carolina and the late Michael Stotler from Thomas Built Buses about recommended methods for hiring and keeping talented school bus technicians on staff.
Brianna Walsh of Enel X joined The Route for this episode, which explored the barriers school districts might face when considering bus fleet electrification, and how to overcome those obstacles.
In May 2022, as the Environmental Protection Agency finally revealed the details of its ambitious Clean School Bus Program initiative, we devoted an episode just to laying out the available specifics about the rebate plan.
This August episode, featuring guest Curt Macysyn from the National School Transportation Association, was an informative debrief about the Niagara Falls annual meeting, a look ahead at the fall meeting in Florida, a refresher on back-to-school safety when it comes to school buses, and a remembrance of U.S. Rep. Jackie Walorski, who had just recently died in a car crash.
In this recap episode, besides news of HopSkipDrive landing a major amount of Series D funding and the return of in-person IC Bus University, we talked about Jim Troiola, a Maine school bus driver and Navy veteran who was elected national commander of the American Legion. His focus for his year of service in this role: fighting veteran suicides and promoting mental health.
We’ve got more to come.
Next stop: 250 subscribers. When we hit that goal, expect a recipe for my favorite Cuban dish: ropa vieja.
As the pace of fleet electrification increases and charging infrastructure continues to pose challenges, many fleets find themselves puzzling over the question: how do I install charging infrastructure faster and more cost-efficiently?
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Executive Editor Wes Platt offers parting thoughts as he parks the School Bus Fleet bus to focus on ultra-local community journalism, making way for someone else to take the wheel as the pupil transportation industry continues to evolve.
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Children's Mental Health Awareness Day underscores the significance of school bus drivers in fostering supportive environments during students' journeys. SAMHSA's initiatives, including stigma reduction and access to resources, complement the Biden-Harris administration's funding efforts to enhance youth mental health services and workforce development.
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How do you think the potential shift to permanent Daylight Saving Time or standard time would impact our daily lives and routines, especially considering the divided approach across various states?
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I remain impressed by the matter-of-fact heroism that’s often demonstrated by school bus drivers like Deona Washington who are caught in these situations where the best of us might lose our cool and panic. But, then again, bus drivers are a unique breed.
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Most applicants sought grant funding to acquire electric school buses, with propane coming in a distant second. No one indicated plans to purchase compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in this round. That’s not terribly surprising, I suppose, given how few school districts listed the inclusion of CNG buses in their fleets for our 2023 top district fleets survey.
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Calendar pages keep flipping toward the mandates set in states like New York and California to transition their school bus fleets from diesel to zero-emission, but there’s plenty of reluctance and pushback.
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Today, California prides itself on utilizing the most zero-emission (ZE) school buses in the country with over 1,689 being used by California school districts; and while the state is on a positive health trajectory thanks to a decree to eliminate gas and diesel vehicles, more work needs to be done to improve children’s well-being.
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Bus drivers are the primary caretakers of children during their commute and thus bear responsibility for their safety. By prioritizing proper operating procedures, maintenance checks, and additional precautions, drivers can help avoid the loss of precious young lives under their care.
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FMCSA proposes to amend certain Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) to ensure the safe introduction of automated driving systems (ADS)-equipped commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) onto the nation’s roadways. The proposed changes to the CMV operations, inspection, repair, and maintenance regulations prioritize safety and security, promote innovation, foster a consistent regulatory approach to ADS-equipped CMVs, and recognize the difference between human operators and ADS.
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