At 7 feet 4 inches tall, former basketball All-Star Mark Eaton would probably have a tough time fitting in a school bus, but he appears (outside of a bus) in a new video promoting the value of pupil transportation in Utah.

"School buses make it possible for nearly 200,000 of our children to access public education," Eaton says in the public service announcement (PSA). "Utah school buses save over $40 million and reduce over 11 million gallons of fuel."

The Utah State Office of Education and the Utah Association for Pupil Transportation partnered to put together the PSA with Eaton, who played for the NBA's Utah Jazz from 1982 to 1994.

State pupil transportation director Murrell Martin said that the number of students transported — which, more precisely, is about 191,759 for the 2010-11 school year — reflects a change in the state's counting. Now included are the numbers of students transported in the categories "funded courtesy" and "locally funded hazardous routing."

Martin said that the PSA has been sent to Salt Lake City television stations, and some of them have expressed interest. He also forwarded it to local transportation directors throughout the state to submit to television stations in their areas.

The video wraps up with Eaton heartily proclaiming, "You have to love our school buses!"

The PSA has been posted in SBF's Videos section.