The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) returned to Washington, D.C., for its 2023 Capitol Hill Bus-ln this week.

The program was held April 26-27, 2023, and it marked the first time since 2019 - before the COVID-19 pandemic - that NSTA members could go to Capitol Hill and engage with their elected representatives and staff members in-person.

Picking Up the Baton on Bus Safety

The centerpiece of the Bus-ln advocacy effort was an initiative to aggressively curb the epidemic of illegal school bus passings that have continued to plague the student transportation system. Data indicates that this vexing problem has exploded in the post-pandemic environment, and Rep. Rudy Yakym has pledged to carry on the legacy of the late Rep. Jackie Walorski in addressing this critical issue directly with a legislative proposal to be introduced within the next few weeks.

The 2023 NSTA Capitol Hill Bus-ln program started with a welcome reception luncheon at the Embassy Suites - Washington Convention Center.

Following the luncheon, NSTA members were bused to Capitol Hill for a group photograph and held their first day of meetings at U.S. Senate offices in the Hart and Dirksen Buildings.

The day's events were capped off by an evening reception with Yakym, and he spoke with NSTA members about his experiences as a freshman House Member, as well as his view of the importance of school bus safety.

On April 27, NSTA members again traversed Capitol Hill for a second day of advocacy efforts, mainly engaging with offices of House Members. These meetings focused on the Illegal School Bus Passing initiative, as well as discussion about potential solutions to the school bus driver shortage, and the launch of a Clean School Bus Program — a federal initiative that provides grant funding to school bus operators for the electrification of the school bus fleet.

Celebrating a Successful Return to D.C.

In total, NSTA members participated in nearly 85 separate meetings with Congressional Offices over the course of the two-day program.

"By any measure, the 2023 NSTA Capitol Hill Bus-ln was a tremendous success,” said NSTA President Carina Noble. “After a few years of being unable to meet directly with our elected officials, the organization picked up right where we left off in 2019. Building and maintaining relationships with our elected officials is vital to our work and our mission. By the numbers, we were able to meet with almost 20% of Congressional Offices over two days and provide them with our perspective on several important issues that the NSTA advocacy team is pursuing."

"l am pleased to see the traditional NSTA Capitol Hill Bus-ln program return to its original format,” said Curt Macysyn, NSTA executive director. “The organization was able to meet with many Congressional Offices over the course of the two-day event, as well as with several of our elected representatives directly. While our advocacy team efforts over the past several years have been very successful, the organization still has work to do in supporting private school bus contractors in addressing the epidemic of illegal school bus passings, the transition to an electric school bus fleet, and solving the bus driver shortage."