Researchers at the Universities of Louisville and Pittsburgh are asking school bus drivers and attendants who transport students in wheelchairs to share their experiences.

A federally funded research project is being conducted to obtain accurate and objective information on the real-world experience of transporting wheelchair-seated students in school buses. The project is funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

School bus drivers and attendants who work in a specially equipped bus on a regular or part-time basis are requested to participate in an anonymous survey. The outcomes are expected to improve transportation safety of wheelchair-seated students by identifying needs for improved safety technologies, standards and training.

The survey, which was announced in March, will close at the end of May.

Officials said that the survey is easy to use and can be completed in 15 minutes or less. It is online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/WheelchairsOnBuses.

A flyer that can be posted or passed out to drivers and attendants can be accessed here.

For more information about the survey, contact Mary Ellen Buning at me_buning@mac.com or (502) 407-3272.

To learn more about the NIDRR center on wheelchair transportation safety, go to www.rercwts.org.