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After its unionized drivers voted down a new contract offer, the nearly 50-year-old school bus operator says it will close the business. “We gave the union our best offer, which was significantly better than what the new companies in the industry are providing,” Atlantic Express officials say in a statement. “Without this labor contract, we have no choice left but to proceed with the sale of all of the company’s assets and contracts.”
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The Port Washington, N.Y., operator now has Rosco’s Dual-Vision recorders on its entire school bus fleet. Bob Pape, principal of transportation at Dell, says that the devices have led to lower insurance premiums and have enhanced safety for both the children and the drivers.
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At Bethlehem Central School District in Delmar, N.Y., Director of Transportation Alfred Karam has adopted a businesslike approach to running the transportation department, while also focusing on student safety. The transportation team was able to reduce its overall transportation budget by about $900,000 for the 2012-13 school year, and by tracking key performance indicators such as planned versus actual ridership, they have been able to consolidate their routes from 111 to 86.
Read More →The Democrat and Chronicle reviews three years’ worth of data from the New York Department of Education on school bus crashes and injury accidents, finding that the greatest danger to students comes from other motorists. For example, in 51 of the local crashes, or 30%, buses were rear-ended, most often by a motorist who failed to notice the school bus stopped in the roadway for students to disembark, or at the railroad crossing in front of them.
Read More →Smaller, financially strapped school districts that can offer greater educational opportunities together are the best candidates for mergers, according to new research by the New York State School Boards Association. But mergers can also present drawbacks, the report says, such as longer bus rides.
Read More →The driver was reportedly having difficulty navigating a barrier at a gas station after dropping off students at their school, and police administered a sobriety test prior to charging the driver with driving while intoxicated. Richard Gallagher, president of the New York association, says, “… we see in this instance that the actions of one school bus driver spoil our record of safety for the more than 2.3 million children who ride yellow school buses to and from school each day."
Read More →Officials say that once it’s finished, the seven-acre hub in Brookhaven, N.Y., will help to generate 150 new jobs at the site. In addition to the new 20,000-square foot maintenance, dispatching and training facility, there is a new fueling station, and the company will demolish an outdated structure on the site to make room for more vehicles.
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Neighboring New York school districts Livonia and Geneseo recently signed an agreement to have Michael Dallessandro at the helm of both of their transportation operations. Here, the veteran director discusses the logistics and goals for his new role.
Read More →Watkins Glen Central School District will provide transportation for Odessa-Montour Central School District students in the fall, which is expected to save the latter district about $100,000. The Watkins Glen district will also benefit from the agreement, as travel for sports teams will be combined when possible.
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The Steffi Crossing Enhancer, invented by longtime New York school bus driver Victoria DeCarlo, can help students see the driver's hand signal when crossing the street. DeCarlo tells SBF that "thousands" of Steffis are now in use across the nation.
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