New buses tout extra safety features
Fifteen new school buses that recently hit the road transporting PUSD kids are sporting not only a “European” look, they also contain state-of-the-art safety equipment.
Astute drivers in the Poway Unified School District may have noticed the buses’ high, sleek, front-end.
Despite the new design that gives a wink to the manufacturer’s ties to DaimlerChrysler Mercedes-Benz, it’s the features inside the buses that set them apart from the older buses in the fleet.
At about $92,000 each, the “small” school buses have joined the PUSD fleet of 150 buses in recent weeks, said Transportation Department Director Timothy Purvis.
The district has two sizes of buses: “large” buses used to transport regular students and “small” buses used for transporting students with disabilities or those requiring special services at alternative school sites outside PUSD.
Purvis said while the purchase of the buses is part of the district’s ongoing objective to provide the newest, safest buses to its 6,000-plus riders, the new buses are the first in the PUSD fleet to feature three-point seat belts, GPS, an electronic safety inspection system, as well as other features.
While California law states that all “small” school buses manufactured after July 1, 2004, contain the three-point seat belts, the new buses are the first the district has purchased that fall under those guidelines.
Purvis is quick to point out that while he is in favor of seat belts on school buses, it’s the driver behind the wheel that ensures a safe trip for students to and from school.
He noted that PUSD drivers tackle about 60 hours of training before transporting any students.
Even though seat belts give students an extra level of safety, he said the installation of the belts reduces buses’ capacities, therefore driving up the cost of transportation.
Buses with the three-point seat belts can only hold two students per seat, as opposed to the older style, which can hold up to three students, if needed.
Since California does not mandate free bus transportation for students, parents foot the bill for the service, which runs $366 per year for each student.
Purvis noted that when parents cannot afford the cost of a bus pass, sometimes those kids are left to less safe forms of transportation, such as walking or riding a bike to school on busy roads.
Purvis estimates that it will take several decades to replace the entire PUSD fleet with buses that all have the three-point seat belts because the average life of a school bus is about 20 years or 250,000 miles. The oldest bus in the PUSD fleet is a 1989 model, he said.
As far as “large” buses are concerned, the state mandated that those types of buses manufactured after July 1, 2005, come equipped with three-point seat belts.
In addition to the seat belts, another safety feature on the new buses includes a GPS system that allows district staff to study highest speed, lowest speed, idle time and location of each bus.
Also, the new buses feature the Zonar system. With this system, drivers use a handheld device that is activated by radio frequency identification tags in critical zones around the bus. The drivers use the device to run through their daily safety checklist.
For example, once initially activated, the handheld device displays a list of items to check near each tag. Once checked, the driver can either note a problem or an “all-clear.” It’s a 30-minute process that involves checking 80 items around, under and inside the bus. Drivers that inspect buses without the Zonar technology use a checklist and submit the paperwork to the maintenance department.
Bus driver Deirdre Alfred has been transporting PUSD students for more than two years and recently took the wheel of one of the new buses.
Explaining that the new Zonar system “is automatic and easy to use,” she said she also likes how the maintenance department is electronically alerted when she notes a problem, big or small, with her bus.
The new “small” buses also include air conditioning, which makes the ride more comfortable for the students who sometimes travel outside of PUSD to attend schools that can meet their needs.
In addition, the new buses can transport 12 students in seats, as well as up to three students in wheelchairs. Several of the new buses feature built-in car seats to accommodate preschoolers who may qualify for district transportation or for students who need assistance sitting up.
The PUSD fleet encompasses buses manufactured by three different companies: Blue Bird Corp., Thomas Built Buses and IC Corp. The new buses are built by Thomas, which is a member of Freightliner LLC, a unit of DaimlerChrsyler.