United Safety is pursuing a multi-tiered approach to school bus safety, aiming to help pupil transportation providers face new paradigms and challenges. The spread of COVID-19 throughout the nation – and the ensuing challenges which statewide lockdowns placed on bus travel – was the catalyst for some elements of this holistic safety view. Jeff Krueger, […]
Alternative Transportation Myth #3: Alternative Student Transportation Is Not as Consistent as Traditional Transportation There are several alternative transportation models to explore when evaluating what is best for your district. Each model is different in how they structure their drivers, vehicles, and routing services. Districts utilizing alternative forms of student transportation typically fall within one […]
“Essential workers.” “First people children see every day.” “Critical to children’s education.” Most of us have said these things, with good cause, about our school bus drivers…which makes the current rash of violent acts against drivers so hard to reconcile. As the 2021-22 school year nears the first quarter mark, it has been marked by […]
Please provide an overview of your time in the pupil transportation industry. Steven A. Simmons III: I’ve been in the pupil transportation industry for about 42 years. I started out as a mechanic working for a private contractor in Columbus, Ohio and then applied and got a job with the school district. I worked my […]
Merriam-Webster defines a pandemic as something “occurring over a wide geographic area (such as multiple countries or continents) and typically affecting a significant proportion of the population.” We have seen that definition in action over the last nearly two years. I believe there is another pandemic in our midst and that we must be mindful […]
NAPT and more than a dozen other K-12 organizations recently sent a letter to US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttegieg conveying four specific recommendations for changes in federal policy to help abridge the current shortage of school bus drivers. Why it matters: NAPT and the other organizations believe the changes “will provide meaningful relief and […]
Coniglio, Director of Transportation for the Kenston (OH) Local Schools, received the most votes among the 3 candidates participating in the election for a new NAPT® Region 3 Director. Coniglio outpolled John Benish, Jr., President and Chief Operating Officer of Cook-Illinois Corporation, and Katrina Falk, Director of Transportation for the Shelby Eastern (IN) Schools, to […]
In an effort to assess pupil transportation safety and to tackle the problem of motorists illegally passing stopped school buses, Sacramento City Unified School District has partnered with BusPatrol to launch a pilot program. The district has equipped five of its buses with AI-powered stop-arm cameras to help deter drivers from illegally passing stopped […]
RideAlongNow Inc., a leader in safe and dependable transportation services for families, today announced that the company will provide student transportation for Chicago Public Schools (CPS). RideAlong’s solution offers an alternative to school bus transportation. Families in Chicago will be matched with dependable, safe drivers who will work with the school district and students’ caregivers […]
The School Bus Safety Company announced today they have completely re-created and updated their training course – Transporting Students with Special Needs. The original course is used by thousands of school districts and was created over ten years ago. This new course is considerably improved and is built around a Safety Management System. A Safety […]