MAILBAG
SCHOOL BUS ADS: WHAT SIDE ARE YOU ON? As a school teacher hoping not to be laid off due to bud-
get cuts, I welcome school bus advertising as a new revenue source [“NASDPTS Cites Safety, Legal Concerns in Opposing School Bus Ads,”
www.stnonline.com/go/779]. School bus advertising has been done since the 1990s in Colorado. Tey haven’t had any safety issues or accidents with buses featuring an ad. Te ad takes up just a small percentage of the bus sur- face. Folks can tell it is still a bright yellow school bus. Tese ads do not target students. Tey’re on the outside of the bus. Te
ads I’ve seen are targeting myself and other drivers, not students sitting IN- SIDE the bus. NPR recently mentioned doing a study that found that the majority of students polled did not even notice the ads. Advertising has been done in schools for decades; school bus advertising
is just a more lucrative tweak to what is already being offered. I’ve never ever seen or heard of an advertiser arguing with a district to get their ad on a bus. Use a little common sense. Tis bill needs to be passed to give autonomy to the districts to decide wheth-
er or not to utilize bus advertising as a revenue source. Tey, of course, know what is best for them. Tey don’t have to do it; they just have the opportunity. Tat’s my two cents…
Tom Anderson Nashville, Tenn.
I believe that school boards, with their dismal record of giving teachers
almost anything they asked for in their contracts, are a completely untrust- worthy judge of what advertising the captive audience of students riding school buses could be subjected to [“Analysis of Florida Bill on School Bus Ads Details Potential Legal Issues,”
www.stnonline.com/go/789]. When considering the amount of obesity the fast food industry has inflicted on the American public with their advertising of happy meals and toys, etc., I can’t believe that school boards should ever be allowed that kind of influ- ence over the future of our country.
Frank Hyden, Glen Ellyn, Ill.
Editor’s note — See page 32 in this month’s issue for more on this hot topic.
BURN, BABY, BURN Has anyone been tracking actual fuel/mileage data for the EGR and SCR
engines? Would be nice to get data from transportation managers of fleets running buses with both solutions. Some previous stats I found show up to a 14 percent spread (i.e. 3 to 5 percent increase in fuel economy with SCR and 5 to 9 percent loss with EGR), but actual fleet data would be preferred. Suggestions on who might know this?
Don Lewis, Colton, Calif.
Editor’s note — Te information we’ve received so far has been anecdotal
at best as the technologies are resulting in increased purchase costs of $4,000 to $10,000 per bus. A handful of Advanced EGR users tell us they’ve seen an average increase of 1 to 2 mpg. Meanwhile, SCR side users are reporting slightly better fuel efficiency of an additional 3 to 4 mpg. Time will tell.
10 School Transportation News Magazine May 2011 Printed in the U.S.A Publication Mail Agreement No. 40065374
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Editorial Advisory Board: Denny Coughlin, Consultant; Judith Dupille, Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles; Dick Fischer, Trans-Consult; Ron Love, Delaware DOE; Randy McLerran, Oklahoma DOE; Pete Meslin, Newport-Mesa Unified; Nancy Netherland, Migrant- Seasonal Head Start; Robert Pudlewski, First Student; Alexandra Robinson, NAPT; Launi Schmutz, Washington County Schools
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