2011 SURVEY
TRANSPORTATION
DIRECTORS, SUPERVISORS
Readers share thoughts on wide-ranging issues affecting student transportation Te results are in from School Trans-
portation News’ 2011 survey of school district transportation directors and supervisors on such varied topics as bul- lying, seat belt usage in school buses, child reminder policies for school bus drivers and the effects of distracted driving. STN addressed the survey to nearly
6,600 subscribers with the title of trans- portation director or supervisor at school districts and Head Start agencies nation- wide and received 262 total responses, of which 153 completed all questions asked on such topics as the effects of distracted driving, school bus revenue sources, and financing/leasing. Editor’s note — See re- lated articles on child reminder policies for drivers (page 40) and fuel hedging (page 38). On average, these operations operate
45 regular school bus routes for 3,276 students and 15 special needs routes for
181 students with disabilities. Tese fleets also average about 12 spares each. Te average number of bus drivers employed at these districts or agencies is nearly 61, with an average of three technicians servicing the fleet. Several respondents counted themselves as also performing maintenance duties in addition to super- vising all operations. Bullying on board school buses con-
tinues to be an issue, as seen by literally dozens of news reports from across the country since the start of school. A year after James Jones gained national media attention for illegally boarding a Florida school bus to confront students he alleged had bullied his daughter, several separate cases have occurred since September in- volving parents or siblings berating or even battering students. When asked if their operations utilize formal training for
34 School Transportation News Magazine November 2011
bus drivers on how to respond to student bullying, 61 percent said “yes” compared to 39 percent who said “no.” A wide variety of bullying training is
being used, ranging from state or local district programs to commercial training modules to NAPT’s new positive behavior support that was developed for the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools. A few specific pro- grams cited included the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program and those produced by state associations, the Pupil Transpor- tation Safety Institute, the School Bus Safety Company, and Education Compli- ance Group. With NHTSA’s revised rule on school
bus occupant passenger protection go- ing into effect last month, which includes requirements for mandatory three-point, lap-shoulder belts in school buses less
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