Like many of her colleagues, Portee uses a sophisticated GPS
system that monitors idling time and provides a print out for each bus. “We can print a snapshot of each day and post it to reiterate the 10-minute limit,” added Portee. “Tere is a law here, and drivers are responsible for citations. We can also review com- plaints from residents. As a rule we tell our drivers to shut down their buses when they arrive at a school. Tis is incorporated in their training.” Strict California regulations remove all doubt. “When loading or unloading we cannot idle more than 30 sec-
onds,” said Ralph Knight, transportation director for Napa Valley Unified School District north of San Francisco. “It is in our hand- book and posted on our bulletin board. I tell drivers that, no matter what, you shut the bus down when you’re at a school. We treat CNG buses the same as diesel fuel buses; we shut them off. Tis includes [in] the bus yard.” Knight said the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has
spot-checked his buses three times since the law went into ef- fect in 2003 and found nothing. “During winter we remind drivers that they must pay the $300 fine if they get a ticket,” he added. Paul Jacobs, chief of mobile sources enforcement for CARB,
said school districts have conformed nicely. “We had some viola- tions when we rolled out the regulation, but today we have about 99 percent compliance.” Knight said the regulation helped his district score a commu-
nity relations coup. “Every year we’d have to paint our neighbor’s white house adjacent to the bus yard because it would be black with soot by the end of the year. Now we don’t have to.” Fuel savings are generally calculated at one gallon per one hour
of idling and are based on fleet size. Eva Christie, transportation supervisor for Kenston Schools in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, said using portable heaters for bus engines to eliminate idling saved the dis- trict $43,000 over four years. “Tere are no emissions at all because just the heaters are run-
ning,” said Christie. “I remind my drivers we have a five-minute limit, and for the most part they pay attention and shut their buses off. If I see a bus idling I do my Hungarian hysterical act and they get shut off.” While winters can also get cold in the Southwestern desert,
searing heat is often the culprit. Te Arizona Department of En- vironmental Quality (ADEQ) asked districts to voluntarily limit idling to five minutes. “Over the past several years we have drastically reduced our idling
time,” said Nick Portonova, transportation director in the Deer Val- ley Unified School District in Phoenix. “Five minutes is good during the winter, but during the hot months we set a maximum of 10 minutes. When buses sit in 110-degree heat, it takes a few minutes to cool them off.” Ron Latko, Portonova’s counterpart for Mesa Public Schools,
has the nation’s 13th largest special needs fleet. “When you’re dealing with heat-sensitive children you can’t al-
ways stick to five minutes,” said Latko. “But our drivers have been told not to have buses idling unnecessarily. If they have a layover at a school they can go inside to get out of the heat.” Twenty-one states have adopted anti-idling regulations.
www.stnonline.com 21
It’s solutions that empower. It’s service that excels. It’s a team that understands everyone has a job to do from the transportation director right up to the school superintendent. And it’s a commitment to making that job easier. Maybe that’s why the Versatrans® product suite continues to set the standard for smoother bus routing, seamless software integration, and unparalleled district planning. Want school transportation software that thinks like you do? Visit
tylertech.com or email us at
info@tylertech.com.
School Transportation solutions that
think like you do.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76