INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS
Missouri Bill to Allow External School Bus Advertisements Amended to
Include Seat-Belt Mandate Last month, the Missouri House approved a bill that would
permit school districts to create new revenue by displaying advertisements on school bus interiors and exteriors. But be- fore sending HB 1273 to the Senate, it enacted an amendment that bundles in a separate, and equally controversial, issue — seat belts. Tis amendment reads, in part, “no advertising shall be per-
mitted on any new school bus purchased after January 1, 2015, unless such bus is also equipped with passenger safety belts for each student.” Under the Missouri legislation, 50 percent of the school-bus ad revenues would be allocated to transportation, while the other
half could be spent at the district’s discretion. Tis bill prohibits advertising that could be considered inappropriate or offensive for children, including ads for tobacco, alcohol or political issues. Bill opponents argue that corporations already spend billions of dollars every year to market products to children. Accord-
ing to the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Texas, Tennessee, Massachusetts, Colorado, Arizona and several others already allow school bus ads. Te CCFC website tracks states like California and New York, where legislators are considering bills that permit such ads. But little has been said publicly about the recent amendment to the bill mandating that school bus advertising be dependent
on seat belts. National Express and Petermann
Merge, Divest Certain Contracts National Express Corporation in May announced it
completed the acquisition of Cincinnati-based Petermann Partners Inc., the fifth-largest student transportation provider in the United States. Te deal was completed one day after the U.S. Department of
Justice (DOJ) made the announcement that National Express and Petermann agreed to sell eight school bus contracts and associated assets located in Texas and Washington State in order for the proposed merger to proceed. Te companies divested the eight current contracts to
Student Transportation of America to ease concerns by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division, which worked with the Texas and Washington State Attorneys General offices during the investigation. Te Texas school districts are located in Bastrop, Boyd, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Leander, Manor and Terrel, while the Washington State districts are Battle Ground and Hockinson. National Express and Petermann agreed to complete the
divestitures of school bus operations by this month or to have a court monitor the transactions. Despite handing over the contracts, the acquisition is still
expected to strengthen National Express’ position in the U.S. student transportation market, adding more than 22,000 buses to the company’s fleet size across North America, the company said.
18 School Transportation News Magazine June 2012 Navistar Continues Global Growth
Efforts With China Partnership Navistar in late April showcased its IC Bus school bus
and new TranStar and ProStar International AeroStar concept trucks at the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition. Meanwhile, the company reinforced its commitment to the Chinese market and its joint-venture partnership with Chinese truck maker Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd. (JAC). Navistar began preliminary conversations with JAC to
lend its expertise in school bus design and manufacturing. “Navistar is excited to be sharing our experience and
school bus safety expertise with China, and we look forward to additional opportunities in the future,” said John McKin- ney, president of Navistar Global Bus Group. While
in China, Navistar also partnered with the
United States Trade Development Agency to host a school bus safety symposium for bus fleet operators, Chinese government officials, media and other guests. Te symposium featured information on the company’s 100 years of experience in the school bus industry as well as the current landscape of U.S. and Canadian student transportation systems. Te symposium also included an overview of the U.S. and
Canadian school bus specifications and federal regulations that help to make the vehicles the safest way to transport students to and from school.
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