Update: Hawaii Bus Cuts Remain a ‘Work in Progress’ After the Hawaii Department of Education cut 103 school


bus routes in July, about 2,300 students were left without a ride to school. Parents scrambled to arrange for other trans- portation when school resumed on July 30. Te new Assistant Superintendent Ray L’Heureux acknowledged the news took many parents by surprise, while the DOE said it could take a month to get a handle on the impact of the bus cuts. According to the department, the recent route eliminations


and additional consolidations will save $5.5 million in the coming school year — the same amount needed to close its budget hole. Currently, the DOE spends more than $70 million a year on school buses. Meanwhile, the city transit service added more buses in af- fected areas and will track student ridership to determine if


Industry Veteran Marshall Casey Retires From South Carolina DOE


Marshall Casey, the director of


maintenance with the South Carolina Department of Education’s student transportation program, will retire on Sept. 14 after a 37-year career with the state agency. In addition to being a regular pre-


senter at the STN EXPO, Casey has served on the NAPT America’s Best School Bus Technician and School Bus Inspector Training and Skills Compe-


tition. He said he would remain affiliated with the event. Casey added that he would continue to provide school


bus training and presentations, as well as consulting, to the industry. “I have often said that no one accomplishes anything on


their own. Tere is always someone who offers an opportu- nity, encouragement and/or support,” he wrote in an email. Casey said he started in the industry as a school bus


technician in the mid-1970s with the goal of moving into a dealership technician position. But, he noted, school buses became a part of his life. “So often we use the phrase, ‘Bleed Yellow,’ with a lot of


truth. Once you become a part of the school transporta- tion industry, school buses become a part of you and the yellow gets into your blood,” Casey said. He added, “While I will miss the day-to-day operations,


I will take with me many memories of milestones reached and, most importantly, people met.”


the new routes are sufficient. Te list of discontinued school bus routes is posted at www.doe.k12.hi.us/bus. Kenneth LeVasseur, a school bus contractor and longtime


driver, said the cuts would only worsen Oahu’s severe traffic congestion. When the Board of Education voted in July 2011 to increase student transit fares, he argued that charging fami- lies more only decreases ridership and increases traffic around schools. LeVasseur, who is also a former state lobbyist, told School


Transportation News the highly publicized school bus cuts had yet to be finalized at this report, but remained “a work in progress.” “Nothing even close to firm will be known until late August. Te contractors are even in limbo,” he said.


NAPT, Dubai Transport Authority Partner to


Promote School Bus Safety Te National Association


for Pupil Transportation announced July 31 it is part- nering with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in the United Arab Emirates to co-host a school transportation summit in 2013. Te goal of the conference, which will be held next spring in


one of the world’s richest cities, is to create “world-class” school transportation for the Middle East country. Conference dates had not been announced at press time. Per the agreement, NAPT said it will work with RTA to bench-


mark current school transportation service and collaborate on public information campaigns. “NAPT is privileged to join with the Emirate of Dubai in the


interest of helping them and others in their region learn from our experiences operating yellow school buses,” said Alexan- dra Robinson, president of NAPT and the executive director of pupil transportation for the New York City of Department of Education. NAPT and RTA have worked together for several years. In fact,


NAPT Summit attendees may recall seeing U.A.E. delegates at- tend the annual conference and trade show. “Together, we are taking the next step to bring the best


practices in school transportation to individuals, businesses, governments and related school transportation service pro- viders in the Middle East and Northern Africa as well as other countries,” noted Essa Al Dosseri, CEO of RTA’s Public Trans- port Agency.


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