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SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS COMMENDED FOR EVACUATION EFFORTS AFTER BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING
Utah State Director Murrell Martin, left, accepts the ASBC’s
School Bus Champion Award from Max Christensen, president of NASDPTS and the Iowa state director.
NSTA Members Address Industry
Issues at Annual Bus-In Event Nearly 40 members of the
National Student Transportation Association traveled to Washing- ton D.C., for the annual “Bus-In” to discuss school transportation security, federal regulatory guid- ance on sleep apnea and other industry issues with congressional representatives. Held April 23-25, the event
included a day and a half of more than 190 individual public policy advocacy meetings on Capitol Hill with elected officials. NSTA Executive Director Ronna Weber said the event produced some significant congressional interest in many of the group’s key issues, and added that follow-up actions are underway. “Spending time in our nation’s
capital as a group and focused specifically on our most pressing issues is critical to our success,” she added. In conjunction with the Bus-In
event, NSTA commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the passage of the Clean School Bus program, which transitioned under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act, or DERA. Te program has been one of the only sustained federal fund- ing programs for school buses and
has inspired the industry to move toward more modern and greener operations. For this reason Ameri- can School Bus Council presented inaugural School Bus Champion awards to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Utah. Te new ASBC program honors those whose leadership has produced positive outcomes for their communities and the school bus industry. Christopher Grundler, director of the Office of Transportation and Air Quality, accepted the award on behalf of the EPA. Murrell Martin, state director of transportation at the Utah State Office of Education, accepted its award. He has led a state program that used more than $6 million in EPA and matching grant funding to “green” the state’s fleet. Finally, executive members of the state director associa- tion, NASDPTS, held separate meetings with federal regulatory agencies such as NHTSA, NTSB and FMCSA on topics related to student transportation “We feel it’s important to keep
these relationships flourished and alive,” said NASDPTS President Max Christensen.
22 School Transportation News June 2013 Eight bus drivers for AA Transportation in
Shrewsbury, Mass., in April were recognized for their selfless and heroic efforts in the aftermath of the explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line. AA Transportation President Ron Ernenwein and other management officials commended Blanca Lugo, Hector Vazquez, Edward Bougault, William Hogan, Jose Blanco, Todd Williams, Micheal Ciesluk and Robert Amadei. The drivers also received a commendation from the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles for using their school buses to shuttle spectators and runners away from the finish line after the bombs exploded. In all, three spectators, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and more than 260 were injured. “The area they were working in was complete
mayhem, and with their professionalism this group brought composure and calm for the folks that they transported,” Ernenwein said. “I cannot say enough about how proud I am to have this group of Americans as part of my team, staff and friendship.” Once the first explosion occurred, followed by another one about 12 seconds later, Ernenwein noted it was difficult for his staff to keep in touch with the eight drivers as all communications in the city had been shut down. Officials were concerned that a detonator would be triggered from a cellphone. But he noted that didn’t stop the drivers to work with the authorities and assist in evacuation efforts until 10 p.m. on April 15. AA Transportation offers contract transportation
services to more than 22 public and private school districts in central Massachusetts, according to its website, as well as to various colleges, companies and businesses. It also provides charter bus services. The company was one of a many contracted
by the Boston Athletic Association to provide transportation services during the marathon activities. Ernenwein said about 75 of its school buses were used before the marathon to transport runners to the starting line.
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