BRIEFS
TAPPINGTHE POWER OFTHE SUN Te power of alternative fuels never
ceases to amaze. Early next year, Wisconsin of all places is primed to become the na- tion’s largest plug-in, hybrid-electric school bus fleet, and it will be partially fueled by solar energy. And in doing so, Wisconsin will supplant Ohio as the nation’s largest PHEV school bus fleet by three fold. School bus contractor Riteway Bus
Wisconsin is scheduled to have the largest plug-in, hybrid-electric school bus fleet in the nation by early next year, and the buses will partially be fueled by the sun.
MAKING A FEDERAL CASE A U.S. Department of Education spokesperson confirmed that the Office of Safe and
Drug-Free Schools was considering a study on school bus safety, especially in regard to on-board student bullying. While no firm plans for the study were in place at this writing, the American School Bus Council said in early August that the Department of Education was looking to start a school bus study early this month. A representa- tive from the U.S. Department of Transportation, which is undertaking its own national public awareness campaign on the environmental, educational and safety benefits of the yellow bus, also told School Transportation News that the Education Depart- ment would be performing a survey. Te Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools is headed by Assistant Deputy Secretary Kevin Jennings, himself a victim of bullying as a child and an advocate of anti-bullying programs in schools. Jennings met with ASBC representa- tives earlier this year and conducted a Webinar on bullying for NAPT this past spring.
TEXAS SEAT BELT REQUIREMENT FINALLY FUNDED Te Legislative Budget Board sent a letter to the Texas Education Agency on Sept. 2
authorizing $3.6 million be made available to school districts to cover the additional costs of purchasing new school buses equipped with three-point lap/shoulder belts. A law mandating the passenger safety systems in all newly manufactured school buses
also went into effect on Sept. 1, but TEA did not immediately receive a letter of approval from LBB to release the funds and to publish guidelines to inform school districts how to apply for grant funds to offset increased bus purchase costs. Prior to releasing its funding approval, LBB publicly released a draft implementation plan developed earlier this year by the Texas Transportation Institute. [Editor’s note — LBB approved the plan for public dis- semination despite the “confidential draft” language on the cover sheet. Download the plan at
www.stnonline.com/go/709.] Te state legislature originally allocated $10 million toward school bus replacement
costs, but the remaining $6.4 million was cut by TEA following a directive handed down in January by Gov. Rick Perry that certain state program budgets be cut. Te Texas school bus seat belt fund fell in this category, according to a TEA spokesperson. A spokesperson for Sen. Eddie Lucio, a co-author of the original school bus seat
belt legislation introduced in 2007, said the remaining $6.4 million could be made available via the supplemental budget bill that will be introduced when the legisla- tive session resumes in early 2011.
14 School Transportation News Magazine October 2010
Oct10_STN.indb 14 9/14/10 12:17 PM
Service broke ground on a new solar re-charging station in late August, with completion slated for next month. Te company will receive 13 IC Bus PHEVs in February. Meanwhile, Oconomowoc Transport Company opened a similar solar-recharging station for 11 IC PHEVs that are already transporting some of the 3,800 students at Oconomowoc School District. Both companies used ARRA funds made available to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities Program to produce some 60,000 kWh of energy annually while reducing emis- sions by 30- to 40 percent. Sandy Syburg, president of Ocono-
mowoc Transport, said solar panels are much more efficient than traditional fuel sources, even producing enough energy on a cloudless winter night to fully charge a school bus.
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