▲ The driver’s station features large, simply shaped touchscreen panels. High-frequency controls such as the door open/close buttons are located on the steering wheel hub to minimize reach.
▲ The E2 considers the variety of “fit up” a school bus must accommodate. In this case, it is special needs accessibility. This integrated lift gate may be added to a standard bus.
in post-World War II Japan. Te company designed the Kikkoman soy sauce bottle, the world’s first bul- let train and, most recently, Yamaha motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and watercraft. Te 60-year-old company now has 11 locations around the world, mostly in Japan, but one in Switzerland and two in the United States. To keep his team on their creative toes, Kerechuk
often assigns them a non-work-related project to bring fresh perspectives to their designs and to break the monotony of deadlines. Tat’s how the E2, short for “economics” and “environment,” school bus concept began. “You always have that entertainment side of a
concept machine,” said Kerechuk, pointing to sci- fi movies and examples of flying, space-age school buses. “We like to make something that is valuable to a discussion, that can be made today. School buses are very safe and have an outstanding track record. Tey just seem to have sacrificed this oth- er stuff.”
As student transporters know full well, that
“other stuff” historically has been sacrificed for a number of reasons, among them cost and unin- tended consequences of how they might affect on-board student safety. But the point was not to create the next production-ready school. Te project was to allow his designers stretch their imaginations. In doing so, however, they did a lot of homework. Te team researched all 37 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards related to school buses and visited with a local school district to see firsthand how school buses operate. Tat’s where Montebello Unified School District outside of Los Angeles and Training Coordinator Amelia Flores came into the picture. Kerechuk remembered that old high school friend
John Adauto was a school bus driver in Montebello. He approached Adauto, and last year GK Design was granted access to the transportation depart- ment. Te team of designers visited the district to actually see and touch the buses up close. One
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