▲ This staggered seating arrangement allows student passengers to efficiently get to their seats.


▲ The bus’ seating can accommodate two or three children.


of the designers, Julio Flores, who is unre- lated to Montebello’s Flores, even received permission from now-retired Director of Transportation David Randall to ride along on Adauto’s morning and afternoon route. “It really enlightened them quite a bit,”


said Amelia Flores in June of the visit. She pointed out to the team the major


bus components as well as how students load and unload the bus and how, in Cali- fornia, drivers are required to leave the bus and help cross elementary students. Te designers also learned about seat compart- mentalization. A couple of months later, in


October 2011, Flores was invited to the GK Design office to see some initial designs. “What amazed me was the design and


how it looked like it would be very com- fortable to ride for the students,” she added. “It had a lot of room, that’s what I liked about it.” Te concept bus, Kerechuk said, hypo-


thetically runs on an electric drive train because the designers felt the high-torque technology best suited the stop-and-go operation of school buses, at least the ones they see every day in and around Los An- geles. Additionally, the bus withstands high


48 School Transportation News Magazine October 2012


fuel prices while delivering low emissions. Te body, meanwhile, is constructed out of polyurethane that could withstand dents, though it would crack in severe crashes. Tis plastic, said Kerechuk, would also save in manufacturing costs because it is less ex- pensive than, say, steel and aluminum. Te bus would also be constructed us-


ing the concept of “commonization,” or common parts to reduce manufacturing costs and parts inventory, and “modular- ization,” or interchangeable, molded nose and rear caps — all to improve economies of scale. Te middle of the bus could be


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