HEADLINES Reducing Routes, Costs with Corrals Whether it’s called a staging area, a loading zone or a bus corral, school districts are
trying to bring both students and buses together in one common area to cut down on both the number of daily routes and the costs associated with them. For some of the smaller school districts outside of Minneapolis, Voigt Bus Company
has set up a terminal that allows the contractor to consolidate loads of students before starting the trek to each school. Not only does this reduce the number of miles, fuel and
wear and tear on each bus, it comes with a few added bonuses. “It eliminates some risk when you cut
down on the number of buses mixing with young drivers around school prop- erties,” said Vice President of Operations Troy Voigt. “It also eliminates risk when you put less buses into a loading zone that is 99 percent danger zone.” Near the home of the Hershey’s Choco-
late Factory in southeast Pennsylvania, David Yarian is overseeing the construction of corrals that will provide his primary and secondary school students with even more safety when loading and unloading from his buses. Te transportation director for Derry Township School District said that the cor- rals will allow room for all of their buses to load at one time, with the construction planned for the upcoming summer months. “Te safety advantage is a line will be
painted five feet from the sidewalk. Te buses will stop along that line and the students will exit the bus and walk to the sidewalk. Tis will eliminate buses moving right along the sidewalk where students are walking,” explained Yarian. Te buses will not depart until every
student has boarded and the area will be dedicated to buses only, which is part of the district’s plan to separate vehicle traffic, pedestrians, and bus traffic and im- prove traffic around the school campus. “Our transportation department is ex-
cited about the upgrade as it is expected to make loading and unloading safer and improve efficiency,” added Yarian. On the opposite side of the country,
near the bright lights of the Vegas strip, Clark County School District Assistant Director of Transportation Douglas Geller has evolved the concept into one that will also benefit his drivers. After morn- ing runs, drivers head towards “park-outs,” which are located at some high schools and allow drivers to shuttle back togeth- er on one single bus and then return the same way for their afternoon runs. “We are maximizing efficiencies and
reducing deadheads in these ways and will adapt the program as needs arise,” said Geller. ■
24 School Transportation News Magazine June 2010
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