INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS In Brief
N.Y. ATLANTIC EXPRESS DRIVER, MONITOR SAVE KIDS FROM BURNING BUS Atlantic Express school bus driver Jamal
Richards and bus monitor Esther Rivera were credited with saving the lives of four students with disabilities after their bus burst into flames in the Bronx. Richards, who had only been with the company for about a month at the time of the incident, was proceeding on his route Jan. 22 when he smelled burning wires. In moments, a fire ignited inside the dashboard, causing damage to the front of the bus. Richards and Rivera worked quickly to evacuate the students, three of whom were in wheel- chairs and one with a walker. As a result, none of the students were injured. “Our company appreciates driver Ja-
mal’s effort and gave him and Esther valor awards,” commented Atlantic Express CEO and President Domenic Gatto.
UTAH SENATOR WANTS TO ELIMINATE 12TH GRADE, BUSING To save $300 million, Sen. Chris Buttars
proposed that the state cut high school busing outside of densely populated areas and phase out the 12th grade in favor of
There is a proposal in the state legis- lature to require seat belts on school buses in Connecticut. Do you think that is a good idea or bad idea?
Total
Good ................................ 73 percent Bad ................................... 20 percent Do Not Know ................. 7 percent
Respondents with Children Attending Public Schools
Good ................................. 73 percent Bad .................................... 22 percent Do Not Know .................. 5 percent
*Source: Quinnipiac University Survey of 1,594 Connecticut registered voters, Jan. 14 through 19, 2010. Margin of error: +/- 2.5 percentage points
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an accelerated graduation system. Many educators and parents are critical, saying that many students would not have a way to get to school without the district buses, and that even if more students were able to drive themselves, the school parking lots are not large enough to accommodate the extra vehicles. Critics also say that the state does not have an extensive enough public transportation system to transport students if district busing was eliminated.
DIESEL COSTS PROJECTED TO RISE OVER NEXT TWO YEARS Te U.S. Energy Information Admin-
istration released the Short-Term Energy Outlook on monthly forecasts through De- cember 2011 and found that on-highway diesel fuel retail prices will average $2.98 per gallon in 2010 and $3.14 in 2011. Te 2009 average was $2.46 per gallon.
LINES DRAWN IN THE BATTLE FOR CHARTER RULE SUPREMACY Te United Motorcoach Association
opposed an amendment to the surface transportation
reauthorization bill on
exempting a Seattle-area transit operator from adhering to the federal charter rule, as private bus operators fear it could have a rippling effect across the nation. In January, federal lobbyist Becky We-
ber updated NSTA members on the status of the proposal inserted last fall by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to not require King County Metro Transit to follow Federal Transit Administration regulations de- signed to protect private enterprise from unfair competition. Te rule states that all local transit agencies that receive federal subsidies to purchase vehicles and equip- ment cannot provide contracted charter service when other local private operators that do not receive federal funds are will- ing and able to perform the work.
CONFERENCE NEWS Online registration is now open for the
15th National Congress on School Trans- portation. Te four-day event will be held May 16-19 in Warrensburg, Mo. Register at
www.ncstonline.org.
14 School Transportation News Magazine March 2010 Te Southeastern States Pupil Trans-
portation Conference will hold a new one-day trade show this summer. Te conference will be held July 11-14, with the trade show on July 13, in Columbia, S.C. Te SESPTC will also be held concurrently with the 2010 South Carolina Association for Pupil Transportation conference. SES- PTC President Leonard Swilley, the pupil transportation director for the state of Mississippi, said such partnerships make sense especially in the current economy. For more information on SESPTC contact Charlie Hood at
charlie.hood@fldoe.org.
NEW NHTSA ADMINISTRATOR TAKES THE REIGNS David Strickland is the latest head of the
National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- tration after being sworn in earlier this year. Strickland helped develop NHTSA’s
reauthorization contained in the 2005 SAFETEA-LU transportation bill. He also served for eight years on the staff of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce,
Tis is a tough thing
to say, but let me be really honest, I think the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans was Hurricane Katrina. Tat education system was a disaster, and it took Hurricane Katrina to wake up the community to say that ‘we have to do better.’” Education Secretary Arne Duncan received criticism for this comment he made during an interview for TV One in January.❞
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