of School Transportation vote last May that overwhelm- ingly rejected a provision to require LED lighting on many exterior fixtures on school buses. Some transportation industry veterans said they were perplexed by the outcome because LEDs are recognized as superior in visibility, energy efficiency, lifespan and flexibility. NCST representatives from various states voiced con- cerned that an LED requirement for “all exterior body/ chassis lighting with the exception of head/park/turn combination assemblies” could carry a financial impact or would handcuff districts to LEDs even if future tech- nology proves to be a better option. Kissell, Hawkins and Ragunathan said incandescent
lights can’t hold a candle to the visibility projected by LEDs on a bus exterior. Brett Kuchciak, First Light’s specification and compliance manager, said last year that a Canadian Standards Associ- ation committee was continuing to work on standardizing LED lights under the voluntary CSA D250 standard. “Despite the NCST [proposal] not going forward, we think it’s some-
thing beneficial for the safety of school buses,” he said. First Light, which is one of many companies in the
competitive LED lighting market segment, funded a 15-district study to determine if fully illuminating bus stop arms are more likely to reduce illegal passings than retroreflective stop arms. Fourteen school districts reported “a measurable reduction in violations and an overall median decrease of 60.2 percent.” “With budgets in mind, our industry can understand
why transportation directors and fleet managers do factor in ROI when it comes to LED technology over incandescent lighting,” added Kuchciak. “But the safety benefit gained by having brighter, more uniform light- ing on vehicles should be all the justification needed.” Kuchciak also noted that some northern-state fleet op-
erators prefer incandescent exterior lights because their heat melts snow and ice. “It’s not something that’s widely seen as a benefit, but you’ll get the occasional shop guy who says that,” he commented in the fall. “Typically, though, something that gets hot on a school bus is not ideal. You’d rather have the safety factor of an LED light
Read about the decision by state delegates attending last year’s National Congress on School Transportation to not add a requirement for LEDs on school buses at
stnonline.com/go/ot.
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NOW SCHEDULING 2026 INSTALLS 34 School Transportation News • MARCH 2026
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