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Changes to Vehicle Inspections - How to Obtain a Refund from MTO for Unused Yellow Stickers
Changes made to Highway Traffic Act (HTA) Regulation 611, Safety Inspections, effective January 1, 2019 makes a provision for the use of Limited Brake Inspections (LBI) for the safety inspection of buses, accessible vehicles, and school purpose vehicles. This change eliminated the use of the “yellow” annual inspection stickers on these types of vehicles as now only the “orange” stickers are used on buses, accessible vehicles, and school purpose vehicles.
For those Motor Vehicle Inspection Station (MVIS) operators who have existing stocks of yellow inspection stickers that can no longer be used, they can be returned to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for a refund or credit. A form is required to process this transaction which can be downloaded here. Please note that the yellow annual inspection stickers will continue to be used on trucks and trailers.
For most MVIS related information from MTO go to: www.ontario.ca/mvis
OSBA will be offering an LBI form in the near future that can be purchased directly from the Association’s website. Stay tuned for further details!
For questions/further information, members are encouraged to contact OSBA’s Safety and Legislation Team at 416.695.9965 Ext. 4 or abugeya@osba.on.ca
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2019 OSBA Membership Renewals
 The 2019 OSBA membership renewals have been distributed individually to each member. Sincere thanks to all members who supported and participated in OSBA in 2018 and in previous years. Membership fees enable OSBA to continue providing professional and valuable products and services to all members. If you haven't completed your 2019 online renewal information as yet, it would be much appreciated if you could do so by February 28, 2019. Thank you very much!
Questions/more details, please contact Katie Heyworth at info@osba.on.ca
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Viral Video Calls for Stop-Arm Cameras on All School Buses in Ontario
Full Article: LetsRememberAdam
Article Date: January 29, 2019
 The “Let’s Remember Adam - STOP FOR THE SCHOOL BUS” campaign celebrated 2 million views on their latest video in the “This has to stop. We need to stop!” initiative. The video went viral on Facebook after being live for just over a week, and less than two weeks since launching the new initiative.
The video, titled “Stop-Arm Cameras for all School Buses in Ontario”, is the second to go live in a four-part series commemorating Pierre Ranger’s youngest brother Adam who was tragically killed at five years old after exiting a school bus in February 2000 as a result of a stop-arm violation. It calls for stop-arm cameras to be installed on all
school buses in order to enforce the law and keep children safe as they travel to and from school. The video can be viewed here: Stop-Arm Cameras for all School Buses in Ontario
“We made the video as part of the ‘This needs to stop. We need to stop!’ initiative to get Adam’s message out, to alert people to the real danger our children are put in when someone fails to stop for the school bus,” says Pierre Ranger, Chairman of “Let’s Remember Adam - STOP FOR THE SCHOOL BUS”. “More than 1.5 million people have heard my family’s story. We’re raising awareness. Now, we need to change motorist behaviour. Our government must implement a solution before tragedy strikes again.”
Mr. Ranger plans to release the third video in the series on or before the anniversary of Adam’s passing. He urges everyone to continue to watch and share the videos on social media, and calls on local and provincial governments to do their part to help make the law more enforceable. The campaign will continue until all drivers stop for the school bus.
Adam Ranger was five years old when he was tragically killed on his way home from school by a driver who failed to stop for the stopped school bus in 2000. In 2004 the local community, in partnership with the Mattawa Group of Four Police Service Board, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Ministry of Transportation launched the Let’s Remember Adam - Stop for the School Bus initiative to raise awareness of the devastating consequences of stop-arm violations. The Ranger family assumed responsibility for the initiative in 2015 and continues to spread Adam’s message of school bus and student safety through educational campaigns about stop-arm road rules and their enforcement.
For more information visit: www.letsrememberadam.org
To view the first video in the series, visit: This has to stop. We need to stop!
To view the second video in the series, visit: Stop-Arm Cameras for all School Buses in Ontario
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Student Transportation Inc. Charity Increased Grants, Fundraising in 2018
Full Article: School Bus Fleet
Article Date: February 4, 2019
Student Transportation of America (STA) had a banner year partnering with its charitable organization, the STI Cares Foundation, increasing grants and fundraising efforts, helping those in need throughout North America.
"Our employees continue to exhibit their deep commitment to each other, our communities, and the schools and students we serve through fundraising, collection efforts, and volunteer work," said Kelly Engelbert, Executive Director of the STI Cares Foundation. "The service in our communities is so well-received, and we look forward to continuing our efforts of helping our own and those in need."
The STI Cares Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has been assisting STA locations with developing localized volunteer programs to help raise funds for the foundation's scholarship and hardship grant programs along with charitable contributions to local, regional, and national causes.
 In 2018, STI Cares distributed approximately $70,000 in scholarship grants to advance the educational opportunities of students STA transports. Over $50,000 of hardship grants were disseminated, going toward natural disaster relief, home catastrophes, medical bills, funeral expenses, and extreme financial hardship, helping some who had become homeless. Charitable donations in excess of $20,000 were made to organizations such as JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), YMCA, March of Dimes, veteran support charities, food banks, cancer support charities, and community charities supporting local families in need.
The 2018 company-wide “Driving Our Communities” effort was also successful, with donations of $45,000 and countless hours put in by the STA and Student Transportation of Canada (STC) family to help those in the communities STA and STC serve. From Florida to Ontario, and Maine to California, employees volunteered their time at local charities and nonprofits, donated transportation services for community events, and held fundraising raffles and stuff-the-bus events. Across North America, the efforts helped bring joy to children’s hospitals and orphan relief programs, cancer walks, and senior citizens’ homes. Support was also provided to animal rescue organizations, regional food pantries, disaster relief efforts, women’s shelters, and underprivileged families in the communities where employees work and live.
STI Cares’ largest fundraiser, the Denis, Denny & Mark’s 7th Annual Pro-Am Jam, was another great success. The generosity and support from the event partners, sponsors, donors, celebrities, and volunteers allowed the event to provide the charity partners with over $300,000 in donations, including $100,000 to STI Cares. Since its inaugural year in 2012, the Pro-Am Jam has raised and donated over $1,600,000 to the three host charities that share the common mission to provide better opportunities for children and the less fortunate.
For those interested in getting involved or donating to the STI Cares Foundation, go here. To learn more about Student Transportation of America and its family of companies, go here.
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Transport Canada Struggling to Buy a Bus Shell to Crash
Full Article: CBC News
Article Date: January 18, 2019
Crash tests that could make transit buses safer and more resilient in a collision have been stalled because Transport Canada (TC) has been unable to purchase a bus shell for testing.
After the crash involving a Via Rail train and an Ottawa city bus in 2013, the Transportation Safety Board's investigation highlighted a lack of crash standards for transit buses and recommended Transport Canada put standards in place. The bus in the 2013 crash was from the same manufacturer as the one involved in the recent crash at Westboro station.
 Transport Canada sets standards for cars, vans, and SUVs, dictating how they must perform in front-impact, side-impact and rollover crashes. There are also rules for school buses, but larger vehicles like transit buses are exempt. A bus shell or "test buck" is a life-size replica that "reproduces the structural elements of a bus and is intended for use in research, testing and evaluation of occupant protection," according to Transport Canada. The department has filed regular updates on its progress in response to the TSB's recommendation and has said it can't acquire the shell it would need to start testing buses.
"The crashworthiness test program is contingent on acquiring a bus shell, either in part or in whole. TC has searched extensively to acquire such a shell, but has not yet been successful," they wrote online in February 2017, 14 months after the TSB's recommendation.
Transport Canada had a three-year plan to acquire the shell, run tests and write recommendations, but could not start that process until it acquired the shell, a problem that still persists. In January 2018, the department said it was considering working with industry on the problem because it still could not find a shell.
Sau Sau Liu, a spokesperson for Transport Canada, said buying the equipment is more complex than it might seem. "This is a highly complex, custom-made device, whose design requires significant input from vehicle manufacturers. Acquiring this device requires in-depth analysis, given the complex design considerations, and the need to seek out qualified and available bidders through a competitive process," she said in an email to CBC News.
She said they were working with Public Services and Procurement Canada to launch a tender soon, but did not provide a specific date.
Jamie Catania is President of 30 Forensic Engineering, a firm which does crash reconstruction. He said buses are generally safer as a method of travel. He said a shell like the department is looking for allows for tests while minimizing costs.
"You want to set up a very rigid and crashworthy structure that you can mount at the front of a bus to and then you would subject the front of that bus to a crash with a barrier," he said. "You can do the same study without having to write-off an entire bus every single time you did it."
He said Transport Canada's delay could be because buses are generally safer and it may not be a priority. "Up to a couple years ago, bus incidents were not that common and so there may be minds being changed now."
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Ontario Transportation Expo (OTE) – Registration Open!
 The 2019 OTE, happening Apr. 14-17, is shaping up to be another excellent program with an exceptional variety of educational sessions for OSBA members. Stay tuned for more details on the exciting workshops that OTE has planned for 2019.
The location of OTE 2019 will be the Delta Hotels Toronto Airport (formerly the International Plaza Hotel) – same location as the previous two years.
Reserve your accommodation and register today! Visit www.ote.ca for all the details!
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February Is the Month for ASBC "Love the Bus" Events
Full Article: School Transportation News
Article Date: January 22, 2019
 The American School Bus Council (ASBC) announced that its 13th annual "Love the Bus" event to celebrate the importance of the yellow vehicles and their drivers, is scheduled for Feb. 8 in Aurora, Illinois.
East Aurora School District 131 is hosting the event at an elementary school. The district began regular daily school bus service for the first time in August 2017. It currently transports about 3,000 students who live more than 1.5 miles from their schools.
Rev. A.L Reeves will speak before an assembly of students, teachers, school district officials and school bus industry representatives. Reeves heads the organization Boys 2 MEN, a multi-cultural mentoring program for males in grades five through eight. The group’s goal is to improve school work, as well as inspire academic development, self-esteem, character values, respect, responsibility and conflict resolution.
Reeves spoke before the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) last summer on how to build better relationships with students every day on school buses.
ASBC said it also plans to provide "Love the Bus" t-shirts to the 400 students in third through eighth grades at Fred Rogers Magnet Academy, plus gifts to 127 school district drivers.
Meanwhile, ASBC is encouraging school districts and bus companies nationwide to hold local events throughout February. The council posted links on its website to ideas, activities and resources.
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School Buses Unlikely to Get Seatbelts Soon
Full Article: Penticton Herald
Article Date: February 6, 2019
Time and money will determine whether or not school buses will be retrofitted for seatbelts in the Okanagan, BC. Moyra Baxter, who chairs the Central Okanagan school board, said at a recent meeting that while she has spoken to the superintendent about this issue, it hasn’t come to the board’s table for discussion just yet. “It’s a national situation. It’s not just a B.C. situation,” she said. “We are waiting to hear what happens provincially.”
Due to the cost of adding seatbelts to existing buses that weren’t designed to accommodate them, Baxter added, it’s a matter of the provincial government stepping up and absorbing the cost. “The cost of putting seatbelts in all school buses...would be very expensive,” she said. “If it becomes a law, I expect the government will pay to retrofit the buses because we would have to do that.” Until then, the board can’t confirm it will consider discussing the idea, she said.
In the South Okanagan, School District 67 has taken an independent stance on seatbelts after a crash on Highway 97 in 2011, when a car crossed the centre line and hit a minibus carrying 14 Princess Margaret Secondary students.
Nine students were injured, along with the teacher who was driving. The driver of the car was killed, while two passengers in another vehicle suffered minor injuries.
“We actually just had this conversation at the table at the last board meeting,” School District 67 chair Shelley Clarke said. “Every bus that we have does have seatbelts in them now — the small buses,” said Clarke. “We changed our policy back when there was that accident,” Clarke explained. “We made it a policy that we had seatbelts inside our minibuses.”
The school district’s director of facilities, Doug Gorcak, explained that the district ensures minibuses purchased since the implementation of the policy have seatbelts, despite there being no current law from Transport Canada stating they are required. “Right now, we’re going with the safest thing we know,” he said. “We’re meeting all of the Canada standards.”
As for the larger yellow school buses, Gorcak said the current design would make seatbelts impractical and could cause children to hurt themselves. “When you look at a school bus, they designed the current seating...in a compartmentalized situation,” he explained. “They put high backs on the seats, they built the seats so they’re energy absorbing...they’re designed to take (an) impact.”
The seats are spaced closer together to provide that security, he said. “In a school bus, if you had a lap belt on, you would actually hit your head on the seat in front of you (in the event of an accident),” Gorcak explained.
Clarke voiced similar concerns, saying that while she understands why buses weren’t retrofitted for seatbelts, she hopes that one day buses will be designed for both comfort and safety. But, as Baxter said, the cost of retrofitting existing buses proves to be too costly to add seatbelts with the changes required to the existing seats.
The issue is again in the forefront due to the current court case involving Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, driver of a semi-trailer truck that collided with the Humboldt Broncos hockey team motor coach after he failed to brake at a stop sign. Sixteen people died and thirteen were injured in the crash.
Opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily express the opinions of the OSBA or its Board of Directors.
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Sponsorship Opportunity – MasseyHacks V
At Vincent Massey Secondary School, the home of the very first MLH Canadian high school hackathon, they announced that MasseyHacks V will be held on March 23rd - March 24th, 2019. It’s a 24-hour event for high school students looking to immerse themselves in the fields of computer science and engineering. With the successes of previous MasseyHacks events, the school anticipates that MasseyHacks V will be bringing in over 250 high school students from all over Ontario and Michigan.
MasseyHacks is looking for help with the transportation from Toronto to Windsor and back. MasseyHacks is trying to provide everyone with transportation to the event, fully free, to help all students grow. They would appreciate sponsorship assistance and are offering to include companies as premium sponsor or possibly ultimate sponsor depending on the discount. To view their website, click here.
If interested, please contact Noor Nasri, Director of MasseyHacks at noor@masseyhacks.ca for a sponsorship package. Thank you in advance from the Team for your consideration.
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District Uses School Buses to Transport Homeless in the Cold
Full Article: School Bus Fleet
Article Date: January 30, 2019
A school district in South Bend, IN is using its buses to transport local homeless residents during this week’s “deep freeze.” Juan Martinez-Legus, the transportation director for South Bend Community School Corp., and LaToya King, the district’s Operations Supervisor, are driving homeless residents to various sites around the city, according to a post on the South Bend Community School Corp.’s Facebook page.
 Last week the district posted on its website that it would be closed on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the inclement weather.
South Bend Community School Corp., in another post on Facebook, said they were glad to partner with the City of South Bend in their efforts to assist those in need. In a video accompanying the post, King said she considers it “an honor to be a servant in the community,” and that "putting our actions with our words is what's needed."
View the full video, posted on the South Bend Community School Corp.'s Facebook page, here.
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Choosing School Bus Engines to Reduce Budget & Maintenance Headaches
Full Article: School Transportation News
Article Date: February 1, 2019
Many fleets have been eyeing propane-fueled vehicles over the past few years as viable alternatives to their aging diesel-powered buses. Tighter transportation budgets, paired with after-treatment maintenance issues, have caused school bus fleet managers to rethink diesel. They are looking for alternatives that are more cost-effective, cleaner and easier to maintain.
“Nowadays, fleet managers are looking for different alternatives to ease the stresses that they are experiencing with their current fleet,” said Ken Hedgecock, vice president of sales, marketing and service at Thomas Built Buses. “Fleet managers of pre-2007 school buses are sick and tired of dirty exhaust and fumes, while technicians of post-SCR school buses struggle with maintenance issues and school buses down for repairs. There is no clear winner in alternative fuel options today, but for many fleet managers, anything is better than what they currently have.”
In a recent School Transportation News survey, 13 percent of respondents reported purchasing new propane school buses, up slightly from 12 percent two years ago. But now it seems that districts are eyeing a new “alternative” — gasoline. While not technically an alternative fuel, gasoline is touted for its lower cost, ease of maintenance, and accessibility across the country, compared to propane.
Like clean-diesel, gasoline is more accessible across the U.S. and Canada for fueling that takes place outside of the bus yard. From field trips to extracurricular travel, transportation managers don’t need to plan the route based on fuel availability, as they would for propane. On top of that, fleets report spending less money upfront on acquiring gasoline-powered school buses and less on the fuel itself. But, some argue that gasoline school buses may be too good to be true.
“The lower cost to purchase a new gasoline school bus may be tricking many districts into believing that gasoline school buses are a better value,” said Hedgecock. “Fuel efficiency, operating range, long-term durability and resale value of gasoline and propane-powered school buses are much lower than those of newer clean-diesel school buses. This means that even though gasoline buses cost less to purchase, over the life of the bus, they end up costing fleets more than clean-diesel school buses.”
Fuel economy is one of the key misleading indicators when it comes to costing-out a gasoline school bus. While gasoline cost per gallon is typically lower than that of clean-diesel, the cost of the fuel is less stable and less efficient, compared to diesel. Unlike gasoline, diesel prices tend to remain more stable throughout the year, which provides fleet managers with more control of their budget from one month to the next.
Plus, diesel engines are significantly more efficient than gasoline engines, which means better fuel economy and increased fuel savings. On average, a clean-diesel school bus can travel around 510 miles on a tank of diesel vs. only 270 miles on gasoline, based on the same, standard-sized fuel tanks. Newer engines, like the diesel engines, are even showing an additional 3 percent increase in fuel efficiency. This difference in range and fuel economy quickly mitigates the cost difference between gasoline and diesel fuel.
Ease of maintenance is another huge consideration when switching to alternative fuels. Many districts are touting easier maintenance and greater technician availability when it comes to repairing gasoline engines. While more technicians are indeed familiar with gasoline engines, experts argue that the ease of school bus engine maintenance for all engine types has improved over the years. Today, newer engines dramatically ease maintenance with some of the longest service intervals in their class. In addition, provide an extra layer of support for constrained shops that have limited technician bandwidth.
At one time a pain point for technicians, after-treatment systems are also no longer the headaches they used to be. Now, through state-of-the-art variable cam-phasing technology, new clean-diesel after-treatment systems allow additional heat to enter the exhaust stream. That enables efficient operation of the after-treatment system in low-speed, stop-and-go operations.
Yet another factor that is often not being considered is engine life. Gasoline engines, like other alternative fuel engines, aren’t built from the ground up for the medium-duty market. Over the long haul, newer diesel engines will last 15-20 years in a fleet, while a gasoline engine may need to be replaced once or even twice during the life of a school bus.
But of course, “there is no one-size-fits-all model for all districts. Some districts favor propane, while others favor CNG. And that’s okay. Purchasing a new school bus is a huge investment, an investment that many districts will live with for 10-15 years. It’s important to weigh the pros and cons of each fuel type thoroughly.”
“The majority of districts continue to purchase new diesel school buses, and with good reason. Today’s diesel engines are more than 90 percent cleaner than they were in 2006,” said Hedgecock.
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Cannabis-Carrying Border Crossers Could Be Hit with Fines Under Coming System
Full Article: CTV News
Article Date: January 22, 2019
Travellers caught sneaking small amounts of marijuana into Canada could soon be forced to pay fines. Although stiff criminal penalties will remain options on the books, the federal border agency is developing administrative sanctions to give it more flexibility to deal with people who arrive at the border with cannabis in the era of legal recreational use.
Since Oct. 17, 2018, adults in Canada have been allowed to possess and share up to 30 grams of cannabis, but bringing the drug into the country continues to be illegal, carrying a penalty of up to 14 years in prison.
If you are carrying cannabis upon entering Canada, it must be declared to the border agency. Otherwise, you may face arrest and prosecution, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says. Agency officials underscored the seriousness for new Border Security Minister Bill Blair in briefing materials on the implementation of the new cannabis law.
 "The unauthorized cross-border movement of cannabis remains a serious criminal offence, subject to enforcement up to and including criminal investigation and prosecution," say the notes, released under the Access to Information Act. Border officials can also seize marijuana and any vehicle used to bring the drug into Canada.
However, the border agency also appears to recognize that some recreational pot users might absent-mindedly leave a few joints in a jacket pocket or simply be unaware that the cross-border restrictions remain in place.
The planned new penalties will provide an "additional tool" for officers who encounter travellers carrying cannabis, Nicholas Dorion, a border agency spokesman, said in an emailed response to questions. Details of the new fines -- including the amounts to be levied -- are still being worked out. However, the internal notes say the penalties are slated to be in place sometime next year and indicate travellers hit with fines would have the right to challenge the penalties.
The border agency already levies administrative monetary penalties for various Customs Act infractions, and the proposed new sanctions would build on that regime. In preparation for legal cannabis, the agency posted signs at many border crossings to remind people of the prohibition against bringing even small amounts of pot into Canada. Officials have also been asking visitors and returning Canadians whether they have any cannabis with them.
The border agency received approximately $40 million over five years to help enforce the new cannabis law. The money is intended to bolster front-line capacity, develop the public-education campaigns and help track the effects of the new legislation. Some of the money is also going to beef up laboratory services needed to test suspected cannabis stashes intercepted at the border. Key activities for 2018-19 include developing methods for testing, identifying equipment needs and devising monitoring and reporting tools, the notes say.
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Order Your OSBA Publications Now!
Visit the OSBA website at www.osba.on.ca and click on the "STORE" tab from the home page to order the following OSBA publications. Or click on the links below and go directly to each order form:
Once you have completed the necessary order form, please scan/email it to info@osba.on.ca or fax it to 416-695-9977.
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