Register Soon for OTE!

The 2019 OTE Conference and Trade Show kicks off in little over a month!  Once again, this valuable event will be held at the Delta Hotels Toronto Airport & Conference Centre.
 
As in the past, OTE is a conference and trade show jointly hosted by OSBA, the Ontario Motor Coach Association (OMCA) and the Ontario Public Transit Association (OPTA).  OTE is a unique opportunity for bus operator companies, manufacturers/suppliers and others related to these industries to get together and explore better ways of serving their transportation customers in the future.
 
EARLY REGISTRATION - DEADLINE is Monday, March 18th
Take advantage of this opportunity to attend OTE at a preferred, early registration fee and benefit from this year's event!  Click here to register online.
IMPORTANT!  To register on-line as an OSBA member, you will need a login ID and password.
CONTACT OTE at info@ote.ca or 416-229-6622 for login credentials.
 
CONFERENCE AGENDA
The conference Program Agenda is available to view on the OTE website.  Information is being updated regularly, so check back often as the conference gets closer!
 
OSBA is featuring an exciting lineup of business sessions that will cover top-of-mind student transportation issues including:

OTE has a lineup of association-specific meetings, networking receptions, and of course, the OTE Trade Show (Tuesday, April 16).  Please Note:  That while business sessions indicate association affiliations (OSBA, OMCA, OPTA), all sessions are open to all registrants unless shown as “by invitation only”.
 
OSBA ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (AGM)
As in previous years, OSBA’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is scheduled to take place on Tuesday April 16th from 8:30-9:30 am so be sure to attend!  Join us for an association update and Board of Director elections.
 
HOTEL RESERVATIONS – DEADLINE is Friday, MARCH 15th
To make your hotel reservations under the OTE room block at the Delta Hotels Toronto Airport & Conference Centre, please do so by March 15th, 2019.  Rates start at  $174 CAD per night, subject to availability.

Coroner Completes Humboldt Broncos Crash Investigation, Recommends 'Mass Fatality Plan'

Full Article: Regina Leader-Post
Article Date: March 4, 2019

Saskatchewan’s chief coroner is calling for mandatory seatbelts in every passenger bus across the country, as one of seven recommendations designed to help prevent another Humboldt Broncos tragedy. “I know there was a lot of damage done to the bus, but still people were thrown about, thrown and ejected from the bus,” said chief coroner Clive Weighill. “We can’t say for sure if that would have made a big substantial difference or not to the injuries, but we feel that it would certainly lead to a safer environment.”

Transport Canada announced in July that it will mandate seatbelts in all new buses by Sept. 1, 2020. But Weighill said the same standards should apply to existing buses that carry the public, even those built long ago. “It stands to reason that if people are belted into their seats, it’s a safer occurrence,” he said.

Saskatchewan regulations only require seatbelts to be used in vehicles that are manufactured with them. A spokesman for Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) said the issue calls for a federal standard, adding that the province will follow Ottawa’s lead. He noted that the “vast majority” of motor coaches built since 2016 have seatbelts.

Further recommendations focussed on mandatory driver training, improvements to the intersection where the crash occurred and a “mass fatality plan” to help prevent a mix-up like the misidentification of a surviving Broncos player as his deceased teammate.

Weighill’s office released the recommendations following an investigation into the April 6, 2018, crash, which killed 16 people and injured 13. Jaskirat Singh Sidhu was driving a semi that struck the team’s bus at the intersection of highway 335 and 35, north of Tisdale, Sask. He pleaded guilty to 29 charges and is facing sentencing. The investigation concluded that the deaths were “accidental,” though Weighill stressed that it’s not his role to find fault or absolve anyone of blame. There will be no public inquest into the tragedy. “I think the last thing we’d want to do is drag 16 families through an inquest again when I really don’t think we’re going to gather any more information that wasn’t already come out in the trial,” he said.

Scott Thomas, whose son Evan died in the crash, said Weighill’s recommendations match what the families have been calling for. He wishes they were binding on the government. “Anyone of those, or certainly all of them, would have, probably, totally eliminated the possibility of that tragedy,” he said.

Thomas supports the call for mandatory seatbelts. He also wants to see action from Transport Canada on minimum standards for driver training across the country. He noted that Sidhu was based in Alberta, which did not have mandatory training for commercial truckers at the time. Weighill recommended that Transport Canada “continue supporting the development of regulations” on driver training, as well as on electronic logging devices. He also asked SGI to implement standardized and, possibly, mandatory training.

In January, Transport Minister Marc Garneau told media he was optimistic that provinces would be able to agree on national standards. He said he favours minimum entry-level training standards for truck drivers and believes every province should have that requirement. Saskatchewan has already announced that it will require 121.5 hours of training for those seeking a Class 1 commercial licence, which is required for vehicles weighing more than 4,600 kilograms. The training will take effect in March. Joe Hargrave, the Minister responsible for SGI, said it will be “intense.” He said updates to training for other licence types are also under review.

The provincial government says it is still working on safety improvements to the site of the crash, something Weighill also recommended. Fred Antunes, deputy minister of highways and infrastructure, said bigger stop signs are on order. He said it’s difficult to install rumble strips on the granular surface of the site, but the department is looking to pilot new varieties. Antunes said crews have inspected 1,500 intersections across the province, with $750,000 spent clearing visual obstructions.

Weighill also touched on one of the most surprising — and traumatizing — moments in the Humboldt Broncos tragedy: The mix-up between Xavier Labelle, who survived the crash, and Parker Tobin, who did not. He recommended that the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) review its policy and operating procedures for identifying victims of a mass casualty event.

The SHA issued a statement reiterating its apology and committing to action. “The SHA accepts the recommendation for the SHA and will make every effort to strengthen our policies and procedures around patient identification in these very difficult situations,” said the statement. “We apologize to all those affected and we will endeavour to do our best to ensure this never happens again.”

Weighill suggested that the process was rushed. The coroner’s office had to rely on information communicated by the hospital, since it didn’t have direct access to patient records for survivors. Authorities also faced “pressure” from the media and the public to identify the victims, he said, especially since a memorial was planned for the Sunday after the crash. His office was moving as quickly as it could, but still hadn’t completed its process. Names were still released.

“Things will be much, much slower into the future,” Weighill said. “We will not identify anybody or put anything out until we are 100 percent positive.” He said the Broncos investigation is perhaps the first time that the coroner’s office has directed a recommendation at itself. The Saskatchewan Coroners Service has developed a “mass fatality plan,” which will include policy and procedures for identifying victims. It will be ready for March, with further training for coroners to follow in May and June. “I’ve got the final draft on my desk right now,” Weighill said.  

Synovia Partners With University on App Project

Full Article: School Bus Fleet
Article Date: February 27, 2019

Fleet tracking solutions provider Synovia Solutions is tapping into the knowledge of local university students to continue developing its mobile app. Synovia Solutions is collaborating with Butler University’s Andre B. Lacy School of Business’ (IN) students, who will help Synovia chart the future of its app, Here Comes the Bus.

Students from the business school are conducting product and customer research aimed at providing multiple options for how Synovia could expand the features and profitability of the app. Launched in 2015, the free app has grown from a handful of school district customers to hundreds of schools nationwide and more than a million users, according to Synovia.

“This project marks an important milestone for Synovia as we move beyond our initial development and deployment phase to creating a more dynamic mobile application that can provide more value to parents, students, and educators,” said Jon King, CEO of Synovia Solutions. “We’re enthusiastic to see how these Butler students can infuse their fresh ideas, digital fluency, and Butler education to bear in helping us design the next iteration of Here Comes the Bus.”

Five Butler University students will spend several months conducting interviews with current Here Comes the Bus users and will identify the macro trends impacting the wider mobile app industry. Their goal is to provide a series of recommendations that Synovia can integrate into its technology roadmap.

“We’re excited and appreciative to work with Synovia on this opportunity,” said Daniel McQuiston, associate professor of marketing at Butler University, who teaches the students who will work on the project. “As senior marketing majors in their capstone class, they will hone their marketing and business education from classes and internships in a real-life consulting situation. It really helps them understand how a company can use marketing tools to create a competitive advantage.”

The app has a 4.6-star rating on the Apple app store with more than 39,000 reviews, according to Synovia. It captured an IHS Markit Innovation Award at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show.

Meanwhile, the fleet tracking solutions provider will also launch Here Comes the Bus Lite, a version of the app that is designed to serve smaller school districts, Bryan Mitchell, a spokesman for Synovia Solutions, told SBF in January. The app will be made more affordable without the additional cost of routing software, he added. 

More School Bus Drivers Getting Behind the Wheel Thanks to Free Training

Full Article: CBC News
Article Date: March 6, 2019

School officials hope a free school bus driver training program will help get more people behind the wheel. There has been an ongoing shortage of school bus drivers for a few years now. "It seems to be an increasing need, this year," said Dave Gillis, leader of corporate services for the Public Schools Branch in Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.).

Gillis said the PSB lost about a third of their substitute drivers this year, mostly due to people retiring. There are now about 53 drivers on the substitute list. "We've had situations where we weren't able to find a substitute when needed," he said. 

P.E.I. has sponsored about 50 students to take school bus driver training over the last few years — about half of those students were trained just in the last year. The cost of the course is normally around $3,000 per student. 

A spokesperson with the province says a labour market development agreement with the federal government provides the money with the aim of addressing labour shortages. "I think it's fantastic, it opens up opportunities," said student Gerry Gardner.  Gardner said he previously did heavy construction work and is looking for something that's easier physically and that will let him spend more time with his family. "This is a fantastic option to be able to stay home," he said. 

Fellow student Lekan Faromika moved to P.E.I. from Nigeria about 10 years ago. He used to work as a geologist in the mining and gas industry but said there aren't a lot of opportunities in that field in P.E.I. "I'm in this course, because I love to drive," he said. "I also love children," 

"The goal of this course is to get the Island some more drivers for the school buses," said Russell Banks, an instructor with JVI Transportation & Safety Academy. 

Banks said they spend a lot of time on safety, driving and working with children. "The end goal is to come out with good drivers versus just drivers," he said.

The Public Schools Branch says the free training programs have been a great support. 

Gillis said he's heard stories in the past from people unable to take the training because of cost. "My hope is we have more and more candidates apply," he said.  "The demand for bus drivers is high." 

Love the Bus Month Celebrates School Bus Drivers Nationwide

Full Article: School Transportation News
Article Date: February 26, 2019

Since 2007, Love the Bus Month has become a national event that is celebrated by school districts and contractors alike. The event is hosted by the American School Bus Council (ASBC) and reminds the nation of the importance of bus drivers and the impact they have on student lives.

The ASBC held its annual event at Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy in the East Aurora Illinois School District 131 on Feb. 8, 2019. The event celebrated yellow school bus safety in that community. Other school districts and contractors held their own events to honor bus drivers for their contributions. School bus contractor Go Riteway celebrated Love the Bus month at Oak Creek Elementary, in conjunction with Wisconsin School Bus Driver Recognition Week.

“During Wisconsin School Bus Driver Recognition Week, we felt that a Love the Bus event was a great tie-in,” said Rochelle Bast, co-owner and vice chair of Go Riteway Transportation Group. “The Oak Creek-Franklin Joint School District partnered with us and we were able to have elected officials and staff tour one of its newest schools to highlight the latest concepts of learning for today’s students. School bus transportation begins and ends the school day for the children and everyone working together provides a positive framework for life skills and future success for all students.”

The Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) celebrated Love the Bus Month at the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation winter conference in League City, Texas. “As an incentive to have folks stop by our TEEX booth, engage with us and support the #LoveTheBus Month we created a selfie frame as a photo op! I’m pleased to say that it was a great hit,” Laura Shehan, program director, marketing and business development for Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service said. TEEX also gave out a deck of ‘Safety Tips’ playing cards for those who stopped by their booth.

These are only several of the celebrations held across the nation. ASBC encourages school districts and contracts to post their photos on Facebook and Twitter using the #LoveTheBus. Winning posts, based on the number of likes and the meaning behind love the bus, could receive a Visa card of up to $250.

Parent Frustration Mounting over Snow Days: 'a Nightmare This Winter'

Full Article: BayToday
Article Date: March 2, 2019

It's a decision that sparks joy for some, and chaos for others: The snow day. Parents across the country have been forced to scramble in recent weeks as wintry conditions prompted schools to shut, with some regions recording an unusually high number of closures. "The school closures have been a nightmare this winter," says Magdalena Castelli, who has three children in southern Ontario's Hamilton Wentworth District School Board, and another in daycare.

The disruption to daily routine unleashes a pre-dawn scramble in many households, a juggling act that sees some parents work from home, drop kids at a babysitter's or trudge into the office with charges in tow. "When they close a school they don't see the big impact that has on people's lives," says Castelli.

While student safety is consistently cited as the driving force behind snow days, the wide variety of policies in different parts of the country demonstrate how subjective those decisions can be.

An examination of storm day procedures reveals a haphazard patchwork of varying approaches to inclement weather across Canada that appear to be based on a region's common practice and culture as much as the forecast. While schools in the Prairie provinces virtually never close for bad weather, schools on Canada's East Coast regularly shut down during snow storms. In B.C., Ontario, and Quebec, schools tend to call snow days sparingly.

The snow day disparity cannot entirely be explained by weather, suggests Linda Libby, a meteorologist with Environment Canada. "It's different across the country," she said. "I don't use the term worse." While Atlantic Canada is on multiple storm tracks, and temperatures can often hover around the freezing mark, Libby said: "it doesn't mean our weather is any worse." Still, the number of snow days remains higher in the Maritimes, with some school boards consistently reporting double-digit school closures over a winter.  

Halifax tends to have fewer snow days than more rural areas, averaging about 4.4 snow days a year over the last decade. But that's still more than double the number of school closures in similar-sized cities in Quebec and Ontario. For example, Quebec City averages 1.75 snow days a year, while the Hamilton area averages 1.6 days — though this year it's had substantially more. Meanwhile, the contrast between Atlantic Canada and the Prairies is even more dramatic.

When asked the number of snow days for the last 10 years, a spokeswoman for Edmonton Public Schools said: "Zero."

A response from the Winnipeg School Division was similar. "We have not had a 'snow day' in over 30 years," spokesman Radean Carter said. "Our policy — and this applies for all school divisions in Winnipeg — is that schools remain open unless city buses are shut down."

Schools in Saskatchewan also rarely closed — if ever.

Regina Public Schools, for example, do not have snow days, explains spokesman Terry Lazarou. "Our schools will remain open through most weather-related occurrences, including snow or -40 C temperatures," he said. Lazarou added that there have been multiple times in the past several years that school buses didn't run because of extreme snowfall or ice accumulation. "But schools did not close because of it," he said. "We do not keep records of schools closing due to weather because it does not happen."

A report on school storm days in Nova Scotia in 2009 acknowledged the role of culture in snow day decisions. "Two closely connected practices have become a long-held tradition in the public school culture in Nova Scotia," the report said. "Schools are closed to students when the buses are cancelled because of the weather and ... teachers do not have to report to work on storm days when schools are closed to students."

In Ontario, the Durham District School Board, which includes Whitby, Oshawa, and surrounding communities, remains open even when buses are cancelled due to inclement weather as do schools in the North Bay/Parry Sound areas. "We still have a lot of students who are within walking distance — all the students in the immediate surrounding neighbourhood would walk to school," said Christine Nancekivell, chief facilities officer for the Durham board. "Even bus students, some parents would still drive them to school and drop them off. So there are still students that attend, and school is still open."

Even within the same city, however, different schools boards can take different approaches. The Hamilton Wentworth District School Board says if bus transportation is cancelled, schools are closed. Yet the Catholic school board in the same region does not have the same policy — it cancelled bus service this week but schools remained open.

The arbitrary nature of snow days across the country has led some parents to speak out about the frustration of dealing with school cancellations, and the potential impact on instructional time. New Brunswick's Education Minister has spoken out about the loss of classroom time in the province. Dominic Cardy has floated the idea of so-called blizzard bags — homework for students to do on a snow day.

Nova Scotia Teachers Union president Paul Wozney said teachers already provide students with learning activities with a take-home component. He said preparing multiple baggies for kids to use on storm days is a "staggering amount of effort" given snow days don't hurt learning. Wozney pointed to a 2014 study by Harvard University researcher Joshua Goodman that found a strong relationship between student absences and achievement — but no impact from lost instructional time due to school closures.

'Regressive Move': Proposed 1.6 Km Bus Policy Change Sparked Friendly Fire

Full Article: CBC News
Article Date: March 3, 2019

The Opposition in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) have repeatedly brought up the provincial guideline that excludes children from bus services if they live within 1.6 kilometres of their school. In recent months, there were PC petitions, a private members' resolution, and barbs volleyed at the government side during question period.

But it's not just Tories who have expressed concerns. The government has also faced some friendlier fire on the issue, from its own benches. "I am asking you to consult with the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District (NLESD) about this regressive move, and seek to have protocols followed last year, remain in place for the coming school year," Burin-Grand Bank MHA Carol Anne Haley wrote in an Aug. 17, 2018, letter to the NL Education Minister Al Hawkins.

Three months earlier in May, the NLESD had informed parents it would be strictly enforcing the government's policy prohibiting bus stops within 1.6 kilometres of schools on the island.

That move sparked controversy. It also sparked Haley to write the NL education minister about what the change would mean for people in her district. She cited an example of "the regressive nature of this determination for the coming school year" — a six-year-old child in Fortune (NL) who would have to walk to a highway "directly adjacent to the ocean and open to the elements" along with faster traffic. "I fail to see how this at all addresses the issue of increased safety," Haley wrote. "In fact, safety is compromised by this move. Nor do I see how this makes for increased efficiency. I am skeptical that schools have to deal with increased tardiness because buses are making two or three extra stops for students within the 1.6 km radius."

In September, the NL Department of Education shifted course, changing the guideline and clearing the way for one courtesy stop inside the 1.6-kilometre zone.

On Sept. 19, Hawkins replied to Haley. "While I appreciate your concerns, the establishment of one courtesy stop on the existing bus route is an appropriate and reasonable compromise," he wrote. CBC News obtained that correspondence through access to information.

Haley has since joined Hawkins in cabinet, as Minister responsible for the status of women. Haley did not respond to interview requests from CBC News. 

The 1.6-kilometre busing rule does appear to have been an issue of interest for MHAs since last May.

The NL Department of Education did not release all 14 pages of correspondence on the issue to CBC News, because they were classified as caucus records not subject to open-records laws. Emails that were released show consternation from parents after the initial change was announced. Some of those messages were directed to education officials, and others to MHAs.

There was a meeting scheduled between central Newfoundland MHAs and top education department and school district officials in late August, before the courtesy stop change was announced, emails show.

Liberal MHAs contacted by CBC News said allowing one courtesy stop inside the 1.6-kilometre zone helped quell any anxiety in their districts.

Brian Warr said people in Baie Verte (NL) expressed concern to him last summer, about the fact that students at Copper Ridge Academy would have to walk to school along the highway. But Warr, who represents Baie Verte-Green Bay, said that setting up courtesy stops resolved the issue. "I think we all understand that any policy or guideline needs to be adjusted from time to time," Warr said. "I thought we worked well with the district and they accommodated the changes that were required … It worked out well for everybody."

One Politician’s Idea for Reducing the Severity of School Bus Crashes

Full Article: Canadian Underwriter
Article Date: March 1, 2019

Seatbelts with shoulder harnesses should be mandatory on all school buses, an opposition member of Ontario’s provincial parliament told Canadian Underwriter. “We should have the use of three-point seat belts on school buses to prevent injury and even death,” New Democratic Party MPP Bhutila Karpoche said in an interview. “This should have been done a long time ago.”

Canada-wide, there have been 19 deaths and 6,696 injuries since 1999 as a result of school bus accidents and collisions, Karpoche told the legislature Feb. 25, 2019.

The Toronto District school board does not have seat belts on its large-capacity buses but does have lap belts on its mini buses, a TDSB official told Canadian Underwriter Friday.

Karpoche was approached by a constituent in Karpoche’s riding of Parkdale-High Park, in the southwest corner of old Toronto. The constituent gathered signatures on a petition calling for mandatory use of three-point seatbelts on all school buses. Karpoche added her name to that petition and presented it Feb. 25 in the legislature.

Karpoche does not go so far as to say seatbelts should be mandatory in all types of buses. “For children on school buses, I feel confident in saying we should have done this a long time ago,” she told Canadian Underwriter.

The Saskatchewan Coroners Service has called for mandatory seatbelts on highway buses, the Canadian Press reported earlier. That recommendation was in a report on a collision last year near Humboldt that killed 16 bus occupants. Most of the victims were teenage hockey players.

In theory, a single bus crash could cause a personal injury claim exceeding $1 billion. In this extreme hypothetical example, 40 medical specialists in their 20s could all be on the same bus, survive a collision and suffer permanent disabilities that prevent them from ever working again. If all 40 could have expected to earn $1 million a year for careers exceeding 30 years, the future income loss claim could then total more than $1 billion.

With school buses, three-point seatbelts have been shown to mitigate risk in the event of a side collision or rollover, Karpoche said. “Anybody in any vehicle – what is the first thing we do? We put our seatbelts on,” she said. “When we are talking about children in school buses I think it is quite obvious that safety should be top priority.”

Hop on the Walking School Bus!

Full Article: GuelphToday
Article Date: March 1, 2019

In early 2018, the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) Committee was successful in securing a grant from Green Communities Canada and the Government of Ontario to launch the Walking School Bus (WSB) Pilot Project in the City of Guelph. A WSB is a new and innovative way for students to get to and from school as a group. Children will be walking to school with an adult supervisor who is screened, trained and managed by the Service de transport de Wellington-Dufferin Student Transportation Services (STWDSTS).

After conducting an extensive feasibility study, the ASRTS Committee would like to congratulate the following schools that were selected to participate in a Walking School Bus Pilot – Holy Trinity Catholic School from the Wellington Catholic District School Board, and Ken Danby Public School and Mitchell Woods Public School from the Upper Grand District School Board.

The WSB pilot process will begin immediately and continue until June 2020. Phase 1 of the pilot will run at Mitchell Woods Public School from April 2019 to June 2019. In phase 2, the WSB will be expanded to include Holy Trinity CS and Ken Danby PS and will continue service at Mitchell Woods PS. The second phase will run from September 2019 to June 2020 and will include an evaluation with feedback from participating students, parents and schools. The WSB pilot will help inform the development of sustainable models of active school travel.

By walking to school, students will become more informed about road safety in their neighbourhoods while gaining confidence and increasing their levels of daily physical activity. Developing these healthy habits at an early age has been shown to have long-term health benefits. There are also benefits to the community including reduced traffic congestion around schools, improved air quality due to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and enhanced neighbourhood safety.

Propane Cures School Bus Winter Woes

Full Article: School Transportation News
Article Date: March 1, 2019

Across the U.S. and in all types of wintery weather and driving conditions, hundreds of school districts are saving money by using less expensive fuel. This makes drivers and passengers more comfortable with propane buses.

Diesel school bus drivers in Minnesota’s Proctor Public Schools district cover themselves with blankets, in order to endure cold cockpits in winter. Frost lines the bus floor, and unless the buses are plugged in overnight to a block heater, they won’t start in the region’s brutal winter temperatures.

School districts in a wide swath of the U.S. and Canada deal with driver discomfort, cold-start issues and uneven bus heat, every time the temperatures dip. But school buses that include propane autogas-fueled buses describe a different situation.

Perhaps the most notable difference is propane buses’ disregard for frigid weather. “Our propane buses perform flawlessly,” said Brian Swestka, Director of Transportation for the Howard-Winneshiek Community School District in Cresco, Iowa. In his district, winter is extreme, with temperatures bottoming out at negative 30 degrees. Even then, his district’s propane buses have no cold-start issues.

With the Blue Bird Vision Propane school bus, propane remains in a liquid state until it reaches the cylinder. This cutting-edge technology has alleviated cold-weather start issues that are associated with vapor technology propane systems of the past. In fact, the fuel system provides for unaided cold-weather starts to minus 40 degrees, saving both time and money.

Once they’re running, the propane bus interiors offer more comfort to drivers and passengers. “They warm up substantially quicker than our diesel buses,” Swestka reports. “The propane buses are ready to go in just a few minutes, compared with at least 20, sometimes 30 minutes for diesel to warm up.”

In addition to saving time and money in heating engines overnight and staffing up for early morning warming of diesel buses, districts that operate propane buses also report wide-ranging cost savings. School districts in every climate note decreased maintenance costs when replacing diesel buses with those that are fueled by propane. In central Georgia’s Bibb County, the school district operates a 200-bus fleet, 73 of which are propane. The district’s director of transportation, Anthony Jackson, says the district saves $3,000 per service for its propane fleet.

Although the initial cost of a propane bus is higher than diesel, the return on investment tends to happen quickly. Bibb County School District will recoup the purchase cost of a propane school bus in approximately three years and that’s not even a district with constant cold-weather concerns.

Training Facilities Busy as New Rules for Bus and Truck Drivers Come into Effect

Full Article: CBC News
Article Date: March 1, 2019

Driver training facilities are bustling as truck and bus drivers try to meet the new qualifications introduced by the province of Alberta in October. As of March 1, Mandatory Entry-Level Training [MELT] is required for all new Class 1 and 2 commercial drivers. Drivers who got their Class 1 or 2 driver's licence between Oct. 11, 2018 and Feb. 28, 2019 must take the new enhanced knowledge test and enhanced road test by March 1, 2020 to keep their Class 1 or Class 2 driver's licence.

The Alberta provincial government announced it is extending the deadline for farmers and farm workers to get the training. They can apply for an extension to the MELT requirements until Nov. 30, 2019.

More information on the program is available here.

There is a cost to the training, in both time and money. The Alberta provincial government says training schools can charge up to $10,000 for Class 1 MELT and $5,000 for Class 2-S MELT. Class 1 MELT requires 113 hours to complete while Class 2 is 53.5 hours. Class 2 includes school bus drivers and that has the Alberta School Boards Association concerned.

"This will cause a shortage of bus drivers and maybe spares, and put a strain on school boards' abilities to get students to school," said ASBA president Lorrie Jess. "But our biggest concern is that we would like it to be funded."

Jess told CBC News the safety of students is paramount. The ASBA isn't against the training but would like some assistance with the cost. "It's not funded and so some school boards may be forced to use funds allocated for the classroom to compensate for the additional requirement, the additional cost," she said, adding that there was no consultation with school boards prior to implementation. Jess said she's hopeful the government will do something to ease the pinch, much like it did for farmers by providing an extension to meet the requirements.

Humphrey Bannack, a board member with the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, believes it would have been a tough year ahead for farmers without the extension. "They're going to start to hit the fields here on the 15th of April and it's going to be a challenge to try to find Class 1 drivers to meet the demand for this year so the move by the government ... is much appreciated." The cost of the additional training could deter seasonal farm workers unless they have another driving job, said Bannack. Still, he is in favour of anything that makes Alberta roads safer.

Both the AFA and the ASBA continue to the lobby the province for changes that will make the new requirements more manageable.

Blue Bird Makes Bendix ESP Standard on All Air-Braked School Buses

Full Article: AutomotiveWorld
Article Date: February 25, 2019

The Bendix® ESP® Electronic Stability Program full-stability system is now standard equipment on all air-braked buses from Blue Bird Corporation. Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC is a North American-based subsidiary of the Knorr-Bremse Group, the global market leader for braking systems and a leading supplier of other rail and commercial vehicle subsystems.

A proven technology that helps mitigate or possibly prevent loss-of-control and rollover conditions, Bendix ESP has been equipped on more than 700,000 commercial vehicles in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico since its launch in 2005.

“Even before full-stability systems became required technology on most commercial vehicles in 2017, they were essentially a safety standard among truck manufacturers and many fleets,” said TJ Thomas, Bendix director of marketing and customer solutions, Controls group. “Blue Bird took the lead in making full stability available on school buses, and Bendix is proud to build on our shared commitment to safer vehicles for students and bus drivers – there’s no more important cargo on the roads, after all.”

Bendix ESP is an antilock braking system (ABS)-based stability technology that recognizes and assists with both rollover and vehicle under- and over-steer driving situations. ESP uses a series of sensors to continuously monitor vehicle parameters, including wheel speed, lateral acceleration, steering angle, brake pressure, and yaw rate. These sensors combine to measure driver intent and vehicle direction, helping to mitigate skids, slides, and loss of control – including rollovers – through interventions such as de-throttling the engine and selectively applying the brakes, typically reacting faster than a human can.

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.
 

Upcoming Events
 

2019
Mar. 10-15	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program
Mar. 27	OSBA Webinar
Apr. 7-12	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program
Apr. 13	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Recertification Program
Apr. 14-17	Ontario Transportation Expo
May 8	OSBA Alcohol and Drug Policy Workshop
May 8-10	OASBO Annual Conference & Education Industry Show
May 15	OSBA Webinar
May 26-31	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program
June 12	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Recertification Program
July 7-12	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program
July 14-19	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program
July 31	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Recertification Program
Aug. 11-16	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program
Oct. 16	OSBA Webinar
Oct. 20-25	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program
Oct. 21-25	School Bus Safety Week
Oct. 23-24	Ontario Association of School Business Officials (OASBO) Pupil Transportation Conference
Nov. 6	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Recertification Program
Nov. 17-22	Professional Instructor in Driver Education (P.R.I.D.E.) Program