School Bus Industry Asks: 'Where Would You Be Without the Bus?'

As the school bells get set to ring at the start of another school year, the ASBC estimates that each day more than 475,000 school buses will safely carry more than 25 million children, which represents just more than half the school age population, without any serious incident. Among the findings of the study was that 70 percent of parents see the school bus transportation system as a great convenience, while 64 percent of parents believe that the school bus is a very important part of the education system.

As a result, the ASBC is urging parents to have their kids "Get on the Bus" this school year. In fact, by encouraging their children to get on the bus parents can not only rest assured that their child will arrive at school safely and ready to learn, but will also take comfort in knowing that in doing so they can reduce their individual carbon footprint and lower their monthly fuel bill.

"If school buses were not available each and every day, millions of children would be left without a way to get to school," said Barry Stock, president of the National School Transportation Association and member of ASBC. "While parents and students prepare for another school year, we hope they will take advantage of the safest and most environmentally-friendly way to get to school."

As fuel costs continue to impact school districts and family budgets, the ASBC also found more than two-thirds (69%) of parents agree that is it more beneficial for their children to ride the bus to school in order to save money on the rising cost of gas. In addition, more than half of all parents strongly disagree with cutting bus stops (50%) or bus service (57%) as a means for school districts to offset the dramatic increase in the cost of fuel.

New diesel engine standards make today's buses 98 percent less polluting than buses manufactured just two decades ago. In addition, thousands of older buses have been modified to use high tech filters and catalysts to reduce emissions by up 90 percent. The ASBC estimates a teenager living 5 miles from school and driving a 2008 Honda Civic can reduce her carbon footprint dramatically -- from 1.27 tons of CO2 by driving to school to 0.12 tons by taking the bus (less than one-tenth as much).

"Riding the school bus to school is a win-win situation for both parents and the environment," said Bill Tousley, supervisor of transportation for the Farmington (MI) Public Schools, president of the National Association of Pupil Transportation, and member of ASBC. "A school bus is the most cost-effective solution you can find to save energy, reduce pollution and control congestion."

In 2002, the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Department of Transportation and other authorities agreed that school buses are the safest form of transportation for getting children to and from school. According to the Transportation Research Board, part of the National Academy of Sciences, a child is 13 times safer in a school bus than in other modes of travel. ("The Relative Risks of School Travel," 2002.)

About the American School Bus Council

The American School Bus Council is a coalition of the school transportation industry -- including public and private transportation providers, school bus manufacturers and state officials responsible for pupil transportation. Council members are committed to providing safe, effective, efficient and healthy transportation for the more than 25 million schoolchildren who ride more than 475,000 school buses each day.

The Council's members include NAPT (http://www.napt.org) (National Association for Pupil Transportation), NASDPTS (http://www.nasdpts.org) (National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services), NSTA (http://www.yellowbuses.org) (National School Transportation Association), Blue Bird Corp. (http://www.blue-bird.com) ofFort Valley, Ga., IC Corporation (http://www.ic-corp.com/portal/site/ICCorp) ofWarrenville, Ill., and Thomas Built Buses (http://www.thomasbus.com) ofHigh Point, N.C.

The American School Bus Council was formed in 2006 to educate parents, school officials and lawmakers about the essential role the yellow school bus plays in the safety, health, security and readiness of America's schoolchildren. Council members advocate for increased school transportation funding and advances industry standards on safety, security, environment, energy and access to education that are above and beyond state and federal law.

    For more information, visit our Web site at
http://www.americanschoolbuscouncil.org.

SOURCE American School Bus Council

Copyright © 2009, PRNewswire
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Copyright © 2009, NewsBlaze, Daily News

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