Transportation

Five Years Later: Schools Still Struggling with Katrina Aftermath
The flood waters have long subsided, but school districts in New Orleans and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast still face tremendous challenges related to their educational and support services budgets, student ridership eligibility and age and quality of their school bus fleets. In Orleans Parish, Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parish, for example, many school buses were destroyed by flood waters following the levy breaks. Cameron Parish's fleet escaped Katrina only to be hit hard by Hurricane Rita about a month later. While FEMA relief funds helped, some districts were forced to replace their entire fleets at once. This means the districts will be forced to replace dozens if not hundreds of school buses in the future as opposed to relying on a traditional replacement cycle of several buses a year. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 08:31

School bus seat belt law to take effect Wednesday
Ashley's and Alicia's Law," named after two girls who died in a school bus crash, was passed four years ago and finally takes effect Wednesday. The law requires three-point shoulder belts for new buses starting this September. However, because of budget cuts, the Texas Education Agency slashed the amount of money set aside to help equip the new buses with those belts. Less than $4 million of the $10 million allotted for the program is slated to be used to reimburse school districts for complying with the new law. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 08:10

Bus crash survivor speaks out
school bus seat belt law took effect Wednesday, requiring all Texas districts buying new buses to have lap/shoulder belts. The state might have a hard time enforcing it though, after the Texas Education Agency slashed funding for the program from $10 million to $3.6 million. That leaves far fewer dollars for districts to receive reimbursements. [ View Article ] Sep 2, 2010, 07:09

Texas cuts budget for school bus seat belts
Seat Belts: AUSTIN, Texas � The Texas Education Agency said state budget cuts mean less money will be available to equip new school buses with seat belts, a law legislators and Gov. Rick Perry called a safeguard for children when they approved it. The state allocated $10 million to the program in the budget approved last year, but TEA plans to use only $3.6 million, because of budget cuts. The money was supposed to have been available to reimburse school districts beginning this September, but bureaucratic snags could delay distribution. [ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 08:39

Texas Education Agency accused of resisting school-bus seat belt law
Seat Belts: AUSTIN � A state senator and a parents group are accusing the Texas Education Agency of trying to subvert a state law that requires all new school buses purchased today or afterward to be equipped with three-point seat belts. Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville, said Tuesday that TEA officials have cut a $10 million appropriation for the seat belt law to $3.6 million, ignoring the decision of the Legislature to help jump-start the program when it goes into effect this month. "I will not let the TEA subvert this bill and the law of the state," Lucio said at a Capitol news conference. "I will not let any bureaucrat or bureaucracy stand in the way of making seat belts a reality on all school buses." [ View Article ] Sep 1, 2010, 08:39

Conference on Implementation of State School Bus Seat Belt Program and Reimbursement Plan
AUSTIN, TX--Supporters of school bus seat belts, including legislators, and parent groups, such as the West Brook Bus Crash Families will be holding a press conference to discuss implementation of the School Bus Seat Belt Program and Reimbursement Plan. Aug 31, 2010, 08:31

School bus drop-off safety questioned
A bus driver admitted to dropping off students in the middle of the street. Turns out, what the driver is doing is legal [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 08:15

Texas Offers Online School Bus Driver Checks; New Law on Disqualifying Offenses
As school begins, the Texas Highway Patrol released a statement that school districts can instantly verify records of their school bus drivers online. And a new law is around the corner that highlights prior traffic violations that can preclude a person from driving a school bus in the state. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 07:50

Bus drivers balance road and child safety
A safe driving record isn't the only important requirement for school bus drivers. [ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 07:15

Tree falls on Jacksonville school bus

The Daily Progress reports a large tree limb fell onto a Jacksonville Independent School District bus Thursday.

It happened along Pine Street around 3 p.m.

[ View Article ] Aug 30, 2010, 07:15

Texas schools can check bus driver records online
AUSTIN, Texas -- Administrators at school districts across Texas now have a faster and simpler way to check the safety records of bus drivers. The Department of Public Safety on Thursday announced a website, Texas.gov, that allows districts to ins ... [ View Article ] Aug 27, 2010, 08:35

Wisconsin Soon to Be Home to Nation's Largest Plug-in Hybrid Electric School Bus Fleet
One Wisconsin school bus contractor unveiled its new solar re-charging station as another local company broke ground on a similar facility with the help of $15 million in U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities grants, which will bring the number of plug-in hybrid school buses statewide to 24, the most in the country. [ View Article ] Aug 27, 2010, 07:50

School bus driver records
Administrators at school districts across Texas now have a faster and simpler way to check the safety records of bus drivers. The Department of Public Safety on Thursday announced a website, Texas.gov, that allows districts to instantly review bus driver records, instead of having to rely on the mail to get the information. [ View Article ] Aug 27, 2010, 07:45

San Antonio: 2 Injured In School Bus/SUV Accident; Vehicles Collide In East Bexar County
Police said a school bus and an SUV collided Wednesday in East Bexar County, injuring one student and the SUV's driver. Police said the accident occcurred sometime after 5 p.m. at the intersection of Sulpher Springs and Foster roads. [ View Article ] Aug 26, 2010, 08:14

Is Funding for Texas Seat Belt Law Finally on its Way?
Seat Belts! Three years ago, the Texas legislature passed only the second school bus lap/shoulder belt bill in the nation's history. But today, with only days remaining before the law is set to go into effect, school districts have yet to see the state funds to purchase new school buses equipped with the safety systems. Schools also have little or no clue where to apply for the reimbursement funds. Industry estimates indicate that the real-world costs of installing lap-shoulder belts on school buses could result in cost increases of about $6,000 to $11,000 per new vehicle. [ View Article ] Aug 26, 2010, 07:58

Denton: Parents air transportation concerns
A group of parents urged Denton school board members to reconsider the district's recent decision to stop transporting their children to and from Nelson Elementary School. About 15 parents at Tuesday's board meeting said they were concerned about safety and the distance - up to 1.9 miles - their children would have to walk to school [ View Article ] Aug 26, 2010, 07:35

School bus collides with police car
A Galveston school bus was involved in a minor traffic accident involving a Galveston Police Department unit [ View Article ] Aug 26, 2010, 07:30

Houston: School bus involved in multiple-vehicle accident
A wreck made for a bumpy start to the school day for kids in northwest Houston. A school bus was involved in a three-vehicle wreck on West 43rd and TC Jester just after 7am. The bus, a car and an SUV all collided at the intersection. None of the kids appeared injured. They were later placed on a back-up bus. [ View Article ] Aug 25, 2010, 07:50

Diboll ISD says they can't afford seatbelts for their buses
Starting this year, your kids should be buckled up if they ride the school bus. The problem? Some East Texas districts say they can't afford it. The law was passed in 2007, requiring all Texas school buses bought after Sept. 2010 to have a three-point lap and shoulder seatbelts for passengers. [ View Article ] Aug 25, 2010, 07:45

Lost and found for bus riders: TISD's Misrouted Student Center reunites parents with their children
Walter Prothro, Temple Independent School District director of transportation, and his staff of vice principals and teachers check their Blackberrys on Tuesday afternoon to see if the name of the missing pre-kindergarten girl belongs to their school. [ View Article ] Aug 25, 2010, 07:45

Dayton ISD changes bus routes for efficiency
The Dayton ISD Board of Trustees approved on Aug. 17 changing the district�s bus route procedures in order to reduce drive times and minimize the amount of time children are waiting at school for a ride home. [ View Article ] Aug 25, 2010, 07:10

School bus seat belt program slashed
March 29, 2006 - a day of devastation for the town Beaumont, one that would forever change the lives of families, friends and survivors. A bus full of high school girls on their way to a soccer game slid off a rainy highway. [ View Article ] Aug 24, 2010, 08:10

Pine Tree ISD working to sort out bus confusion
Pine Tree ISD is working to sort out confusion that left many parents wondering where their children were Monday afternoon when some students didn't show up at home on time. According to Kevin Brownlee with the Longview Police Department, one child was still reported as missing at 6:20 p.m. At 7pm, Pine Tree ISD officials told KLTV 7 that every child did make it home safely. [ View Article ] Aug 24, 2010, 06:57

Dallas County putting seat belts on school buses
The bus operator that takes 60,000 kids to school every day has been installing restraints in dozens of its vehicles ahead of a new law that requires seat belts in new buses. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:32

San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District bus involved in fatal accident near Waco
The San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District posted the following news release on its webpage: Waco Motorcyclist Hits SMCISD School Bus On Friday, August 21, 2010, around 4 pm, a motorcyclist hit San Marcos CISD bus #20 on the [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:25

Galveston: GISD alters bus route
The Galveston Independent School District on Friday changed the way one of its new school year bus routes will work after a West End parent complained that fifth-graders would be passengers along with high school students. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 08:03

Galveston: GISD alters bus route
The Galveston Independent School District on Friday changed the way one of its new school year bus routes will work after a West End parent complained that fifth-graders would be passengers along with high school students. [ View Article ] Aug 23, 2010, 07:59

Our Sponsors

Our Sponsors