School buses are one of the most familiar sights on American roads, especially on weekday mornings. Those are big, yellow buses full of students chatting (or some dozing off) on their way to school.
While these vehicles may slow things down for a while due to their size, school bus services benefit everyone, apart from the school and the students they serve. Here are the five benefits of school ridership – and why you should be grateful for it.
- School buses lessen traffic – Can you imagine what the roads would appear at 8 am if parents drove their children to school separately? There would be so many cars, resulting in a terrible gridlock – and during rush hour at that. Chances are, you wouldn’t be able to drop your kid off at school on time. One school bus of average size is equivalent to 36 cars, serving about 500 students. A school bus would take away that many cars, thus easing traffic.
- School buses reduce pollution – When you consider those 36 cars are removed from the road by a single school bus, they equate to over 56 billion pounds of CO2 emissions each year. It’s because a single school bus may help save 2.6 billion gallons of fuel – the reduction of fuel consumption will mean a reduction of CO2 emissions. When these cars are off the road, there will be significantly less pollution and much cleaner air.
- School buses are accessible for all – Not everyone has a car and may live too far away from their school. In contrast, others live within walking distance of their school. To them, a bus may be the only mode of transportation. Access to education is crucial for all children, which makes school buses necessary.
- School buses are designed to be safer than other vehicles – School buses are designed with students’ safety in mind. Their yellow color is easily seen, even from far away. School buses should come with other standard features, such as flashing lights, cross-view mirrors, protective seating, high crush standards, and rollover protection. The bus’s sides are reinforced to protect passengers in a collision, and the high seat back also protects in case of an impact. School bus drivers diligently perform checks before and after the ride to ensure that the vehicles fit the road.
- School bus drivers should pass federal and state requirements – The safety factor of school buses extends to the qualifications of a bus driver. Their main job is to transport students to and from school safely and enforce safety measures while the students are on the bus. Apart from driving skills and experience, the driver should also possess a commercial driver’s license (with school bus and passenger endorsements). They also should pass a physical exam and vision test, complete the necessary hours of training on school bus operation and safety, pass a road test, and undergo criminal background checks, among many other requirements.
As a school bus driver, you are vital to the benefits of school bus ridership. You also have an essential part to play in your community and the lives of the students you transport each weekday. Read the article PA School Bus Driver: The Perfect Job for Moms with Kids. When you’re ready, help us make sure that school bus transportation is available in your community. Visit: https://schoolbushero.com/jobs for available jobs TODAY!