The death of Alfred Hale sparked a debate in the community on the lack of safety around downtown transit hubs.

The 18-year-old student of Dunbar High School in Dayton, Ohio was shot and killed in April while waiting for a transit bus to take him to school. For decades, many school districts across the U.S. have relied on public transportation to transport high school students. The practice has only increased especially after COVID-19 due to financial and staff shortages.

Ohio House Bill 96 introduces a budget plan that will allocate more funding to all public schools in FY 2026 and 2027.

“The bill increases overall state support for public schools by $81 million in FY26 and $145 million in FY27 over the executive proposal, for a total of $226 million,” a press release on the bill states. “Additionally, per-pupil funding was increased for every student across Ohio.”

Additionally, the bill would require school districts that provide or arrange for transportation of eligible students in the ninth through twelfth grades to ensure that students are assigned to routes that do not require more than one transfer. Mass transit systems located in one of Ohio’s eight most populous counties would need to ensure that transfers don’t occur at a central hub, like the one where Hale was shot.

HB96 passed the House April 9 and was introduced in the Senate.

Dayton Board of Education President Chrisondra Goodwine disagrees with the bill. She released a statement on the tragedy, stating that the ban on student transfers, “is a reactionary move that fails to address the underlying problems. It restricts student access to education and imposes further barriers on already vulnerable youth—without offering any alternative solutions.”

Goodwine added Hale’s death is not a school issue but a citywide crisis.

“The burden of safety cannot fall on schools alone,” she wrote. “Every sector— education, local government, law enforcement, transportation, and commerce—has a shared responsibility in ensuring that our city is not only livable but truly thriving for everyone.”

She noted recent statements from city elected officials that place blame for the systemic challenges on Dayton Public Schools.

“That narrative is not only misleading—it is harmful,” she stated. “It oversimplifies the issue and ignores the very real legal and financial constraints placed on public school districts across Ohio.”

Instead, Goodwine outlined limitations codified in state law that require transportation is provided not only to Dayton students but also to charter and private school students within district boundaries. Dayton Public Schools lacks the legal authority to prioritize only its students, she continued, as well as adequate staffing and funding to place every child on a yellow school bus.

“Because of these limitations, some students must use public transportation,” Goodwine states. “The Greater Dayton RTA is not an educational partner—it is a public transit system governed by federal rules that ensure equitable access to all. While we do engage where possible to improve safety, DPS has no control over how RTA routes passengers or determines transfer points. These decisions are made solely by RTA based on their operational model and obligations to the general public.”

A citywide commitment to youth by opening recreational facilities, expanding mentorship opportunities, and centering teen-focused investments.

She said if city leaders want to be solution-oriented, they can start by opening doors to recreational centers and buildings that are underutilized or vacant but otherwise available to the district or afterschool partners to serve as “safe, structured environments tailored to teenagers— especially in a city where youth have limited access to activities that are engaging, safe, and empowering.”

“Changing the trajectory for young people requires more than statements—it requires investment in their future,” she added. “At the same time, we call on the State of Ohio to change the laws that continue to create barriers to a better reality for our students. Allow public districts to serve their students first. Fund transportation adequately. And stop penalizing urban districts trying to meet modern-day challenges with outdated policies.”

She is also calling for adequate state funding to support driver recruitment, fleet expansion, and improved routing systems.

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The Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation issued a formal statement in support of Dayton Public Schools, Goodwine and the broader transportation crisis in Ohio.

“If Ohio’s elected officials are serious about creating lasting change and protecting our children, they must stop blaming overburdened school districts and start providing the legal authority, funding, and infrastructure necessary to meet today’s realities,” OPTA states. “The Ohio Association for Pupil Transportation stands ready to work with lawmakers, school, leaders, and community partners to bring about these much-needed reforms.”

OPTA notes that Hale’s death in Dayon highlights the need for systemic change and multiagency collaboration to ensure student safety.

“It is unacceptable that a student’s route to school becomes a place of violence,” OPTA states. “And it is equally unacceptable to assign blame to school districts without acknowledging the legal and financial realities they face.”

OPTA notes that the law requiring public school districts to transport students not only to and from their assigned schools but also students attending charter and private school extends service up to 30 minutes outside those boundaries.

“This requirement, imposed without proportional funding or flexibility, has pushed many districts to the brink,” OPTA states.

As of last August, Ohio had 18,817 active school bus drivers, a decrease of nearly 7,000 from 2019, OAPT said. Meanwhile. The demand for transportation services continues to rise due to expanding private and charter school mandates, and lawmakers have failed to address any of the root causes..

“Dayton Public Schools is being asked to do more with less, navigating rigid laws and an acute driver shortage while trying to ensure safe passage for students to over 90 locations,” added OAPT. “These proposals are not only short-sighted, they exacerbate the problem by restricting access to education for some of our most vulnerable students.”

OPTA joined Dayton in calling for: Legislative reform that allows public school districts to prioritize transportation for their own students before allocating resources to nonpublic schools; adequate and equitable funding for public school transportation, including driver recruitment incentives, modernized fleets, and safety upgrades; a re-commitment to public education over expanding voucher systems that divert public funds to private interests, undermining Article VI, Section 2 of the Ohio Constitution; and, a clear focus on student safety, including reinstating the yellow school bus as the “gold standard” for student transportation and rejecting lower safety alternatives like vans and car services for daily transport.

The post Dayton, Ohio Student Shooting Highlights Need for Systemic Transportation Changes appeared first on School Transportation News.

Ford is pouring tens of billions of dollars into electric vehicles, betting big on a future that’s already here, but so far, the returns aren’t looking great. While the EV market overall continues to grow, Ford’s own electric sales are moving in the opposite direction. If the Dearborn automaker wants to close the gap with rivals like GM and Hyundai-Kia, let alone take a swing at Tesla’s lead, it needs to figure out how to boost local EV sales, and quickly.

A look at Ford’s most recent sales results does not paint a pretty picture for the automaker. In April, Ford managed to sell 4,859 EVs across the country. This represents a massive 39.4% decline from the 8,014 units it sold in April last year. Ford’s total EV sales for the first four months of 2025 are also down 2.9% from last year, with 27,409 units finding new homes. And that’s with Ford extending its popular Employee Pricing discounts for all.

Read: Ford Chief Says China Leads US By 10 Years In EV Batteries, Needs Their IP

A dramatic drop in demand for the Mustang Mach-E is the main reason why Ford’s sales collapsed last month. In April, 2,927 Mustang Mach-Es were sold, representing a 40.2% decline from the 4,893 sold in April 2024. Interestingly, sales are up by 0.4% year to date with 14,534 sales.

Sales of the F-150 Lightning have also dropped. In April 2024, Ford shifted 2,090 units, but this year, just 1,740. Year-to-date sales are also down 9.2% to 8,927. The E-Transits also had a very bad month with just 192 sales, a plunge of 81.5%.

Unlike its EVs, Ford’s hybrids are actually gaining ground. In April, the company sold 23,331 hybrid models, a 29.6% increase over the previous year. Year-to-date, hybrid sales are up 31.9%, with 74,404 units sold so far in 2025.

Outside of EVs, things are looking good for Ford. In April, the company’s total vehicle sales rose 16.2% compared to the same month in 2024, reaching 208,675 units versus 179,588 last year.

With the exception of EVs, Ford’s overall sales are up through the first four months of the year, despite the turmoil that the whole industry is facing since the introduction of Trump’s tariffs. Year-to-date, Ford has sold 709,966 vehicles in the US, or 3.2% more than the 687,671 it delivered in 2024.

It’s common for technology inside the school bus to talk to one another —  especially when it’s provided by the same vendor. If school buses aren’t already connected, it’s surely a priority for most school districts.

But what if there’s more to the connected technology conversation? A general session at STN EXPO East on March 24 says there is. “School Bus V2X & Transit Planning” by Bob Riebe, the vice president of transit for Applied Information, Inc., discussed a new layer of connected technologies. Technology is connected not just to the vehicle but the surrounding community in the form of stop lights, infrastructure and other vehicles on the road.

Riebe explained that Applied Information’s Glance Transit Signal Priority system combines hardware and software into a solution that gets transit buses where they need to be — on time. School buses can be equipped with this technology, too, which ensures transportation operations are never losing communication with the bus. Applied Information’s Connected School Bus System has already been piloted on Georgia’s Fulton County Schools buses with partners Audi, Blue Bird, and Temple, Inc.

Cellular Vehicle to Everything or C-V2X technologies communicate with motorists driving in school zones. Riebe explained that distraction is at an all-time high and the technology tells motorists if they’re speeding and provides advanced warning that a school bus stop is approaching, right on their dash. (Currently, the technology is only available for a select few vehicle manufacturers, but the TravelSafely app leverages Smart City technology and alerts motorists of upcoming red lights, emergency vehicles approaching, as well as school zones.)

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Additionally, the technology can communicate with stop lights using routing information, as well as speed, time, location and stop information, on when the school bus is supposed to arrive at the stop. The technology is able to communicate with the stop lights, which turns the signal yellow then red for perpendicular traffic and the light green for the approaching school bus. This is beneficial if a school bus is running late. The school bus driver would only experience green lights along their route.

Riebe added this also decreases the amount of time school buses are idling at red lights and reduces fuel consumption and the number of emissions being admitted into the air. These can result in improved on-time performance, additional cost-savings, and increased school zone safety.

The system monitors real-time traffic and knows exactly where the school buses are located and when they would arrive at the stop light. If two school buses approach an intersection and are traveling perpendicular to each other, Riebe said the vehicle green light priority is on a first come, first serve basis. He added that the technology also provides 16 levels of priority, and different school buses could be set at a higher priority than others.

Riebe noted to integrate such a system into cities takes working with officials to allow devices be placed in the stop lights. If interested, he advised to start meetings with the local transit authority and speak with school bus OEMs to learn if they would put transponders on every school bus.

He noted the use case makes the most sense for bigger cities because there is more routes and traffic congestion. Riebe added that the Federal Communications Commission approved the technology to move forward and its use is growing throughout cities and districts.

The post C-V2X Technology Hold Promise of School Bus Time, Cost Savings appeared first on School Transportation News.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -Transit Technologies, a leading provider of powerful, seamless transit solutions, has officially acquired busHIVE, a renowned transportation management software provider. busHIVE offers a suite of customizable solutions designed to enhance operational efficiency for school bus contractors, school districts, and motorcoach operators. Their platform addresses critical aspects of transportation management, including:

Trip and Charter Management: Streamlining the scheduling and dispatching of trips and charters, allowing for efficient resource allocation, billing and payroll. Personnel and Driver Compliance: Monitoring and managing driver qualifications, certifications, and compliance requirements to ensure safety and regulatory adherence. Vehicle Preventative Maintenance: Providing tools for scheduling and tracking maintenance activities, inventory management, and work order generation to prolong vehicle lifespan and reduce downtime.

busHIVE’s flexible and user-friendly software has been instrumental in assisting transportation operations to effectively organize workflows, reduce manual processes, and enhance data accessibility. Their commitment to innovation and client collaboration has positioned them as a trusted partner in the transportation industry.

Gerry Leonard, CEO of Transit Technologies, emphasized the significance of this acquisition:

“This is more than a strategic expansion; it’s a leap towards a future where transit is more efficient, reliable, and inclusive. By integrating busHIVE’s advanced platform, we are not just streamlining operations; we’re setting new benchmarks for what transit systems can achieve. We are very excited about the significant value busHIVE will add to Transit Technologies’ already robust technology platform serving the K-12 market today, and is a perfect complement to our acquisition of Chicago-based ByteCurve in August of 2024.”

The synergy between Transit Technologies’ mission to revolutionize mobility for all and busHIVE’s transportation management solution creates a robust platform that enhances operational efficiency and meets the evolving demands of modern student transportation.

About Transit Technologies:‍
Transit Technologies is the leading provider of powerful, seamless transit solutions, creating a more connected and accessible world for all. The company’s mission is to ultimately build a network of innovative transportation solutions that provide safe, efficient, and reliable transit, to mobilize organizations and enrich communities. With deep expertise and a comprehensive network of transit solutions, Transit Technologies meets any mobility need, reducing costs, maximizing service delivery, and ensuring safe and efficient community movement.

About busHIVE:
busHIVE is a leading transportation management software company specializing in trip and charter management, personnel compliance, and vehicle preventative maintenance. Their customizable solutions cater to school bus contractors, school districts, and motorcoach operators, enabling clients to streamline operations, ensure safety compliance, and maintain efficient fleet management. With a focus on innovation and client collaboration, busHIVE continues to drive advancements in transportation technology.

The post Transit Technologies Announces Strategic Acquisition to Integrate Cutting-Edge Trip and Charter Management Capabilities Into Its Market-Leading K-12 Solutions appeared first on School Transportation News.