While the immediate future remains uncertain on federal emissions regulations and funding, school bus OEMs say they are prepared with varied solutions going forward to meet the needs of every customer, no matter the fuel or where they operate.

That was the key takeaway from a July 13 panel at STN EXPO West in Reno, Nevada. The OEM representatives on stage were Francisco Lagunas, general manager of North America Bus for Cummins; Jim Crowcroft, general sales manager for Thomas Built Buses; Katie Stok, product marketing and commercial readiness for IC Bus; Frank Girardot, the PR, marketing and government relations leader at RIDE; and Brad Beauchamp, EV product segment leader for Blue Bird. The session attempted to provide some clarity to the ever-changing funding and fuel landscape.

“The only certainty is that everything is so uncertain,” Lagunas punctuated during the “The Engines & Emissions Pathway Forward” session, facilitated by School Transportation News Editor-in-Chief Ryan Gray.

Lagunas added that Cummins is seeing an increased demand in diesel, confirming that the new B6.7 octane engine will be available in January. Though, he noted that investments in electric batteries and drive systems have not slowed down. Accelera, the zero-emissions division of Cummins, is a member of a joint venture with Daimler Truck North America and Paccar to create a U.S.-based battery cell manufacturer, Amplify Cell Technologies.

Crowcroft agreed, adding that one year has made a huge difference in industry focus. Several of the same panelists sat on a similar panel last year at STN EXPO, where he said EV was the focus of the industry.

“Now, it’s been a complete 180 [degree turn] this year,” he shared, adding that the industry has spent too much time talking about EVs and not enough time talking about the other offerings.

This year has been about being diverse, being nimble and ready to adapt to change when necessary. “What is the most practical plan?” he asked, noting that diesel technology has advanced and EV fatigue is setting in.

He shared that Thomas is not telling customers what fuel or energy type to use but instead empowering them to choose what works best for their fleets. Noting the Trump administration’s relaxation of a federal push for zero-emission vehicles, Crowcroft said there has been a sigh of relief from customers for not feeling like they have to purchase electric school buses.

He noted that with all the changes and technologies, it puts more pressure on the OEMs to keep up. He said Thomas is committed to investing in quality, citing that ahead of the 2027 GHG Phase 3 regulations targeting lower NOx (the EPA currently has it on hold pending a proposal to remove GHG regulations), school districts might want to pre-buy within the next 12 months to avoid cost increases tied to the new technology.

Beauchamp said Blue Bird has always focused on a fuel-agnostic path for its customers, and the company plans on continuing with propane being a low emission source. While he said Blue Bird had yet to see EV order cancellations as of last month, he anticipates those orders will flatten. Regardless, Blue Bird is committed to EV, noting an $80 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy last year (and double that amount in company matching funds) to build a new Type D electric school bus plant.

He noted that while the supply chain has improved coming out of COVID-19, “We’re not out of the words on it, yet,” he said.

Related: Electric School Bus Manufacturing Included in Nearly $2B Federal Energy Grant

Stok noted that the industry conversation should not be about low costs but having a supplier that delivers good quality on time. She noted that, like the other OEMs, EV is still very much part of the IC Bus product portfolio, as is diesel. However, she said the change in federal regulations will usher in changing order preferences across the industry, noting that IC is reintroducing its own gasoline school bus with the upcoming Cummins engine.

For the remainder of 2025, she said IC Bus is on track to have the highest production output from its Tulsa, Oklahoma plant. Communication is key right now, she added, and the manufacturer is working with its dealer network to listen to the customers and continue to improve.

Meanwhile, Girardot said it’s too early to predict what the future holds but BYD electric school bus company RIDE believes it holds a promise to furthering the deployment of EVs and enhancing the capabilities of vehicle to grid technology. He noted that V2G holds value and is something that communities need to consider. He highlighted success stories of V2G, such as in the Oakland Unified School District in California.

Girardot added that technician training on electric school buses is a must.

Additionally, RIDE announced a range extension on its blade battery, which took home the Best Green Technology, as judged by attendees at the STN EXPO West Trade Show Innovation Awards. Girardot added RIDE, too, received a competitive grant to expand its manufacturing facility.

Related: Transfinder, RIDE Win Big with STN EXPO Innovation Awards
Related: Another $200M Now Available for Electric School Buses in New York
Related: EPA Provides Update on Clean School Bus Program

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Technology to prohibit speeding is nothing new to school buses. While a federal proposal to require speed limiting devices on heavy-duty vehicles was recently scuttled, states and local governments continue to push for their use.

Where does the school bus industry stand with theses devices? Do they really increase safety?

Several manufacturers think so. Speed limiters, also known as intelligent speed assistance (ISA) technology, gained traction about three years ago in New York City. The devices were first placed on a variety of 50 government fleet vehicles but not school buses. However, the project has since been expanded three times, and currently speed limiters are now installed on 700 vehicles operating across the five boroughs, 50 of which are school buses powered by both diesel and electric.

Magtec Products provides advanced the ISA, which company names SafeSpeed, on vehicles in New York City. Gary Catapano, Magtec’s chief strategy and safety advisor, has extensive firsthand school bus safety experience. He oversaw transportation companies operating in the New York area as the senior vice president of safety for First Student as well as First Transit and Greyhound from October 2004 through October 2017.

“I’m really passionate about school bus safety and what school busses do every single day in North America. It’s a pretty incredible mission, moving all those children safely and securely, and by and large, they do a great job making that happen,” he said. “But speeding is one of those problems that affects not only the school bus industry, but every type of transport out there. … [I]t’s the leading cause of fatal injuries and crashes. Typically, from year to year, anywhere from 29 to 33 percent of all fatal crashes have speeding as a causal factor.”

He said when he left First Student, he started to work with Magtec because he had piloted the technology and saw how it could make fleets safer.

“Speed is at the center of our roadway safety problems in North America, and when you slow people down, you end up being able to avoid collisions,” Catapano said, adding that slowing down allows for more follow distance between vehicles and more time to conduct defensive driving maneuvers. School bus drivers have more time to react to other hazards on the roadway as well as actions of other motorists.

“So, not only does that eliminate speed related crashes but allows you to drive more defensively and help avoid non speeding related crashes,” Catapano added.

He noted that having ISA on school buses, especially those traveling in neighborhoods with children and bicyclists present, is critical to safety. Even traveling a few miles over the speed limit increases both crash risk and severity.

New York City vehicles have traveled over 5 million miles using Magtec’s SafeSpeed across a variety of vehicles and departments. Catapano noted that NYC is a challenging environment to operate vehicles due to its urban landscape, high skyscrapers and roadways with various speed limits.

The technology became a part of the city’s Transition to Safety plan. The report “NYC School Bus Fleet: Improving Road Safety Through Technologies and Training” published in January 2024 stated that the ISA system provides a warning (visual, haptic or a combination) to a driver that the target speed is exceeded.

After installing the technology on school buses, the report states “preliminary results on the first nine-bus pilot indicate that installing ISA on school buses decreased excessive speeding (11-plus mph above the speed limit) from 4.21 percent to 0.03 percent of overall driving time, representing a 99.29 percent decrease in excessive speeding time. These initial findings suggest that ISA is a feasible intervention to decrease speeding behaviors in school bus drivers.”

Catapano explained that NYC chose to enforce a speed limit that was above the posted limit by 11 miles per hour and matched the settings of the 2,000 speed cameras that are in placed around the city. Many NYC streets have a speed limit of 25 mph, putting the maximum speed a vehicle could travel at 36 mph. He noted the SafeSpeed device keeps track of the posted speed limits wherever the vehicle is traveling, regardless of if it’s on a highway or residential street.

Meanwhile, the 2025 NYC Safe Fleet Transition Plan, prepared by the Volpe National Transportation Center for the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), said ISA resulted in a 64 percent relative decrease in the amount of time that drivers exceeded the speed limit by at least 11 mph.

“With sufficient evidence that ISA is effective at reducing severe speeding, the technology has been recategorized from “exploratory” to a Tier 2 “best practice” technology,” the report states. It adds that the city plans to install ISA in an additional 1,600 fleet vehicles, which would be the largest single deployment of active ISA in the U.S.

In addition to safety, Catapano said the speed limiters are also saving fleets anywhere from 3 to 5 percent on fuel consumption. Plus, he said speeding results in tailgating, which leads to having to use the brakes more often, resulting in higher maintenance costs for parts replacement.

He added the technology is relatively affordable and easy to install—typically taking around one hour per bus.

Related: Office of State Superintendent of Education Launches New Parent Portal for Student Transportation Services in D.C.
Related: New York State of Charge
Related: GPS Technology Targets School Bus Speeding

Beyond speed regulation, the Magtec SafeSpeed system also offers remote vehicle shutdown capabilities, which can be used in emergency situations, such as when a bus driver is impaired or a vehicle is hijacked. Originally developed for military and high-value cargo protection, this security feature allows school districts to safely immobilize a vehicle from their dispatch office.

“Whether it’s an impairment issue, a medical emergency, or even a security threat, this technology gives districts a way to take control and protect both passengers and the public,” Catapano added, noting that no additional device is required.

Another Success Story

New York City’s adoption of ISA systems is already inspiring interest from other school districts, some with as many as 1,200 buses already equipped with the technology, Catapano noted. Yet adoption remains slow nationwide.

“Truthfully, the technology is very inexpensive and it’s readily available now,” Catapano said. “The real question is, why aren’t more districts using it?”

At least one more big city is. A new pilot program in Washington, D.C., featuring speed-limiting technology developed by Lifesaver, is making waves in the effort to reduce crashes, injuries and fatalities on the road. The program also centers around ISA technology that automatically prevents vehicles from exceeding the speed limit.

Lifesaver has a three-decades-long mission of preventing road deaths, starting with ignition interlock systems. But four years ago, the company pivoted toward broader applications of safety tech.

“I started asking, how else can we save lives?” said Michael Travas, president and general manager of LifeSaver.

That question led to the development of an ISA technology, a system already proven in large commercial fleets but largely untapped in the public sector—especially in school transportation.

The turning point came when Travas connected with Rick Burke, D.C.’s traffic safety officer, during a conversation about the city’s Vision Zero goal for eliminating traffic crash fatalities. That led to a pilot installation of ISA devices in 10 school vehicles used for the city’s School Connect program, which provides equitable transportation for students transferring between schools.

The pilot program launched in January and was designed to run for three months, focusing on school buses operating throughout the city at varying times and locations. After just 30 days, feedback from school bus drivers was overwhelmingly positive.

“The drivers loved it,” Travas relayed. “One of them told me, ‘I know my vehicle will go the speed limit, so I can pay attention to the kids.’ That’s the whole point.”

Related: Ins, Outs of Routing Software Discussed at STN EXPO Reno
Related: U.S. Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality of Universal Service Fund for E-Rate
Related: C-V2X Technology Promises School Bus Time, Cost Savings

He said the technology is purposefully non-distracting and once installed—typically a 30-minute process—the system silently enforces preset speed thresholds. Using real-time data from mapping sources like HERE, Google and Waze, the system automatically calibrates to local speed limits. It never hits the brakes for the drivers but simply prevents further acceleration.

The goal, Travas said, is safe, seamless compliance. And if drivers need to override the limiter in an emergency, a manual override button provides temporary acceleration for a fixed time, after which the limiter resumes.

With the D.C. pilot now past its initial phase, Lifesaver is working closely with city officials to expand ISA technology across more school vehicles. At the same time, they company is actively speaking with other cities and districts interested in launching their own programs. And while cost is always a concern for school systems, Lifesaver is committed to flexibility.

“We’re being adaptive during this early adoption period,” added Travas. “We want to see proof of safety, and we’re happy to work with districts to make that happen.”

Feds Have a Different Opinion?

Meanwhile, despite positive feedback from NYC, D.C. and others, the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration withdrew a proposal to require ISA on heavy-duty vehicles.

The proposal would have required heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 26,000 pounds to be equipped with speed-limiting devices, initially set to a speed—likely between 60 and 68 miles per hour—that was to be determined in the final rule.

It dates back to the Obama administration’s original proposal that trucks with a gross weight of more than 26,000 pounds be equipped with a speed-limiting device to keep them under 65 mph. The proposed rule was withdrawn during the first Trump administration, only to be revived and advanced in 2022 by the Biden administration.

However, FMCSA and NHTSA withdrew the rule once again earlier this year. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the device is not only an inconvenience but a hazard for drivers who are forced to go slower than the flow of traffic. Reasons for the withdrawal include policy and safety concerns as well as continued data gaps that create considerable uncertainty about the estimated costs, benefits and other impacts.

Bus & Motorcoach News reported that the American Trucking Associations, United Motorcoach Association other industry advocates embraced the proposed rule, including large trucking firms, Coach USA and many four-wheel truck drivers.

The opposition centered on the hazards of speed differentials, increased crashes, traffic backups, driver fatigue and increased pressure on a dwindling driver pool for relief drivers, as many routes were previously accomplished without exceeding the driving hours of service.

The post Not So Fast: Technology Eyes Speed Reduction in School Buses appeared first on School Transportation News.

The third round of funding through the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022 is now available for zero-emission school buses in the state of New York.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced July 22 an additional $200 million distributed through the New York School Bus Incentive Program (NYSBIP). The second installment of $200 million was made available a year ago, while the first round of $100 million was announced in October 2022.

The funding covers everything from the purchase of the electric school buses to the charging infrastructure and fleet electrification planning.

“New York State is leaning into our Environmental Bond Act commitment to provide public schools with the funding and resources to make electric school buses more affordable,” Hochul said in a statement. “We are leaving no school behind as we reduce pollution from vehicles so every student can benefit from clean air while building healthier, more sustainable communities for New Yorkers across the state.”

The program is administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), while NYSBIP provides incentives to eligible school bus fleet operators, including school districts and private contractors, that purchase zero-emission buses.

The funding is available on a first-come, first-served basis with funding amounts covering up to 100 percent of the incremental cost of a new or repowered electric school bus. Priority districts identified as high-need school districts and disadvantaged communities are available to receive larger funding amounts.

The deadline to purchase zero-emission school buses in the state nears amid the latest funding round. All new school buses purchased statewide as of Jan. 1, 2027, must be zero emissions and all school district and contractor fleets must be 100 percent zero emissions by 2035. The recently passed state budget extended a deferment until 2029 for school districts that demonstrate their challenges with meeting the mandate.

The NYSBIP defines zero emissions as electric or hydrogen fuel cell school buses, though only the latter are currently available.

Related: New York State of Charge
Related: State Budget Calls for Real-world Range Testing for Electric School Bus Sales
Related: School Buses Among New York City Fleet to Go Electric

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RENO, Nev. —  Transfinder took home best hardware, software and safety technology awards for the second consecutive year and RIDE won best green technology for the third year in a row, as judged by STN EXPO West attendees during the trade show held July 14 and 15.

The 153 attendees who cast votes in the fourth annual STN EXPO Innovation Choice Awards represented a rise in participation from last year’s 125 votes. Exhibitor and guest votes were not counted. Eligible voters represented school districts, state or federal organizations, Head Start agencies, and school bus contractors.

To be eligible for an entry, participating trade show vendors had to introduce a new, market-ready product between January 2024 and July 2025. STN EXPO attendees voted by scanning a QR code at participating company booths.

The Schenectady, New York, company received 114 votes for Best Safety Technology, 123 votes for Best Hardware and 121 votes for Best Software. It was the fourth year in a row that Transfinder won the Best Software category, the third consecutive year winning Best Hardware, and the second year it took all three categories.

Transfinder entered the three products in all three categories.

Stopfinder Digital Card ID turns a student’s Android or IOS cellphone into their ID card. “This advancement eliminates the need for substituting RFID cards and/or replacing lost costs. This technology augments Transfinder’s parent app Stopfinder, providing parents peace of mind that their child made the bus and tracking the bus’s location,” Transfinder stated in its nomination.

Meanwhile, Transfinder Enterprise includes everything from route visibility to attendance routing, posts to student lookup. Transfinder’s Wayfinder ETA dashboard and real-time capability can now be shared with school building personnel and other stakeholders in Viewfinder. This capability enhances communication. Additionally, using the driver app, Wayfinder, the most efficient route based on student riders can be generated.

“For example, a late bus can have different students riding different days depending on the activities they participate in,” Transfinder stated. “When students scan their ID cards as they get on the late bus, for example, the safest and most efficient route is created for the driver.”

Related: Innovation Awards Returns to STN EXPO, Vote on Site
Related: (STN Podcast E265) Onsite at STN EXPO West: Innovations & Partnerships for School Transportation Success
Related: Transfinder Scores Hat Trick with STN EXPO Innovation Choice Awards

Users can post on any record type, such as student, trip or vehicle to facilitate a conversation around that record. The information is then accessible across all Transfinder solutions.

Transfinder said its map incidents solution tackles a growing concern of students crossing by adding a functionality in Routefinder PLUS to “view where students not just cross the street to get on the bus but what streets they cross on their way to the bus. With PLUS, users can embed trip and street data and logic into their maps and trips, making it easier for routers to design safer trips.”

Transfinder noted, adding the data is then viewed on Wayfinder.

Meanwhile, BYD electric school bus spinoff RIDE was unopposed last month in the green technology category. The manufacturer was attendees’ choice for the third consecutive year, this time for its blade battery (below). The manufacturer won the same category last year for its Type C “Creator” and in 2023 for its Type A “Achiever.” The lithium iron phosphate blade battery features a direct cell-to-pack design, utilizing thin “blade-like” cells that eliminate the need for conventional modules.

The post Transfinder, RIDE Win Big with STN EXPO Innovation Awards appeared first on School Transportation News.

After what felt like the end of the road for the Clean School Bus Program, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided an update overview, including the anticipation of additional information regarding the 2024 rebate program.

In an email Monday, the EPA reminded awardees of next steps for the rebate and grant programs, provided program oversight and compliance, and shared resources and news.

For the 2022 CSB Rebate, EPA said it completed review of most school bus projects and Close Out Forms, or COF, submitted by rebate recipients. EPA also said it is actively working with selectees to ensure accuracy and completeness. For those who have not completed their COF, the EPA is working with those selectees to ensure it is submitted in an expedited fashion.

Additionally, EPA said it is performing site visits with all 2022 CSB rebate recipients.

Meanwhile, about 50 percent of the awarded funding under the 2023 CSB rebate program has been disbursed. The EPA is encouraging all selectees to submit their payment request forms (PRF) for those projects. If the PRF has not been submitted, selectees must either submit the form as soon as possible or request an extension via the online portal.

Upon completing the PRF, rebate selectees will receive an official funds disbursement email from the EPA, with the money typically available within seven to 10 days. Once selectees receive the funds they must “email the EPA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer (EPA-CSB-FinancialReporting@epa.gov) within 10-business days of spending their funds on eligible expenses or passing the rebate funds to a third-party to complete the purchase for eligible expenses,” the EPA stated.

Related: EPA CSBP Payment Request Deadline This Month
Related: Report Highlights Shift in Federal Policy from EVs to Conventional Fuels
Related: The State of Green School Buses
Related: Big Questions Vexing Student Transporters

When school buses are deployed and replaced, and infrastructure is installed, the EPA stated that selectees will need to submit their 2023 COF.

EPA also reminded Clean School Bus Program grant recipients of the July 30 deadline for filing semi-annual reports, which cover January through June 2025. The EPA asked that all selectees submit their progress reports to the EPA project officer.

Additional information regarding the 2024 rebate program is forthcoming, EPA said.

The EPA is also hosting various webinars through its Office of Grants and Departments that could be of interest to grant awardees as well as webinars through the Automated Standard Application for Payments.

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RENO, Nev. — Ronna Weber, the executive director of the National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services provided updates on the National Congress of School Transportation.

The NCST, which historically meets every five years to update the National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures, was held May 4-6 in Des Moines, Iowa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the last Congress was held 10 years ago. Webber provided attendees with takeaways of the Congress, highlighting proposals from all committees.

School Transportation News was on-site and reported on the Congress.

Related: NHTSA Rulemaking at Heart of NCST Resolutions Focused on Safety
Related: (STN Podcast E258) Nuances & Challenges: NCST Recap, Trade Wars, Upcoming Safety Convos
Related: May, Should, Shall?
Related: National Congress Finishes Early After 10-Year Hiatus

Going forward, Weber said during a session at STN EXPO West Monday the 17th Steering Committee will meet in late summer or early fall to discuss and approve operating procedures for the 18th Congress. By early 2026, the 18th Congress Steering Committee will be named and by spring of next year information on the next NCST, such as dates and location will be released.

During the 17th Congress, delegates were surveyed on if they think holding NCST every five years is still adequate or if it should be held more frequently. Additionally, delegates were asked where the location should be, as Weber said Des Moines no longer is a good fit for the event.

In terms of the next NSTSP manual, Weber noted that the NCST steering committee is working with a new printer, and delegates and interested parties in attendance were able to purchase an edition with their registration.

The book is currently being drafted, Weber told STN attendees, and each writing committee will be able to look at their section before it goes to print, with very little ability to make changes. She noted that she hopes the manual will be released and available for purchase by Sept. 1.

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RENO, Nev. — Katrina Morris, the executive director of the Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation, is the 18th recipient of the Peter J. Gandolfo Memorial Award of Excellence.

The award, sponsored by Q’Straint/SureLok, was presented to Morris on July 14, during the STN EXPO West opening session by Linda Grandolfo, Peter’s widow. Linda keeps Peter’s legacy alive by telling his story every year, enlightening newcomers and reminding frequent attendees of his impact on school transportation.

“He would want all of you to make some connections at this conference, meet some people that you’ve never met before,” Linda said. “Over the years, he learned, he grew and he increased his circle of friends in this industry. It’s comforting to know that I have been giving this award to so many deserving professionals, and then I read about our 2025 winner, —[Peter’s] impact in the field of student transportation remains to this day with so many of you today. We are actually fortunate to have some of our past winners with us.”

Among the past winners in attendance were Alexandra Robinson (2017), industry consultant and previous New York Director of Transportation; Pamela McDonald (2021), retired director of transportation at Orange County Public Schools in California; and Julie Hrebicek (2023), Magnolia Independent School District in Texas.

Linda Grandolfo added that she’s proud of the past recipients and their dedication to yellow school buses. “The responsibility that each of you accepts every day, no matter your area of student transportation, is something you greatly valued,” Linda said, adding that Morris is a leader in student transportation.

She noted that Morris is respected across Michigan for work as director of transportation for the West Shore Community School District, which primarily serves K-8 students with disabilities. She recently transitioned to a consultant role with the district to become the full time MAPT executive director.

Morris is also recognized in her state and beyond for her dedication to safety training and best practices. She is a former president of the MAPT and was instrumental in developing statewide school bus driver security training, the impetus for a state law, since 2002.

Her start in the industry began over 20 years ago as a school bus driver and dispatcher.

“Our 2025 winner, much like Peter is a constant learner who loves building relationships with kids and actually loves their job, she takes their job very seriously and is most proud of getting an $810,000 grant for school bus safety and security, which is now mandated in Michigan,” Linds said.

The Michigan school bus driver security training program is now taught in 35 states. “I watched the video as I was preparing for this speech. It is incredibly powerful,” Linda said, adding that after a six-year battle with the state of Michigan, the Michigan House passed a school bus safety package in 2022.

“It’s an honor and a pleasure every year to present the Peter Grandolfo award to the winners,” said Lisa Nippolt, the western region manager of Q’Straint’s school bus and paratransit market. “This award is really about dedication. It’s about unwavering commitment to ensure that all the children you know are safely transported. And for that, we are immensely grateful to everyone in this room, but congratulations and big thanks to [Morris] for everything that you do.”

Upon accepting the award, Morris said that she was just talking about the Grandolfo award Sunday night and the impact Peter had on the industry.

“To be honored by your husband and his award, I can’t tell you how much that means,” she said. “I’m usually not short for words, but I’m just shocked right now. And you guys thought enough of me that in what I do — it’s all of our passion. It was Peter’s passion too, and we’re just glad that we were able to share that together. So, thank you guys for this award.”

Morris’ Impact on the Industry

Morris has been in the industry for 21 years, starting as a school bus substitute driver. From there, she moved into an office position, which is where her career trajectory took off.

“My passion was really for what people didn’t know about what we do, and it was like, these bus drivers are so phenomenal in what they do for our kids and how big of a role they really play in their lives, and people don’t realize that,” she told STN after the announcement.

She said the perception is that anyone can drive a school bus, but Morris noted that you can’t teach an applicant how to love and care for kids. “I just wanted my passion for that part of it to be heard and for people to really tap into what it is that we offer for our students,” she said.

Noting laws, rules and regulations, i’s the desire to keep improving the driver experience and student safety that keeps Morris engaged with the industry. “We’re all here for the students and their safety,” she said. “But at the same point, we have to remember that we have to get the drivers to where they have to be. We need to remain focused on the drivers and what they need as well as what the kids need. When we both work together in those conjunctions, then we wind up with beautiful outcomes.”

She said the industry is currently shifting its perception about school bus drivers by realizing they play a larger part of the overall district’s success. “I will always come back and fight for the kids and fight for our drivers and fight for what’s right and what they deserve,” she said.

And Morris continues to do just that. Following high profile school shootings, lockdown training became critical for schools. But she noted that school bus drivers were left out. When Morris heard that, she took it upon herself to work with city and county law enforcement as well as the emergency manager to write the curriculum for Proactive Response Training for School Bus Drivers, which has now gone nationwide.

Her current project is a national campaign in conjunction with NASCAR, which she has been working on for the past five years. The goal is to release a commercial that shows a NASCAR driver and school bus on the same racetrack. The driver would see the school bus come stop and follow suit, saying something to the effect of, ‘Even I stop for the red flashing lights of a school bus to help protect all of our kids.’

“My voice is only so loud, but NASCAR has a loud voice, and they have a big target audience,” Morris said, adding that campaigns with people like NASCAR continue to elevate what a school bus driver does.

“It’s helping with the driver shortage to start elevating our people up to where they really need to be,” she said. “No, you may not need a degree, but you need a whole lot of training.”

The post Michigan’s Morris Presented with 2025 Gandolfo Award at STN EXPO appeared first on School Transportation News.

RENO, Nev. — The second day at STN EXPO West saw the return of the four-and-a-half-hour seminar “So, You Want to be a Transportation Supervisor?”, presented by transportation professionals and industry veterans Alexandra Robinson, Rosalyn Vann-Jackson, Timothy Purvis and Pamela McDonald.

The seminar began Saturday with introductions from the attendees, during which they shared how many years they have worked in transportation and the variety of roles they have held within the industry. This year, the most experienced sat in the room, representing a total of 1,400 years in the industry, across 72 participants.

“It’s about passion, purpose and connection,” said Vann-Jackson, chief support services officer for Broken Arrow Public Schools in Oklahoma, as she highlighted the importance of building relationships within teams.

Attendees at the session were encouraged to build a vision and lead with relationships. One suggestion provided by Vann-Jackson was to get to know employees. “People don’t want to be pulled along; they want to follow. You have to be a leader, and you achieve this by building relationships,” said Vann-Jackson.

She emphasized that one small change can make a big difference. Instead of calling employees into the office, meet them where they are, such as in the break room. Informal settings create comfort and encourage honest conversations. Asking about their lives, and what makes them happy. What do they enjoy outside of work? These types of conversations can create a sense of trust and loyalty.

On the other hand, McDonald, a retired transportation director for Orange Unified School District in Southern California with over 34 years of experience, addressed the importance of promoting and building relationships.

McDonald emphasizes that relationship building shouldn’t stop at the bus yard but rather expand to build connections across other district departments, visiting other school sites, or introducing oneself to board members. Whether it’s recognizing the school nurses on Nurses’ Day with a proclamation or sending retirement or birthday cards, small gestures can go a long way in strengthening interdepartmental relationships.

Nashawn Craig, assistant director of transportation for Taylor Schools in Michigan, started driving a school bus five years ago when he was 19. He slowly moved up from there, becoming a dispatcher and now an assistant director. However, he said, he was very close to his school bus driver when he was younger.

“I’ve always just had a love of school buses,” he shared with STN during the session. “It’s just been a thing for me. And my bus drivers when I was younger, they cared about me more than anybody. And that kind of stuck with me. So, I wanted to be that person for other people within the industry.”

Craig, a first-time STN attendee, said he attended the session to hear more about others’ stories, what people have done in similar situations and recommendations they have.

“I’ve only been the assistant director since July 1, so I’m looking to see what other people have gone through, hear their stories, what resources that they use,” he shared. “So that way, when I eventually move up into a director position, that I have things and people to talk to and relate to and resources.”

During the seminar, Purvis, owner and principal consultant for Pupil Transportation Information, dove into the transformative role of data-driven decision making, encouraging district leaders to leverage data as a strategic asset rather than just a compliance measure.

Purvis emphasized that key performance indicators (KPIs), which are the backbone of data-driven management, are essential tools that public and private sectors alike are embracing to boost efficiency.

The seminar concluded with former executive director of transportation in New York City and in San Diego, California, and current industry consultant Alex Robinson addressing a fundamental question: What does a healthy organization feel like?

“If you hesitate when asked whether a child is safe riding a particular school bus with a specific driver, then that driver shouldn’t be behind the wheel,” said Robinson. She challenged attendees to reflect on their own feelings about their workplaces.

Ultimately, Robinson emphasized that the strength of any organization lies in its people and their shared commitment to growth and excellence. Recognizing the symptoms of dysfunction, embracing hard truths, and fostering leadership development are all part of the journey toward building a healthier workplace.

Three attendees from Sweetwater County School District #1 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, also attended the session, looking to absorb as much information as possible.

Josh Henderson has been in the district for six years, starting as a driver, transitioning to a trainer and CDL third-party tester, before becoming a route coordinator. He shared that last school year the district director resigned, and Henderson threw his name in the hat, along with another internal employee, who received the position. He said the class provided him with a lot of knowledge about what goes into being a director and what the future would hold in terms of that position.

He said he’s a people person and really connected with the stories relating to fostering department culture and engaging with staff. First-time attendee Amanda Vincent who started at Sweetwater County School District #1 as a school bus aide 19 years ago, then transitioned to a driver, then a dispatcher, and now she does over the road and in town field trips and specialize in specials transportation routes, shared that she came to the session to learn how to have that open communication between staff members.

Related: Magician Teaches Transportation Directors About Connection at STN EXPO West
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The post Leading with Purpose: Insights from STN EXPO West’s Transportation Supervisor Seminar appeared first on School Transportation News.

RENO, Nev. — Innovator of the Year Gaurav Sharda expressed his gratitude when he accepted the award Sunday morning during the opening session at STN EXPO West.

Sharda joined Beacon Mobility as the vice president of HR technology in October 2021 and currently serves as chief technology officer. But his technological and human resources background far exceeds his time at Beacon. He grew up in India, receiving his bachelor’s degree in engineering, electronics and communications before moving to the U.S. in 2009. He then obtained a master’s degree in computer engineering at the University of Iowa.

When looking at award nominations, STN President and Publisher Tony Corpin said the selection process is not taken lightly and the individuals selected embody the spirit of the award. The Innovator of the Year award, presented in conjunction with the National School Transportation Association, looks at a broad spectrum of “amazing” individuals who represent school transportation, safety, innovation, thought leadership and people.

“It’s a people business,” he said, adding that when selecting the winner, nominations are graded based on how the individual is looking out for the students and how to benefit students and the communities that they serve.

“This individual is without a doubt one of the most humble, generous, forward-thinking, people-centric individuals that I’ve met,” Corpin shared. “He has taken some of the things at Beacon Mobility and really made it integrate with partners using AI and technology and created an app that allows the drivers to communicate within the ecosystem.”

He noted that Beacon Mobility CEO Judith Crawford had nominated Sharda. “And after we saw him, we thought, ‘Wow, what an amazing individual.’’

Sharda noted when accepting the award that it was such a humbling moment. He thanked members of STN, NSTA and individuals on his team who were part of the journey.

“I’ve learned a lot from everybody and the entire Beacon Mobility team,” he told the STN EXPO West attendees. “I’ve got a few people supporting today here, and just doing things to serve our drivers or serve our customers and create the best experience for all the riders we serve on a daily basis.

Related: Magician Teaches Transportation Directors About Connection at STN EXPO West
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“It’s been an exciting journey, a very humbling journey, and learning with each passing day,” he continued, adding that it wouldn’t have been possible without support from vendor partners.

He said that he is very grateful for all the people who have gone along for the journey, and noted this is just the beginning of what’s possible in terms of AI and technology.

“We are in the infancy stages,” he said. “I think we can do a lot more for our drivers, for our buses, for our customers, the riders and special needs. It’s a big part of their day, their lives, and we want to use technology to create the best rider experience and provide a caring, reliable and connected experience.”

Read more about Sharda in the July issue of School Transportation News and listen to his STN podcast interview.

The post Sharda Presented with Innovator of the Year Award at STN EXPO West appeared first on School Transportation News.

RENO, Nev. — In a four-hour seminar on routing, consultant Kerry Somerville spoke to attendees at STN EXPO West about everything from implementing routing software and the RFP process to training and using the software.

Whether attendees came to the class Friday to become up to date on the offerings after retirement, or because they were a school bus driver being told to route themselves, or even due to being the director of safety and wanting to see the benefits of routing, all left with a deeper understanding of route specifics.

“I’m not here to talk bad about [any company], but I want you guys to be aware, to ask questions about what you’re buying and how you’re implementing it,” said Somerville owner of Transportation Planning Solutions as well as a transportation supervisor for Show Low Unified School District in Arizona.

Related: (STN Podcast E263) Not an Easy Button: Expert Gives School Bus Routing Technology Tips

Somerville explained that the RFP is the district’s opportunity to specify exactly what they want and need from software. “Designate who’s going to run the software,” he shared, adding that there needs to be a backup in case that person is unavailable.

He noted that when creating the RFP, one needs to be realistic and not ask for things that aren’t possible. Similarly, he noted it’s important to be prepared to pay for solutions that meet the requirements being asked for. He also advised not asking for good references, which any company can provide. Instead, he suggested asking about failed implementations and why they occurred.

Somerville noted that a phased implementation is a better approach, rather than implementing technology all at once. And while some districts have the expectations that the lowest bid must be accepted, that may mean they don’t get the features or functions they want or need.

One attendee shared his operation is in search of its third routing software.

When discussing what is wanted versus what is needed, Somerville noted that the bandwidth of people and the size of operation play important roles. Ask yourself, what is your end goal, he noted, adding that sometimes it’s not necessarily about implementing a new product but training on a current one.

Once new routing software is implemented, the next stage is training. He noted that five days of intense training may seem like it’s the best approach, but when it gets to day five, employees might have forgotten what you learned on day one. Instead, he advised districts engage in continuous ongoing training, citing the importance of creating a training plan.

He also said training is both the vendor and district responsibility and should include routes. If a district is implementing remote training, he said it’s important to determine if it will really work for the team.

Other aspects of implementation include student data and working with one’s IT department to make sure the nightly download is accurate. He also advised working with the district’s management team to ensure that student data is accurate and highlighted the importance of how good address data is critical.

Plus, he asked, how does your software handle changes such as adding students and routes, changing bus stop locations and deleting information? “There is no such thing as a perfect map,” he said.

He outlined pros and cons to the various type of maps available.

Maps change, Somerville explained, and there needs to be away to update them. Plus, he added that data affects the quality of routes. For instance, a left turn may have a greater penalty than a right turn, adding that UPS trucks in the U.S. are programmed to minimize or avoid left turns due to safety and efficiency benefits. On the other hand, being able to adjust speed data via software can make a significant difference in the accuracy of your runs. Other data that affect routing include attendance boundaries, hazards and walk zones.

Related: STN EXPO Scholarship Winner Has Personal Passion for Student Transportation Safety
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Somerville said optimization should be used as a tool, not a solution. He said every year there’s a big story about a school district being promised to save millions of dollars with optimization and then it failed day one of school start up. He said all data elements affect optimization. He advised testing the runs — everything from timing, routing, time spent at each stop, and speed — the software products prior to the first day of school.

Overall, when using software, he advised using it every day as practice makes perfect. He said he finds that most school districts only use about one-tenth of the function that the software can do. “Keep the data fresh,” he said, adding to avoid the “this doesn’t work trap.”

This, he said, is why it’s important to get what you want in the RFP process.

He concluded by urging the audience to not give up. “Learning new software, new ways of doing things can be a challenge, difficult and frustrating but the reward is at the end when you can provide the answers people need quickly and easily,” he said.

The post Ins, Outs of Routing Software Discussed at STN EXPO Reno appeared first on School Transportation News.

The fourth annual STN EXPO Innovation Choice Awards program returns to STN EXPO 2025 in Reno, Nevada.

The program is open to any individual, organization or authorized agent that exhibits at STN EXPO West and promotes school transportation products. The four categories are Best Hardware, Best Software, Best Safety Technology, and Best Green Bus Technology. Attendees can vote on-site July 13 through July 15. 

Attendees can scan QR codes at each participating exhibitor booth to cast votes during the STN EXPO Trade Show and Magical Networking Event on July 14 and the Trade Show on July 15. Winners will be announced at a later date.

View the list of exhibitor products below. Exhibitors submitted their own product descriptions that have been edited for space and clarity.

AlphaRoute (Booth 113)
Category: Best Software
Product/Solution: Alphie AI by AlphaRoute
Meet Alphie—the smart, simple and secure AI assistant built to make every routing professional’s life easier. Your district routing team already knows the right questions to ask. But digging through massive datasets to find meaningful answers can be tedious and time-consuming. That process is much faster in AlphaRoute’s intuitive software, but why bother making even a few clicks when Alphie can answer your question immediately? This user-friendly tool lets your team ask plain-language questions like, “Which routes consistently run late?” or, “What route is Johnny currently assigned to?” And it delivers instant results, from summary stats to detailed charts. From metrics for morning meetings to data deep-dives that fix recurring headaches, Alphie AI delivers clarity in seconds. Precise, insightful, and easy to use—just ask Alphie!

AngelTrax (Booth 628)
Category: Best Hardware, Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Vulcan Series BEV360 Bird’s Eye View 360-Degree Camera System
Developed specifically to keep kids safer around the school bus, the BEV360 Bird’s Eye View 360-Degree Camera System is your school bus fleet’s next step toward safer students and safer streets. Using AI detection technology, the BEV360 identifies students around the school bus in real time and warns the driver when students enter the danger zone in close proximity to the bus. The BEV360 features four 1080P cameras for a panoramic view of the vehicle’s surrounding area, a seven-inch monitor for the driver’s real-time reference, and a system control box for storage and AI technology. The system captures clear video and stitches all views together, forming a 360-degree bird’s eye view displayed on the monitor. The BEV360 has two microSD card slots for recording as a stand-alone unit and is compatible with Vulcan Series recording units for simultaneous recording of additional cameras and for live view and live tracking features when equipped with optional software and an active Internet connection.

Blue Bird (Booth 321)
Category: Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: 4Front
Ensure driver safety and minimize the impact of frontal crashes with IMMI’s 4Front frontal airbag for school buses. The robust size and weight of these vehicles make them susceptible to severe collisions, underscoring the importance of advanced safety measures. IMMI’s 4Front airbag provides essential protection for bus drivers, reducing the risk of injuries in frontal accidents. Elevate your commitment to safety on the road and prioritize driver well-being with this innovative solution, a crucial addition to any school bus aiming for a safer and more secure driving experience.

Bosch (Booth 300)
Category: Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: MHT Front Camera ADAS
School buses carry our most precious cargo to our most valued institutions. Bosch has brought some of its most advanced technology to help significantly reduce our nation’s school buses from collisions with others on the road. Be it children running to get to the bus stop, bicyclists sharing the road on their way to school, or other vehicles making abrupt lane changes, our Bosch Front Camera Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) can actively help to prevent and minimize possible incidents. For increased safety, our Bosch Front Camera ADAS solution can also assist to maintain the school bus in its lane if the bus driver gets distracted, and even warn the bus driver if driving above the posted speed limit. Below are a list of features that can be added to any school bus: Collision mitigation by Brake Lane Keep Assist, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, and traffic sign recognition.

Confluence Security (Booth 142)
Category: Best Software
Product/Solution: District Security Center Fleet Monitor
Confluence Security is redefining what’s possible in school bus security solutions. We move beyond the outdated model of isolated bus DVRs and introduce a modern, Open-Architecture Enterprise Security Platform purpose-built for K–12 pupil transportation. As school districts adopt unified security ecosystems across campuses, the lack of true integration options for school buses has become a major gap. Confluence Security fills that gap. We educate the pupil transportation market on the advantages of combining best-in-class components from multiple manufacturers into a single, unified platform—one that delivers intelligent, accurate, and immediate data to Security Operators, empowering proactive intervention.
We call this approach: ProAction! Our platform builds on the included fundamental features of security systems such as: Bi-directional live video and audio, access control, license plate recognition, IoT sensor integration, and real-time network management.
These standard features work in concert to enable AI-verified event notifications delivered to the appropriate responders. Whether it’s SROs, school deans, or local 911/LE dispatch, authorized personnel can view live video and audio to interact with students and drivers. Our Federation-as-a-Service (FaaS) model enables secure sharing of information across internal departments and external agencies without the need for direct IT network connections. This secure cloud tool promotes effective collaboration during incidents, allowing for immediate teamwork while maintaining organizational independence.
To further streamline response, our platform offering features Intelligent Automation, guiding operators with real-time decision support and response protocols. Events are logged, categorized and stored using cloud-based digital evidence management systems (DEMS) – fully integrated with law enforcement CAD/RMS systems. All digital evidence is stored in a government-grade, secure cloud environment and organized by case number, forever.
Fulfilling CORA/FOIA requests is now as simple as sending an email with a permission-based link, reducing processing time from days to mere minutes. In an era where AI and advanced analytics are transforming school security, transportation systems are still largely bound by analog, proprietary, and siloed technologies. At Confluence Security, we’re working relentlessly to change that. Through evidence-based research and development, we’re bringing the power of enterprise-grade, intelligent security to school bus fleets – ensuring they are as secure, connected, and capable as the school buildings they serve.

First Light Safety Products (Booth 309)
Category: Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Fully Illuminated Stop Arm
First Light’s Fully Illuminated Stop Arm delivers maximum visibility to your stopped school bus when recognizing it is needed the most: in darkness, dusk, dawn, poorly lit roads, fog, rain, and snow. They are, by far, the brightest and most noticeable stop arms in the world.

Category: Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Illuminated School Bus Sign
First Light’s Illuminated School Bus Signs convey to oncoming motorists the importance of the school bus when transporting students. They are large visual warning lights that replace the SCHOOL BUS decals and backlit signs.

First Student (Booth 542)
Category: Best Software
Product/Solution: HALO
HALO is First Student’s proprietary, purpose-built technology platform designed to fundamentally transform how school transportation is managed, delivered and experienced. Unlike off-the-shelf solutions retrofitted for school use, HALO was developed from the ground up by the largest K-12 transportation provider in North America to meet the specific needs of school districts, drivers and families. HALO unifies every key aspect of transportation operations, routing, vehicle maintenance, safety monitoring, driver management, EV charging, vehicle tracking, and real-time communication, into one seamless, intelligent system. The result is a data-driven platform that gives school districts live visibility into day-to-day operations, equips drivers with intuitive tools that enhance performance and safety, and delivers families real-time transparency and peace of mind. The impact is real and widely recognized across the industry. HALO isn’t just a concept, but a proven platform delivering measurable results in efficiency, accountability, and service quality. It’s redefining what’s possible in student transportation.

Category: Best Software
Product/Solution: First View
First View, powered by HALO, is transforming how school districts and families experience student transportation, bringing real-time visibility, reliable communication and peace of mind to every ride. First View is a secure, GPS-based tracking and communication platform that connects school transportation teams with the families they serve. Through the district dashboard, administrators gain operational control and system-wide visibility. The parent mobile app empowers caregivers with timely, accurate updates on their student’s trip, whether on a yellow bus or alternative vehicle. With First View, districts can: Monitor the status of every vehicle and trip in real time, track both school bus and alternative transportation journeys, send instant service alerts to families for delays or route changes, review trip history and vehicle details for greater transparency. Plus, families can track their student’s bus or vehicle in real time, monitor multiple students from one account, receive customizable ETA alerts and notifications and plan their day with confidence, knowing exactly when and where their student’s vehicle will arrive. Already in use by over 13,000 schools across 605 school districts and trusted by more than half a million parents, First View is delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, communication and family experience. As the most used vehicle tracking app by a K-12 transportation provider, it’s not just innovation in theory, it’s innovation in action, making school transportation safer, smarter, and less stressful for everyone involved.

Freedman by Lippert (Booth 447)
Category: Best Safety technology
Product/Solution: SeatLink
Freedman’s SeatLink Seat Tracking Information System is designed to enhance passenger safety across various bus types—including school, paratransit, midsize, and heavy-duty buses—by providing real-time monitoring and reporting of seat occupancy and seatbelt usage. This advanced system supports up to 90 passengers and uses wireless communication between individual seat modules and a centralized head unit display. It alerts drivers to critical safety conditions, such as when a seat is occupied without the seat belt fastened, when the belt is engaged before the seat is occupied, or when a module experiences a low battery or malfunction. With battery-powered or optional wired modules, IP67 compliance for durability, and Intermittent Fault Filter (IFF) technology to reduce false readings, SeatLink delivers a robust, scalable solution that directly supports safer passenger transport and more informed oversight.

Geotab (Booth 523)
Category: Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Geotab Vitality
Geotab’s new driver retention and rewards program, Geotab Vitality is here! Telematics platforms like Geotab can tell you about what your drivers can do to be more safe, but often the coaching process costs you drivers. Geotab Vitality is a “carrot” program where drivers earn rewards for good behavior, see the things that they could do to earn rewards faster by driving safer and collect their gift cards all in one app or portal. Learn how AI determines collision risk and rewards drivers, while giving transportation directors what they need to get kids to and from school safe and sound.

HopSkipDrive (Booth 125)
Category: Best Software, Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: HopSkipDrive RideIQ | Specialty Transportation
HopSkipDrive is revolutionizing student transportation with new offerings included in RideIQ, an innovative platform that seamlessly manages diverse student needs, including those requiring wheelchair-accessible vehicles (WAVs), rider assistants, and car seats. This expansion, coupled with our industry-leading safety protocols and technological advancements, positions HopSkipDrive as the best-in-class software for student transportation.
Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles (WAV): Ride organizers can book, track and manage WAV rides directly within the HopSkipDrive RideIQ platform — all in one place for simpler, more consolidated ride management. This new offering is designed to provide seamless ride booking for students who require wheelchair-accessible vehicles, live ride status and visibility across RideIQ and daily queue platforms, and direct communication with the driver for all rides. WAV rides will be fulfilled by educated, vetted CarePartner drivers using specially equipped vehicles, giving your riders a safe and reliable transportation experience. Rider Assistants: For riders who require extra support, HopSkipDrive’s Rider Assistant program provides an additional adult to be present during the ride. Ride organizers can request a rider assistant for a ride directly in RideIQ with live ride tracking and real-time status updates. On-site staff will be able to see in RideIQ which rides include a Rider Assistant. Additionally, rider assistants are vetted and background-checked and receive education to support students with special needs. This service is designed to help meet IEP transportation requirements, ease transitions and provide students who need extra attention with support from pickup to drop-off.
Car Seat Rides for Ages 4 Through 6: Ride organizers can now book rides for younger students needing a car seat directly through HopSkipDrive, with a highly vetted CareDriver who will arrive with approved car seats. Our car seat program was developed in collaboration with leading child safety experts and is led by Britney Lombard, a former Safe Kids Worldwide specialist. It’s backed by our Safety Advisory Council to ensure the highest safety standards.
Safe Ride InSight: HopSkipDrive’s new in-ride camera program, designed to add a new layer of safety and transparency for both riders and CareDrivers. Safe Ride InSight automatically records designated rides using dual-camera dashcams (forward-facing and interior) and captures video and audio that operates alongside our advanced telematics system. Safe Ride InSight is available only on select rides where enabled at the rider level, with strict privacy and data protocols. Now, with Safe Ride InSight, ride organizers can confidently book rides for students, knowing there’s enhanced accountability and greater peace of mind, backed by HopSkipDrive’s industry-leading safety program.

LockNClimb, LLC (Booth 101)
Category: Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: 44LNCTRKENG
This rolling ergonomic safety ladder with its 44-inch-high platform has revolutionized the way bus maintenance technicians can reach most all service points around the exterior of the school bus. It has been designed with input from safety managers, shop supervisors and mechanics. Its wide base slides around the tires and under the bus carriage to allow close working access to engines, windshields, running lights, top edges, rear lights and door frames. Technicians climb using the OSHA recommended three points of contact between yellow safety handrails to the extra wide slip resistant platform to perform their work. Proven to prevent costly accidents and injuries, these ladders provide a stable and comfortable working platform that increases efficiency, productivity and morale, thus positively affecting the organization’s bottom line. These ladders are built one at a time in the USA and have been engineered to meet all applicable OSHA and ANSI standards. They are OSHA rated 1AA Special Purpose and tested to exceed ANSI 375lbs. Currently used by bus and trucking companies all over North America.

Mayser USA (Booth 444)
Category: Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Drag Detection Door Seals
Redesigning school bus door seals with electrical sensitive edges to be able to detect all obstructions. This includes objects as small as a backpack strap, thus creating an ‘anti-drag’ door system. Every year, multiple kids are dragged by school buses and injured, and this anti-drag solution prevents this accident from ever occurring. The state of Maine has also mandated obstruction detection on all school buses sold in Maine starting in 2025.

Pro-Vision (Booth 120)
Category: Best Software
Product/Solution: CloudConnect 4G Live
CloudConnect 4G Live takes school bus video management to the next level with real-time streaming and remote video uploads over 4G. Instantly view live footage from any vehicle and retrieve video files without waiting for vehicles to return to Wi-Fi range. It’s a secure, cloud-based solution that eliminates manual downloads, simplifies access and enhances situational awareness across your fleet. With automatic event uploads, system health monitoring and customizable user access, CloudConnect delivers complete control, anytime, anywhere—helping you respond faster, reduce downtime and improve operational efficiency. It’s the future of bus video, available today.

RIDE Mobility (Booth 531)
Category: Best Green Technology
Product/Solution: Blade Battery
The groundbreaking Blade Battery redefines the electric vehicle power landscape. This innovative lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery features a direct cell-to-pack design, utilizing thin “blade-like” cells that eliminate the need for conventional modules. This award-winning green technology, ensures both safe and dependable transportation.

Transfinder (Booth 201)
Category: Best Hardware, Best Software, Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Stopfinder Digital Card ID
Student ID cards could become a thing of the past with this technological advancement, turning a student’s cellphone into their ID card. Students with Android or IOS phones can scan when entering the bus for ridership tracking purposes. This advancement eliminates the need for substituting RFID cards and/or replacing lost costs. This technology augments Transfinder’s parent app Stopfinder, providing parents peace of mind that their child made the bus and tracking the bus’s location.
Wayfinder Reader: With the latest advancement in Wayfinder embedded tablet and reader hardware, communication breakdowns that result from a bus breakdown are a thing of the past. Interaction between the hardware (reader and tablet) is seamless so when a driver removes their tablet from a broken-down bus and installs it on another bus, the information about the “new” bus is read and delivered to users of the Stopfinder parent app. No longer will transportation staff need to scramble to communicate with parents about the bus change or field calls from concerned parents who are no longer seeing their child’s bus moving along a planned route.

Category: Best Hardware, Best Software, Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Transfinder Enterprise
Route Visibility: Transfinder’s Wayfinder ETA Dashboard and its real-time capability can now be shared with school building personnel and other stakeholders in Viewfinder, identifying when a bus will be arriving at a stop or a school building. A bus can be seen on a map in real-time, where the bus is headed on the planned path, how long the path is and if the bus is off path, what adjustment will be made to return safely on path while abiding with the safety algorithms set by the routers. The increase in communication with dispatchers and routers allows them to understand what is happening during the routes and make changes on up-to-the-minute conditions. With this capability, communication is enhanced among key stakeholders.
Attendance Routing: The driver app, Wayfinder, can also automatically generate the most efficient route based on who is getting on the bus. For example, a late bus can have different students riding different days depending on the activities they participate in. When students scan their ID cards as they get on the late bus, for example, the safest and most efficient route is created for the driver.
Posts: Users can post on any record type, such as a student, trip or vehicle to facilitate a conversation around that record. That information is accessible across all Transfinder solutions. This makes critical information available to key personnel. For example, the posts (pictures, texts or other data) can provide details about problems related to stops or vehicles or ongoing behavioral issues with students.
Student Lookup: Viewfinder expands its capabilities for student lookup to include not just RFID and bar/QR codes but student phones as well, so teachers walking through the halls can scan to have access to pertinent information.

Category: Best Hardware, Best Software, Best Safety Technology
Product/Solution: Map Incidents
Transfinder tackles a continuing and growing concern of students crossing busy and dangerous streets by adding functionality in Routefinder PLUS to view where students not just cross the street to get on the bus but what streets they cross on their way to the bus. With PLUS, users can embed trip and street data and logic into their maps and trips, making it easier for routers to design safer trips. This data is then seen on the driver app, Wayfinder, informing drivers which students are going to be crossing. PLUS, also gives control to routers to create only right stop pickups for particular grades or specific streets, forbidding crossing on certain streets. In addition, routers and dispatchers can add map incidents in real-time that will route drivers away from problem areas (such as a flooded road). Drivers can also identify on the Wayfinder tablet issues at a particular stop that routers can review and address. Another feature includes alerting drivers as they approach railroad crossings.

Tyler Technologies (Booth 501)
Category: Best Hardware
Product/Solution: Tyler Drive’s Dynamic Student Routing
Unexpected ridership changes and last-minute route adjustments can lead to delays and confusion — especially during after-school activities or emergencies. Tyler Drive’s Dynamic Student Routing empowers drivers to create real-time, on-the-spot routes based on students who scan onto the bus. Whether managing an impromptu after-school run or responding to an emergency evacuation where standard routes aren’t feasible, this solution ensures students are transported home quickly, safely, and efficiently — without guesswork.

Category: Best Software
Product/Solution: Student Transportation
Ensuring every student arrives safely and on time — while keeping parents informed and operations running smoothly — requires a proven transportation solution built for the modern school environment. Tyler’s integrated Student Transportation platform delivers exactly that. From vehicle routing and automatic vehicle location (AVL) to activity trip planning, fleet maintenance and a connected parent app, every module works seamlessly together. In-vehicle tablets further enhance safety and performance by supporting pre- and post-trip inspections, real-time student ridership tracking, driver communication, turn-by-turn navigation, and dynamic routing capabilities. The result? A safer, and more responsive transportation system — for districts, contractors, drivers, and families alike.

The post Innovation Awards Returns to STN EXPO, Vote on Site appeared first on School Transportation News.

The National Transportation Safety Board released its final report on the fatal pedestrian crash in the Town of Excelsior, Wisconsin, citing texting as the main cause.

A 2016 Blue Bird school bus operated by the Reedsburg School District stopped on May 12, 2023 to board students in the westbound lane of State Highway 23/33. It is a two-lane, two-way roadway with paved shoulders and a 55-mph speed limit. The school bus slowed, nearly to a stop, and the driver deactivated the flashing amber lights to activate the front and rear flashing red lights. The bus driver also extended the stop arm.

At that point, a 17-year-old motorist behind the wheel of a 2010 Ford F-150 pickup braked and swerved to the right, sideswiping the school bus’ right-rear corner, continuing across the paved shoulder, onto a private driveway, striking and killing a 13-year-old student who was waiting to board. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The pickup driver, Kevin Green, only had a probationary license at the time of the incident. His response to the slowing and stopped school buses was too late, the NTSB said, because “he was distracted by his cell phone texting activity.” The pickup truck’s high and blunt hood design, combined with its speed at the time of the collision, estimated to be 54 mph, contributed to the student pedestrian’s death, the report adds.

Green was charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle.

NTSB noted that the pickup truck’s final resting position was about 290 feet west of the rear of the school bus, and the student was about 100 feet northwest of the initial impact from the truck. The truck driver had minor injuries, and no other students or the school bus driver were injured. The school bus was not equipped with seatbelts.

Related: Student Hit, Killed at Wisconsin School Bus Stop
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Related: NTSB Addresses Back to School Safety in Recent Webinar

The agency found “that a cell phone lock-out system that disables the use of features that are not related to the driving task can reduce cell phone–related distracted driving crashes. Likewise, driver monitoring systems that can detect and alert a distracted driver and bring their attention back to the driving task can also reduce cell phone–related distracted driving crashes.”

Additionally, NTSB said that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2013 Driver Distraction Guidelines are “lacking” as the agency does not incorporate advanced technologies that have been introduced in the past 12 years and only focuses on visual-manual distraction of in-vehicle electronic devices.

Meanwhile, the NTSB added that the pickup truck was not equipped with collision avoidance technology such as forward collision warning or automatic emergency braking (AEB) systems. Had the pickup truck been equipped with an AEB system, NTSB said the collision with the school bus could have been avoided or at least mitigated, thus preventing or mitigating the collision with the student.

As a result, the NTSB recommended that NHTSA develop and publish “Driver Distraction Guidelines that address the design of current original equipment in-vehicle electronic devices, portable electronic devices and aftermarket electronic devices to prevent driver distraction.” The agency reiterated its recommendation to cell phone manufacturers to develop a “distracted driving lock-out mechanism that will automatically disable any driver-distracting functions when a vehicle is in motion and install the mechanism in the default setting on all new devices and apply it during major software updates.”

Five more recommendations were reiterated to NHTSA following the crash. NTSB calls for NHTSA to develop and apply testing protocols to assess the performance of forward collision avoidance systems in passenger vehicles at various velocities, including high speed and high velocity-differential. It also calls on the agency to expand the New Car Assessment Program 5-star rating system to include a scale that rates the performance of forward collision avoidance and to develop performance test criteria for vehicle designs that reduce injuries to pedestrians.

NTSB also wants NHTSA to develop performance test criteria for manufacturers to use in evaluating the extent to which automated pedestrian safety systems in light vehicles will prevent or mitigate pedestrian injury and to incorporate pedestrian safety systems, including pedestrian collision avoidance systems and other more passive safety systems, into the New Car Assessment Program.

Ford Motor Company is urged to install forward collision avoidance systems that include, at a minimum, a forward collision warning component, as standard equipment on all new vehicles.

The post NTSB Says Cell Phone Distraction Cause of 2023 Wisconsin Student Fatality appeared first on School Transportation News.

Despite not meeting since 2015 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Congress on School Transportation in Des Moines, Iowa last month concluded one half day ahead of schedule.

The early finish was noted by steering committee chair Michael LaRocco, state director student transportation services for the Indiana Department of Education, and on-site chair Charlie Hood, a former NASDPTS president and retired state director for Florida, who attributed the expedited conclusion to the understood importance of the process.

As a first-time attendee—like many in the room—the organized structure of the proceedings was apparent. Like a well-oiled machine, each committee took the stage and presented the proposed changes, with delegates agreeing quickly, or putting up a fight on something as seemingly simple as a word choice.

Much of the debate occurred over three words: May, Should and Shall. But those are important delineations, I learned.

Shall is the most stringent, a legal obligation. May connotates allowable equipment or processes. Should is a recommendation. I questioned why the wording matters, especially if the book itself is intended to serve as a best-practice resource and not a requirement in many states. It all comes down to legalities.

For instance, say a school district doesn’t equip its school buses with crossing arms and a student gets hurt, when a crossing arm could have prevented the injury. The specifications manual could be used in court, and the district would have to defend the decision of not equipping vehicles with the available safety device.

Despite no delegates speaking on the crossing gates proposal, it passed in one of the most controversial votes, 34 to 13, changing “may” have to “shall” have.

Word choice remained important to the delegations and was a sticking point for most amended changes. Whether that word choice was changing school district to local education agency, using the word student versus child, or removing the word privilege when referring to school transportation. One Michigan delegate argued the service should no longer be a privilege but a right, especially when a student’s on-board behavior is an issue.

One delegate even noted at the start of the Congress that using the word shall could be subjective language and called upon the states to use the term must as universal language when referring to requirements throughout the entire specs manual.

“Must is a directive,” the Michigan delegate shared. However, Hood reminded delegates that rules were already accepted and such changes could not be made at that time.

Proposal 50 of the school bus specifications committee was one of the few that was granted extra time for discussion (each proposal is allocated a total of 15 minutes) due to wording relating to mitigating a child being left on a school bus and preemptive procedures for the driver to take. The proposal stated that passenger advisory systems are optional but if installed, “a passenger advisory system shall require the driver to walk through the bus looking for sleeping children before leaving the bus. The driver shall have to push a button at the rear of the bus to deactivate the alarm. If the driver tries to leave the bus without deactivating the system, the system shall cause the horn to sound, notifying others that the bus is still occupied.”

The proposal added a description for how the passenger advisory system works. Delegates, however, found that the language was too specific to a procedure or system. It was amended to remove the description, as delegates pointed out some systems don’t use a button. Instead, the proposal was updated to state that the driver shall walk the bus aisle, look for sleeping children, and proceed to the rear of the bus to deactivate the system.

Another proposal in the specially equipped school bus specifications committee discussed the use of air conditioning. The proposal stated, “Climate control options shall be installed that include heating and air conditioning.” However, delegates voted 37 to 7 that changing shall to may was more appropriate to address the various climates across the U.S.

2025 New Committees
New this year was the addition of the emerging technologies and alternative transportation committees as well as the separation of infants, toddlers and preschoolers from transportation for students with disabilities and health care needs. The emerging technologies committees proceeded quickly, with one Maryland delegate questioning the need for inserting language into the specs manual as opposed to creating a guide that can be updated more regularly for school districts.

“What’s new today is old tomorrow,” a delegate commented. Alternative transportation was an especially hot topic. Many agreed that it was necessary to discuss but in little detail, leaving most governing to state and local decision makers. For instance, a line item for driver credentials stated that alternative transportation drivers “be at least 18 years of age or commensurate with the state’s required age and required years of driving to become a school bus driver.” The delegates felt the age was not necessary and should be removed, leaving the decision to the state.

One delegate suggested a policy consideration for not allowing students to be transported in the front seat of alternative transportation vehicles under any circumstances. However, other delegates had concerns, stating that a 10-passenger van would be limited to nine passengers. A Kentucky delegate said their school district allows high school students to sit in the front when space is limited. The proposed amendment failed by a vote of 31 to 9.

The delegates voted to remove the types of alternative transportation driver training (12 bullet points ranging from defensive driving to operations in inclement weather to safe loading and unloading) to instead comply with federal, state and local requirements.

After two days of the delegates sharing their opinions, presenting amendments and approving proposals (or not), the 17th NCST concluded with the resolutions committee. Resolution 2 states that “School Transportation News in a March 2024 publication identified a reporting issue that indicates the school bus is disappearing.”

STN Editor-in-Chief Ryan Gray’s column “The Disappearing School Bus?” highlighted a discrepancy between historically reported numbers of students who ride the school and those of the National Household Travel Survey sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration.

The resolution noted the need to develop a standardized reporting system for collecting ridership data and called on “the interim Steering Committee of the 18th NCST to appoint a focus group to research and develop recommendations for standardization of data collection relative to ridership on school bus and make periodic reports to the Interim Committee.”

The 2024 National Household Travel Survey is currently about halfway through data collection, which will run through Oct. 31 of this year. Meanwhile, the dates and location of the 18th NCST were not announced. State delegates were surveyed about if they felt meeting every five years was appropriate, or if they would rather meet every two or three years. The results were not available at this writing.

Editor’s Note: As reprinted in the June 2025 issue of School Transportation News.

Related: NASDPTS Publishes Paper Espousing Safety of School Buses Over Alternative Transportation
Related: National Congress Finishes Early After 10-Year Hiatus
Related: National Congress on School Transportation Delayed Until 2025
Related: National Congress on School Transportation Writing Committees Prepare for 2025 Meeting

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School bus drivers from across the U.S. and Canada were presented with the opportunity to showcase their knowledge and skills in the 51st Edition of the School Bus Driver International Safety Competition (SBDISC), presented by Beacon Mobility.

On Saturday, June 28, participating drivers — in one of the three bus categories: small bus (Type A), conventional (Type C), or transit (Type D) — first completed a safety competition orientation class followed by a written test. The skills part of the competition was held at the Hays Consolidated Independent School District transportation facility in Uhland, Texas, where contestants got behind the wheel of a school bus and completed a rigorous road course. Hays CISD was designated as the permanent host of the event.

“Transporting students in the yellow bus remains the safest way to get our students to school each day. The School Bus Driver International Safety Competition highlights the professionalism of our school bus drivers that combines a driving competition within an enjoyable atmosphere,” stated NSTA Executive Director Curt Macysyn. “This yearly event celebrates the cornerstone of pupil transportation – our drivers, who continue to inspire us every day. On behalf of NSTA, I want to extend our thanks to Hays CISD for their support, and we look forward to hosting our competition here next year.”

To be eligible for the international title, drivers must have first competed and won or placed in a state or provincial competition in their bus category within the past year. Winners of the international competition are determined by the highest score in the competition, based on each category. For the first time, the Bill Loshbough Grand Champion Award was awarded to the driver who achieved the overall top score of the entire Safety Competition. This year, it went to Brian Rickmann of Beaverton School District in Oregon.

The awards banquet was held on Sunday, at which the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) honored several drivers who had successfully competed in the SBDISC. All 53 competitors took photographs with NSTA President Dan Kobussen and received a driver’s recognition certificate and plaque denoting their participation in the competition.

“We are pleased to host another edition of the School Bus Driver International Safety Competition, guided by the leadership of Bill Loshbough and Kevin Kilner. This respected event gives school bus drivers from across North America the chance to demonstrate their skills and knowledge while competing to be the best in their field,” stated Kobussen, who owns Kobussen Buses in Wisconsin. “It also represents an opportunity for the school transportation community to come together in a spirited, yet supportive, environment that celebrates excellence and professionalism.”

The following are the winners:

Small Bus (Type A):
First Place: Claudia Christen
Prairie Bus Lines – Alberta, Canada

Second Place: Kathleen Graham
Montgomery County Public Schools, Virginia

Third Place: Erika Gaines
Montgomery County Schools, Tennessee

Conventional Bus (Type C):
First Place: Betty Nelson
Dean Transportation, Michigan

Second Place: Philip Purvis
North East ISD, Texas

Third Place: Jered Winnestaffer
Community Bus Services – Groveport-Madison Schools, Ohio

Transit Bus (Type D):
First Place: Brian Rickmann
Beaverton School District, Oregon

Second Place: Danelle Adams
Roseville Joint Union High School District, California

Third Place: Doralie Cervantes
Cypress Fairbanks ISD, Texas

The post 51st Edition of School Bus Driver International Safety Competition Winners Announced appeared first on School Transportation News.

Nine-year-old Archer Lowe was struck by a school bus and killed. Immediate details are not known.

Lowe was reportedly riding his bike, coming from R. Tait McKenzie Public School, on June 25, when he was hit by the school bus. The bus was transporting children in Almonte, Ontario.

In a statement Thursday, Mississippi Mills Mayor Christa Lowry offered condolences to Lowes friends, classmates, teammates and the communities of R. Tait McKenzie Public School and Holy Name of Mary Catholic School. She described him as “a vibrant kid with a big smile” who loved animals, especially his dog ‘Moose.’

“He loved riding his bike and was a terrific soccer player – the best and fastest defense in his league,” she continued.

She noted that instead of celebrating the end of the school year, it will be a somber time for the community. “Our community shares in the deep pain brought by this tragedy. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of young Archer and stand in support of all those who are grieving and to those affected by this accident. Mississippi Mills is a community strongly bound by compassion, and genuine care for one another. Together, we mourn this heartbreaking loss and will be there for all those touched by this tragedy,” she said.

Related: Dayton, Ohio Student Shooting Highlights Need for Systemic Transportation Changes
Related: Massachusetts Student Struck, Killed by School Bus
Related: Louisiana Student Struck and Killed by School Bus
Related: Eighth Grader Killed in S.C. School Bus Tire Blowout, Crash

A local news article noted that witnesses saw the tragedy unfold, with school officials rushing to help.

According to data compiled by School Transportation News, this marks the 17th fatality of the school year, counting instances of illegal passing, students killed on the school bus, by the school bus, and while waiting at school bus stops, including gun violence.

The post 9-Year-old Hit, Killed by School Bus in Canada appeared first on School Transportation News.

The long-awaited verdict from the U.S. Supreme Court is in regarding a 5th Circuit decision that the Universal Service Fund (USF) was unconstitutional.

Friday’s 6-3 ruling in favor of an FCC appeal of the lower court’s ruling for now safeguards school bus Wi-Fi eligibility under E-Rate. The program provides discounts of 20 to 90 percent on the costs of internet connectivity, as well as equipment installation based on a school district’s poverty level and rural location.

The 5th Circuit had ruled that the $9 billion per year USF, the accounting and funding mechanism for E-Rate based on fee collection and the Universal Service Administration Company represented taxation not approved by Congress. The Court disagreed.

As reported by Broadband Breakfast, Justice Elana Kagan wrote that the 1996 amendment of the Communications Act, “provided the Commission with clear guidance on how to promote universal service using carrier contributions. Our precedents do not require more.”

But school bus Wi-Fi proponents aren’t out of the woods yet. Sen. Ted Cruz has led the charge in Congress questioning the constitutionality of expanding E-Rate beyond the original intent of funding internet in classrooms and libraries, arguing that Wi-Fi on school buses could lead to unsupervised access to inappropriate content like TikTok. But school bus Wi-Fi providers and users counter that robust content filters in unison with school district networks block inappropriate student internet searches.

The Education and Libraries Networks Coalition (EdLiNC) applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the constitutionality of the USF.

“Today’s ruling marks a victory—but not the end of the work. EdLiNC urges Congress, the FCC, and policymakers at all levels to continue protecting and modernizing the E-Rate program and the broader USF,” EdLiNC stated. “Ensuring sustained, affordable broadband access for schools and libraries is not just a policy imperative—it is a moral one. E-Rate remains one of the federal government’s most effective tools for promoting educational opportunity. We look forward to working with federal leaders to uphold and expand this critical program for the benefit of every learner, in every zip code.”

Related: School Bus Wi-Fi in Flux?
Related: Trusty Confirmed to FCC as School Bus Wi-Fi Future Hangs in Balance
Related: Update: Senate Approves Stripping Individual Wi-Fi Hotspots from E-Rate Program
Related: Iowa’s Largest School District Mulls Future of School Bus Wi-Fi Program
Related: FCC Approves Funding of School Wi-Fi in E-Rate Program

The Universal Service Program was created by Congress in 1996 with the passage of the Telecommunications Act and is administered by the FCC. It has since served to provide funds to libraries and schools to have basic internet connections.

Over the years, the FCC has updated E-Rate to fund not only connected libraries and schools but also to cover services like installing Wi-Fi hotspots throughout school buildings. However, school buses, despite their frequent mention as extensions of the classroom had never been included under the same umbrella, and school transportation has remained left out of the funding pool, until former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcels’ Learning Without Limits initiative passed in 2023.

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The Senate confirmed Olivia Trusty to fill out the remaining 13 days of former Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s term and join the board for a full five-year term starting July 1.

Rosenworcel resigned from the board and as FCC’s first female chair in January. She served on the board from 2012 to 2017 when she was re-confirmed for another term and then was named chairwoman.

A Democrat, Rosenworcel was a leading proponent of school bus Wi-Fi and advocated for its inclusion in E-Rate funding. Her two fellow Democrats on the board at the time cast the deciding votes in 2023 over the objection of their two Republican counterparts to extend E-Rate discounts on internet equipment, installation and service to school bus Wi-Fi.

While Wi-Fi continues to be an approved use, a case before the U.S. Supreme Court on the applicability of the Universal Service Fund could determine its future. Congressional Republicans have also signaled their intent to introduce legislation that would revisit the issue.

Meanwhile, Trusty was nominated by President Trump in January, and the Senate confirmed her by a vote of 53-45 on May 18. Trusty’s five-year term begins July 1.

Trusty joins FCC after serving as policy director for the Senate commerce, science and transportation committee. She is also a telecommunications policy analyst.

Related: A Supreme (Court) Debate Impacting Internet on School Buses?
Related: Benefits of School Bus Wi-Fi Discussed at STN EXPO
Related: FCC’s Rosenworcel Renews E-Rate Funding Push for School Bus Wi-Fi
Related: FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Pushes for E-Rate Funding of School Bus Wi-Fi

Prior to Trusty’s confirmation, the FCC was down to two commissioners. Republican Chair Brendan Carr, an FCC commissioner since 2017 and prior to that FCC’s general counsel, was confirmed as chairman in January. Carr was joined by Democrat Anna Gomez, who joined the FCC in September 2023.

Democrat Geoffrey Starks announced in January he was also resigning. His last day was June 6, the same day Republican Nathan Simington abruptly resigned. Trusty shifts the FCC to a 2-1 Republican majority.

Rosenworcel also officially retired in January, around the same time Trump tapped Trusty to replace her.

The post Trusty Confirmed to FCC as School Bus Wi-Fi Future Hangs in Balance appeared first on School Transportation News.

Besides thanking the various individuals involved in putting together the 17th National Congress on School Transportation last month in Des Moines, Iowa, and providing copies of the proceedings to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other organizations, resolutions focused on increased safety and data keeping.

The most time-sensitive resolution is No. 6, which requests clarification on FMVSS 213a and 213b final rules related to the performance and use of child safety restraint systems (CSRS). NCST submitted the resolution to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration immediately. It notes that the school transportation industry takes great pride in providing the safest form of transportation available and that preschool and special needs transportation are a sizable component of the industry.

The resolution states the importance of further engaging NHTSA “to ensure children requiring securement based on age and weight are carried safely and securely, child safety restraint systems are attached to the seatback to ensure a secure fit for the child. It is believed that there are approximately 310,000 to 335,000 [child safety restraint systems] specifically designed for school buses on the road.”

NHTSA is currently accepting comments for a notice of proposed rulemaking initiated as a result of the final rules for FMVSS 213a and 213b that would exempt CSRS from side-impact protection requirements and lower anchorage attachment requirements (due to being designed for school buses specifically). The NPRM also states that the CRABI-12MO test dummy is no longer being used to test forward-facing CSRS for side impact, and that labels on school bus CRSs will also be updated to reflect their installation method, versus referencing vehicle belts or child restraint anchorage systems.

The NPRM also seeks to delay the implementation of FMVSS 213a and 213b to Dec. 5, 2026 from June 30, 2025, giving more time to manufacturers to test and certify their products.

Submit a Federal Register public comment on Docket NHTSA-2025-0046 by June 30.

Resolution 1 expressed appreciation to Patrick McManamon for serving as NCST Chair from 2015 to 2024. He stepped down as chair earlier this year citing professional and personal reasons.

 

Resolution 3 recognized the following individuals for serving as on-site officials and for their dedication and service to NCST.

 

– Mike LaRocco, conference chair

– Charlie Hood, on-site chair

– Susan Miller, on-site coordinator

– Lori Wille, editor

– Laura Meade, parliamentarian

– Rene Dawson & Reginald White, timekeepers

– Samantha Kobussen, National School Transportation Specifications and Procedures artwork

– Zander Press, printer

– Ronna Weber and NASDPTS leadership for “making the Congress a success in the manner it was organized and concluded.”

However, the NCST resolution asks NHTSA if CSRS specifically designed for school buses — such as the IMMI Star, BESI ProTech, and HSM Portable Child Restraint — are exempt from the side-impact requirements under FMVSS 213a, as of the effective date of June 30. If they are not exempt, NCST questioned if devices manufactured prior to June 30 will remain permissible for continued use beyond the implementation deadline. The resolution also asks, in the event the specified CSRS are not exempt and in consideration of maintaining a high standard of safety, what alternative CSRS models or types would be deemed acceptable for continued use on school buses.

The resolution seeks clarification from NHTSA if it will be issuing any additional guidance or initiating rulemaking specifically addressing the use and approval of CSRSs for school bus applications prior to the June 30 effective date. It also asks NHTSA if it will be updating the curriculum for the Child Passenger Safety on School Buses training courses to reflect the forthcoming changes, particularly those involving add-on school bus securement systems.

“The NCST respectfully urges NHTSA to provide a formal response and guidance at the earliest possible opportunity, mindful of the June, 30, 2025 implementation date to support informed decision-making, training readiness, and procurement planning by school transportation providers nationwide,” the resolution states.

NHTSA mandates transportation equipment design and safety performance requirements but does not regulate use. States establish requirements for each type of CSRS based on a child’s age and weight as well as the vehicle. NHTSA did publish Guideline for the Safe Transportation of Pre-school Age Children in School Buses, which essentially recommends using CSRS for the appropriate weight and height of children and following CSRS manufacturer installation instructions. That guideline, which is not binding for states, came out in February 1999 and no updates have been made since.

Additionally, the NHTSA-sponsored Child Passenger Safety on School Buses, taught at TSD Conference, is also best-practice guidance and not a regulation. It was already updated in 2023 by the National Safety Council. The organization develops and maintains the curriculum. The NHTSA website also includes a School Bus Safety page that links to more information on the eight-hour, hands-on securement training.

Meanwhile, Resolution 2 referenced a March 2024 School Transportation News article that identified a student passenger reporting challenge that indicates school bus ridership is disappearing. The Editor’s Take column by Ryan Gray noted that the National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration indicates the number of students transported nationwide by the yellow school bus is about one-third less than the figure used by the industry.

The resolution recognizes the need to develop a standardized reporting system for collecting school bus ridership data and “requests the interim steering committee of the 18th NCST to appoint a focus group to research and develop recommendations for standardization of data collection relative to ridership on school bus and make periodic reports to the Interim Committee.”

Data collection for the 2024 survey is expected to be completed this fall.

Resolution 5 “encourages transportation professionals to plan bus stops that are not in proximity to known registered sexual offenders when made aware, when possible. Training programs should be provided to all transportation personnel on recognizing and reporting suspected or known human trafficking.”

The resolution states that the NCST is aware of the safety concerns associated with sexual predators and offenders as well as human trafficking, noting an increase these crimes occurring across the U.S.

All NCST resolution proposals presented to the state delegations passed.

Related: Invest in Child Safety Restraint Training Today, Reap Benefits Tomorrow
Related: NHTSA Denial of Built-in School Bus Booster Seats Won’t Impact Industry
Related: Legalities of Transporting Students with Special Needs Focus of Day 3

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President Donald Trump signed Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions that overturn U.S. Environmental Protection Agency waivers of key California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations, aimed at enforcing stricter emissions and goals for selling zero-emission vehicles, and states and truck manufacturers are  rethinking their strategies.

The CRA upends plans to implement Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), which would require manufacturers to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission chassis, including those for school buses by 2035. The CRA also targets Advanced Clean Cars II that would require all passenger car, truck and SUV sales be zero-emission in 2035 and the Omnibus Heavy-Duty Low NOx regulations for off-road emissions.

Trump signed the CRA on Thursday, and California announced it is suing the Trump administration over the President’s approval of “illegal resolutions aiming to undo key parts of the state’s clean vehicles program,” Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta said. 

“Trump’s all-out assault on California continues, and this time he’s destroying our clean air and America’s global competitiveness in the process. We are suing to stop this latest illegal action by a President who is a wholly-owned subsidiary of big polluters,” Newsom said.

Additionally, the weight of the future of zero-emission vehicles and clean air requirements will fall on states and OEMs. Many OEMs are taking a wait and see approach.

“Today’s votes in the Senate fly in the face of nearly 50 years of precedent. For decades, California and other states have had the authority to adopt vehicle emissions standards that exceed those at the federal level, and for good reason,” said Dan Lashof, senior fellow at World Resources Institute (WRI), when the CRA passed the Senate May 22. “These standards are vital in protecting people from the vehicle pollution which causes asthma attacks and other serious health problems.”

CARB Chair Liane Randolph released a statement disapproving of the CRA waivers, noting that it is a “short-sighted political move” and a strike against the long-term goal of zero-emission vehicles.

“California profoundly disagrees with today’s unconstitutional, illegal and foolish vote attempting to undermine critical clean air protections,” she wrote. “It’s an assault on states’ rights the federal administration claims to support that puts national air quality standards out of reach and will have devastating effects for the 150 million Americans who breathe unhealthy air every day. These actions are contrary to the text of the Congressional Review Act, as recognized by the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office and the Senate Parliamentarian. California will pursue every available remedy to challenge these actions and defend our right to protect the public from dangerous air pollution. Turning the clock back on both cleaner combustion engine requirements and zero-emission technology is an attack on clean air.”

Meanwhile, states that voted to adopt CARB’s regulations are postponing enforcement. Four of the 10 states that follow CARB (Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont) have pushed back their ACT compliance timelines by a year or more.

While not a CARB-specific state, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced earlier this month it is extending its suspension of enforcement of its own Pennsylvania Heavy-Duty Diesel Emissions Control Program until Jan. 2, 2028.

This includes school buses and the ACT rule. Gerry Wosewick, executive director of the Pennsylvania School Bus Association, said the government agency has been working hard with partner organizations to roll back this requirement.

“This has been a legislative priority for us for quite a few years now and we have been advocating for it pretty heavily during that time,” Wosewick said. “It was actually a part of [the PSBS] legislative committee’s [strategy] plan. Since this is a regulatory issue, we have had several pieces of legislation that have been entered over multiple sessions in an effort to best address this change. Despite our lobbying efforts, we have been unsuccessful in getting any legislation through.”

With the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, MTA and others, Wosewick said there was enough pressure to address the regulation, which was key to getting it delayed.

“I oftentimes refer to it as the death by a thousand paper cuts in Pennsylvania,” he added. “While our contractors are phenomenal and find new and innovative ways to continue operations, it’s the constant small regulatory and statutory changes that keep making it more difficult to operate in the industry.”

Instead, he commented the industry should be able to work collaboratively to focus on timely emissions rollouts, as opposed to being forced to respond to regulatory drives.

Related: Despite Federal Funding in Peril, California State Funding for EVs Continues
Related: CARB Uses $33M in Funding to Target Other Zero-Emissions School Travel
Related: The State of Green School Buses
Related: Report Highlights Shift in Federal Policy from EVs to Conventional Fuels

Back at the federal level, the budget reconciliation bill passed by the House of Representatives May 22 is a comprehensive piece of legislation proposing significant changes, including scaling back the tax credits for clean energy included in the Inflation Reduction Act.

WRI noted that if the cuts in the current iteration of the bill are passed, “average Americans will see severe consequences: Businesses will face more red tape and uncertainty; it will be more difficult and costly to meet growing electricity demand; consumers will see skyrocketing electricity prices; workers will lose jobs; and local governments will encounter barriers to implementing programs that benefit their communities and save money,” it said in a statement.

The organization added that it would erase much of the $400 billion in investment and savings that clean energy tax credits have generated thus far.

“The proposed sudden elimination of the credits, which support low and no emission vehicle technologies, including the Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit (45W) and the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (30C), will not only hinder the transition to cleaner vehicles and healthier communities but will pose immediate logistical and financial challenges to school districts, municipalities and others who have already made plans and budget decisions predicated on being able to access these credits,” WRI said. “Moreover, eliminating these credits means we are limiting consumer choice and ceding competitiveness in this growing market to China.”

The article has been updated to reflect Trump signing the CRA. 

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In recognition of Distracted Driving Month in April, Bus Gates provided school districts with free products for a hands-on trial of the bus extension arms. School district leaders say the equipment can be part of the solution to combating illegal passing, in conjunction with enforcement cameras and driver training.

Nathanael Spence, coordinator of transportation for Amityville Public Schools in New York, noted that throughout his 18 years in transportation, he’s remained committed to finding innovative, data-driven solutions to reduce illegal passing and improve student safety.

“I’ve had hands-on experience piloting both BusPatrol enforcement cameras and two types of extended stop arms, and I’ve observed firsthand how each tool serves a unique purpose,” he said. “Extended stop arms are like the crossing gates at a railroad, designed to prevent tragedy by stopping motorists before danger strikes. Stop-arm cameras, while valuable, only document what should’ve been stopped. In safety, real protection comes from being proactive, not just recording reactions.”

He added that he believes a comprehensive approach consisting of both enforcement systems and extended stop-arms offers the greatest potential to change driver behavior and protect students. Spence noted Amityville began the school year with two Bus Gate units installed and has since expanded to four.

A Bus Gates pilot project for extended stop arms on school buses was launched in conjunction with Distracted Driving Awareness Month, with the goal of getting the extended stop-arm product in the hands of users.

“When you have that testimonial from the boots on the ground, the folks that are seeing the interaction with cars every single day, there’s just no substitute for that,” said Trevor Clatfelter, co-founder of Bus Gates. “So that allows us to get the product out there even further and get it on school busses even faster.”

 

He added that the bus extension arms are 95 percent effective in reducing illegal passing incidents.

 

Even though the program launched in April, it will remain available to school districts on a limited basis, pending inventory. Clatfelter noted that districts are not required to send the stop arm back and can choose to continue to use the product at no charge.

 

“We don’t care if your fleet has five buses or 50 buses or 500 buses,” he added. “We want to get the product out there to make every school child’s day safer.”

 

The product is added to the existing stop arm installed on the school bus. Bus Gate’s longest product extends six and half feet from the side of the bus, weighs less than three pounds, and includes flashing LED lights on the stop sign. Installation, Clatfelter said, 15 to 30 minutes.

“It is a super simple, easy install, and they’re pretty universal to go on most stop arms,” he said, adding that his company found a couple instances where modifications had to be made.

Bus Gates offers a shorter stop-arm extender for the rear, if districts have dual stop arms.

 

For liability purposes, Clatfelter said the extension is part of the original, federally mandated stop arm and is therefore part of the school bus as well. In states that allow Bus Gates use, hitting the bus extension arm is considered the same as hitting the stop-arm or the school bus itself, and would all result in the same penalties.

 

“When we go to trade shows, we want to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product, but it’s obnoxious,” said Chris McCloud, founding partner at Bus Gates marketing agency Pendulum PR “It’s obnoxious in especially an indoor setting, and it is that way so that in inclement weather, during the day, foggy conditions, the lights on the product cut through all of that. So, it doesn’t have to be a perfect day or near dusk for the product to be really effective. … [W]hat we’re hearing and seeing from the school districts that are using the product is ta massive reduction in the problem, which is people driving around the bus in the first place.”

 

While other technologies exist to increase safety at and around school buses, Clatfelter said, “Bus gates prevent, cameras prosecute.”

 

McCloud added that Bus Gates are a proactive product designed to stop a motorist from illegally passing a school bus, “Whether it’s on purpose or, and in most cases, not.

 

“We all choose to believe that the majority of the people that illegally pass a bus are not doing so with the intent to harm anybody,” he continued. “But at the end of the day, cameras don’t stop the activity from happening. Now, they might be able to catch some people by grabbing their license plate and then serving them a ticket, which hopefully then says, ‘Hey, I’m not going to do this again because I don’t want to pay the fine.’ But ultimately, it’s better to just prevent the activity, reducing the danger from happening in the first place. That’s what Bus Gates is trying to do.”

“We’ve observed a significant reduction in passing motorist incidents on those buses,” Spence said. “Being located in Suffolk County [Long Island], where BusPatrol enforcement cameras are also installed, we’ve been able to use the combined data from both systems to assess the impact, and the results are compelling. Buses equipped with both extended stop arms and enforcement cameras have shown an almost complete drop in illegal pass-bys.”

These findings have encouraged fleetwide implementation, which will be completed in phases by the school district’s contractor. Spence noted that year one will consist of equipping all large buses with Bus Gates, followed by all small buses in year two.

“Once the full rollout is complete, I’m eager to leverage year-over-year BusPatrol passing motorist data to perform a comparative analysis,” he said. “This will allow us to clearly measure the long-term impact of extended stop arms across our entire fleet and share meaningful results with stakeholders and other districts considering similar initiatives.”

Spence shared that his background of working with another stop-arm extension company gave him strong points of comparison.

“Bus Gates offered a similar safety benefit at a fraction of the cost, making the opportunity to outfit our entire fleet both fiscally responsible and operationally feasible,” he said. “The decision ultimately wasn’t just about adopting new technology. It was about leading with intention, maximizing our resources and setting a statewide example in school transportation safety.”

He shared that school bus drivers have found the easy-to-operate product sends a clear message to motorists of stop means stop. “That visibility alone has created a stronger sense of security during student loading and unloading,” Spence said, adding that community members expressed strong support in an NBC New York article in October.

“Since then, we’ve received inquiries from coordinators and transportation supervisors in neighboring districts who are eager to learn more about the technology and its effectiveness,” he continued. “Bus Gates has sparked not just compliance, but conversation, and that’s exactly the kind of awareness we need to drive long-term change in motorist behavior.”

Meanwhile, Bryan Broome, transportation operations manager for Parkway School District in Missouri, said when he became the fleet manager a few years ago, his director at the time discussed the issue of people running stop arms, which created an unsafe condition for the students.

That put a bug in Broome’s ear, and while attending an industry trade show he saw Bus Gates demonstrating its product.

“I just personally felt that Bus Gates seemed like the best solution as far as ease of install as well as (being) less intrusive on the bus,” he said. “It’s an issue that we have nationally where people are running stop arms. It’s horrible.”

He noted that some routes experienced two to three illegal passers a day. He noted that the Bus Gates were first installed on these routes, which cut infractions to about two to three violations a week.

“We stopped the majority of them,” he said. “Then we did some more investigating and found out that we needed [to do more training] on bus stop etiquette, of not coming to a stop and expecting the other cars to be able to stop immediately. … We had to work with our drivers as far as reminding them and working with them on bus stop etiquette and procedures.”

He noted that Bus Gates is not the sole solution but an additional tool to increase safety.

Broome said that Bus Gates were initially installed on six school buses. The school district began installing the units fleetwide on school buses earlier this school year and is expected to finish by the end of the summer.

“When we got the six units, I only put the arms on three buses for the first month or so, just to kind of try them out and see,” he said. “And then after about the first two or three days, I had drivers pretty much climbing over each other trying to get one installed on their bus. The drivers love them. They are looking for any tool that they could possibly get to help them keep their students safe.”

He also spoke about the concerns that motorists may hit the extended stop arm. “That is why we pushed the bus stop etiquette for the [school bus] drivers. It’s not just coming to a stop as fast as possible and throwing your arms out because sometimes it takes people a minute to react,” he shared.

Related: Combatting Illegal Passing with Awareness, Technology
Related: Rhode Island District Adds School Bus Video to Reduce Illegal Passing
Related: Crossing Arms: Do They Work?

Instead, district leaders reminded drivers to be defensive rather than aggressive with the stop-arms. “People make mistakes while driving. Sometimes people aren’t paying attention to the bus,” he said. “So let’s give them a chance to stop, or if they’re going to speed around us, let them speed around you, but we need to work with our students to make sure that they understand that they shouldn’t approach the bus until the stop arm is out, and then the door is open and the driver signals them to cross and or board the bus.”

He said school bus drivers were trained to initiate the stop by first activating the yellow warning lights which indicate to the motorist that the school bus is stopping, whereas the reds mean the school bus is stopped.

“We still need to use the tool of the Bus Gates as well as the driver’s best judgment on when to signal the students to cross and board the bus,” he said. “If we just put a tool on the bus, it doesn’t mean they know how to use it properly. And if, for instance, [bus drivers] do come to a stop too short or they don’t have their yellows on for a long enough time, then if we ever had an incident where a driver struck the stop arm extension we could be liable for any damages because we weren’t using the best procedure to initiate the stop.”

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