Bills in the U.S. House and Senate seek to permanently allow states and local governments to bypass a requirement that school bus driver applicants include engine component identification when performing the pre-trip vehicle inspection skills testing necessary to obtain their commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs).

The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) successfully asked the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in January 2022 for a three-month waiver of the so-called “under-the-hood” inspection test used to determine a school bus driver’s familiarity with engines and related components for noting potential hazards prior to starting a school bus route.

That particular skills test is mainly designed for long-haul truckers who might need to make minor repairs on the road. That is not the case for school bus drivers. Instead, they normally call dispatch after a breakdown, and a technician with a substitute bus is sent to the scene so school bus driver and students can proceed to school sites or afternoon bus stops.

NSTA Executive Director Curt Macysyn wrote at the time that the engine compartment inspection test presents a “significant obstacle” to applicants getting in their CDL and school bus companies from quickly hiring otherwise qualified drivers to address staff shortages.

FMCSA approved a three-month waiver and followed with two more. NSTA asked for a five-year waiver, but FMCSA responded with two, two-year waivers, the most recent announced in December to run through the end of 2026. NSTA said contractor members have hired 1,200 new school bus driver applicants as a result of the waiver.

Rep. John Carter of Texas, who said he drove school buses while in law school, discussed his recent reintroduction of H.R. 2360, The Driving Forward Act, to make the exemption permanent during a dinner last month at NSTA’s “Bus-in” lobbying event in Washington, D.C. A companion bipartisan bill, S. 1284, was introduced last week by Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

Carter’s first attempt at passing the Driving Forward Act, introduced last April, failed to make it out of the House transportation and infrastructure committee. The legislation seeks to permanently extend the exemption from the “under the hood” engine compartment portion of the pre-trip vehicle inspection skills test required for obtaining CDL. This exemption is expected to make it easier for individuals to become school bus drivers, helping to alleviate the ongoing driver shortage.

In addition to making the skills test exemption permanent, the Driving Forward Act would require participating states to submit annual reports on the number of drivers licensed under the exemption over a six-year period. This data would help demonstrate success in addressing the driver shortage, the bill notes.

During the Capitol Hill Bus-in March 26-27, NSTA said school bus company members held 153 meetings with congressional offices and secured additional support for the Driving Forward Act.

“The path to getting an under-the-hood testing exemption for school bus drivers has been a long journey, but with the introduction of the Driving Forward Act in both the House and Senate, we are poised to achieve final success,” said Macysyn in a statement.

Not a ‘Silver Bullet?’

NSTA said 13 states have adopted the under-the-hood exemption. But some of those states are either no longer utilizing the exemption or questioned if the waiver is worth the effort.

Texas last year switched to the FMCSA’s new voluntary modernized CDL skills test developed by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, which was approved in August 2022. Rather than require driver applicants determine a driver applicant’s ability to identify all under-the-hood engine components, the modernized skills test for the front of any commercial vehicle including a school bus checks fluid levels and for air leaks.

Anthony Shields, director of transportation for San Marcos Consolidated Independent School District near Austin, Texas, said the modernized skills test makes it easier for applicants to test under the hood by utilizing skills cards that don’t provide answers to the applicants but instead “jolt their brains.”

“We didn’t find value in [the under-the-hood exemption], It didn’t really make it simpler,” commented Shields, before adding, ”It’s a good start to make changes for a school-bus-only CDL.”

Another state to adopt the under-the-hood skills test waiver is New York. At a recent meeting with the state DMV, the New York Association for Pupil Transportation shared very few driver candidates were opting for the waiver.

“I know some driver candidates have taken advantage of the waiver, but I don’t believe it is catching on,” commented David Christopher, NYAPT’s executive director. “The issue: It is a temporary license at this point, and it restricts the driver to in-state driving only. We have never believed this would encourage new drivers to the business. Most people who apply to drive a bus have no idea what the pre-trip entails. Therefore, the under-the-hood requirement would not seem to deter them because they are not aware of what is even required.”

He added that school district members have relayed that if new applicants are trained correctly, the under-the-hood portion of the test is not a problem.

In the end, Christopher said NYAPT supports the waiver, but with a caveat.

“If it helps a district get bus drivers, that would be great,” he added. “We don’t think it is the silver bullet that will solve the problem.”

David Johnson, executive director of the Iowa Pupil Transportation Association, also weighed in.

“My understanding is the process the state [Department of Transportation] had to go through to get the waiver was a bit of a nightmare, almost to the point where if they knew it was going to be such a hassle they may not have done it. That’s just my opinion, but that’s how it sounds,” he explained. “I have not heard of any districts that are saying, ‘Hey, this is making it easier to get drivers.’ What I have heard is districts [are] still having the under-the-hood stuff as a part of their in-house training, as they still want them to have that knowledge and check those components. I personally do not agree with the waiver. I think drivers need to know what to be looking for under the hood.”

Related: Does Taking a Peek ‘Under the Hood’ Impact Driver Shortage?
Related: NSTA’s Macysyn Discusses “Under-the-Hood” Waiver, Clean School Bus Program
Related: Tales From Under the Hood

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When Bart Marksohn was involved in the day-to-day operations of New York school bus contractor WE Transport, he and his sister Helena attended the viewing of one of their father’s longtime drivers who had died.

After arriving at the mortuary, the woman’s daughter approached Bart and Helena. She expressed gratitude they had taken the time to pay their respects and told them how important the Marksohn family was to her.

She shared that her father was abusive, and her mother took her young children and fled their home. Suddenly on her own, without a car and mouths to feed, she saw a job posting for a school bus driver. A particular draw was that the woman read she could drive the school bus home every night after her route.

The woman, her daughter continued, intended to drive a school bus for a month until she got back on her feet. She continued to drive for WE Transport co-founders Walter and Edith Marksohn for the next 35 years.

“My father always looked out for her and her family,” Bart recalled. “I didn’t even know this, but these are stories that I heard at my dad’s funeral, and my mom’s funeral. This one just really had a big effect on me because that’s who my parents were.”

Bart Marksohn said the best lesson Walter and Edith — everyone called her Edie — taught him was the importance of compassion. It is the legacy of the company founded in 1959 to drive blind students to school on Long Island.

“There were no IEPs,” he noted.

WE Transport was sold July 2021 to Beacon Mobility and continues to operate it as a subsidiary.

Bart is the last Marksohn remaining at WE Transport, that is until the end of business Tuesday, when he retires from the company that has been his home since he was a boy, when he started helping with school bus maintenance. The Marksohn children learned the business from Walter each evening at the dinner table.

“It wasn’t about making money, it was really about life. It was really about people,” he continued. “And it was about the responsibility toward not just the people that you transport but the responsibility toward your family, meaning your employees, too.”

Bart Marksohn and his siblings also turned Walter’s compassion into a successful business, so much so that when Walter returned to work in the mid-1980s, he told his children they made more of a profit in two years than he ever had.

It took the first year of barely breaking even. But the following year, WE Transport turned “a nice six-figure profit,” Bart added.

“When we went into doing this, we survived the year, which was rather tough. I remember  we really didn’t know what we were doing. It’s one thing to fix brakes, it’s another to talk to school districts and be awarded contracts and win bids,” he continued. “My dad came back in … and he looked around and he said, ‘You guys did in two, three years, what it took me a lifetime to grow.’ It was his way of saying, I’m very proud of my boys and, really from then on, because now he didn’t know what was going on, we just took over and he had to learn from us at that point.”

WE Transport was truly a family affair, with Bart first serving as president until the sale to Beacon Mobility and then was voted chairman by his family. Jerry served as the chief information officer and Helena as the corporate secretary. Steve left the day-to-day business in 1998 but remained an owner. Carmen Tomeo, the son of Charlie Tomeo, who brought Walter and Edie on as a subcontractor nearly 70 years ago, was the CEO until retiring at the end of last year.

The Marksohns also got involved in school bus manufacturing. Bart became a 50-50 owner of what would become Type A school bus body producer Trans Tech with John Corr of The Trans Group. Several of the younger Marksohn generation went on to work for the company. One of them created the logo.

“His input in building one of the best school vans was immeasurable,” Corr commented.

The Marksohn family sold its remaining stock in Trans Tech in 2022.

For all his efforts, the National School Transportation Association inducted Bart Marksohn into its Hall of Fame last summer. The New York School Bus Contractors Association named him Contractor of the Year in 2018. Of all the awards he’s received, he said the two hold particular meaning.

“It’s cliche, maybe, but to be recognized by your own peers, and certainly the ones within the state who know you the best, was really rewarding. And then to go to Nashville (the site of NSTA’s annual convention in July) and be recognized [across] the United States, not just in a state you know, was kind of the acme for me, the peak,” he added.

“The New York School Bus Contractors Association (NYSBCA) would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Bart Marksohn and Carmen Tomeo of WE Transport on their well-deserved retirements. Over the past 30 years, they have been dedicated, thoughtful leaders in our industry, each bringing valuable experience from large family-run businesses. Their unwavering commitment to ensuring the safest ride for students every day has left a lasting impact. Both Bart and Carmen were honored with NYSBCA’s highest distinction, the Contractor of the Year award, at our Annual Convention Awards dinner in 2018. On behalf of the NYSBCA’s executive team, board members, and colleagues in the school bus industry, we thank you for your contributions, leadership, and care for our profession. We wish you both all the best in the years ahead.”

~ Thomas W. Smith, NYSBCA Board President.

As for what’s next in retirement, Bart said he is cutting ties to the school bus industry.

“You’re either in or out, you know? And I’m out,” he explained. But there will still be a loose connection, as the Marksohn family own land in New York City that that it leases to school bus contractors, including 11 bus depots to Beacon Mobility.

“I can’t really get away from school buses because of the real estate, but it’s a different obligation,” he added.

Retirement won’t mean sailing around the world, but as a pilot he might fly around it. Emphasis on “might.” More realistically, he’ll make more trips to the Bahamas and his annual summer trek to Colorado.

“It’s beautiful out West to fly through mountain passes and valleys. It’s just spectacular, and some of it feels a little white knuckle,” he said. “And maybe I like that rush. I’ve always liked the rush of bid openings, to see if you won. So, I guess my flying through mountain valleys is my bid opening moments.”

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Related: Industry Mourns the Loss of School Transportation Leader, Contractor Van der Aa
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Related: The Evolution of Contracted Transportation Decisions

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School Transportation News has opened registration for its third-annual Innovator of the Year award, which features a private school bus contractor employee who exemplifies the adoption of cutting-edge technology and programs.

The magazine partners with the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) to present the award. Readers may submit an online nomination through April 30 to recognize an individual who works for a school bus contractor company and meets the criteria.

Qualifications include making “significant, tangible contributions” to the school transportation industry within the past 12 months. Innovations could include technology implementation, operations, safety initiatives and green energy adoption.

Read about & hear podcasts with previous years’ winners:

July 2022: The Great Innovator
(STN Podcast E120) Onsite at STN EXPO Reno: Electric Innovator Pulls Back the Curtain

July 2023: There Is No ‘I’ in Team
(STN Podcast E170) Meet the Innovator of the Year: Maintaining a Fast-Growing Bus Fleet

July 2024: Driven by Students, Driven by Technology, Driven by Partnerships
(STN Podcast E217) From Submariner to Innovator of the Year: Fleet Electrification for Student Success

“I believe that change begins with the ability to recognize an innovator when you meet one. It is vitally important to share the achievements of our leaders to help elevate our industry. School Transportation News is honored to share this story of innovation with the entire school transportation industry,” said Tony Corpin, publisher of STN magazine and president of STN Media Group.

This year’s winner will be announced at the NSTA Annual Meeting and Convention held July 21-24 in Nashville, Tennessee, and featured in the July edition of STN magazine.

Related: Start Your Green Fleet Innovation Strategy
Related: School Bus Contractors Compete in Driver Applicant Pool
Related: School District, Bus Contractor Partnerships Vital When Transporting Special Needs Students

The post Innovator Award Seeks Nominations of Trailblazing School Bus Contractors appeared first on School Transportation News.

The school transportation industry is mourning the passing of Terry Van der Aa, whose impact on the sector spanned decades. He died the day after his 79th birthday on Jan. 17 at his Hinsdale, Illinois, home.

Van der Aa, is a National School Transportation Association Hall of Fame member and past recipient of the Golden Merit Award and School Bus Contractor of the Year. He was owner and CEO of Vancom Transportation, a Chicago-based school bus company that he sold to Laidlaw Transit in 1997. He retained ownership of ATC/Vancom, a provider of transit and charter bus services.

Van der Aa also served two terms as NSTA President, first from 1978-1979 and again from 1983-1984. His leadership helped shape the future of the association and the broader school transportation sector.

In the following years, Van der Aa took on leadership roles in public transportation, serving as chairman of Veolia Transportation, a major transit bus provide. His expertise in transportation management and operations made him a sought-after figure in the industry, leading to his work with the consulting firm Transpar Group in 2010.

Beyond school bus and public transit, Van der Aa held board positions in banking and healthcare, demonstrating a broad commitment to community service and corporate leadership. His strategic insights and leadership helped shape the future of student and public transportation, leaving a lasting legacy.

“Terry was a pioneer in the school bus and transit industries,” said a former colleague. “His contributions helped modernize transportation operations and ensure safe, efficient services for school districts and municipalities across the country.”

NSTA extended its deepest condolences to the Van der Aa family in an email to members.

Memorial contributions in Terry Van der Aa’s name may be given to the Prison Seminaries Foundation or by mailing a check to: Prison Seminaries Foundation, P.O. Box 1495, Walker, LA 70785.

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