Saturday, November 6, 2010

District 200 buses - overcrowded?

Attention parents of Woodstock D200 students who rides buses to school and back...

Do your children report over-crowding on buses?

Last week I inquired what the capacity of a school bus in Woodstock is, and how is it calculated. Let's say, for high school students...

Do students sit two to a seat? Then it's easy to calculate the capacity. If there are 25 seats on a bus, the capacity is 50, plus the driver. Are more than 50 students assigned to ride a bus?

To me this seems a pretty simple question. One that could be answered with a simple email that might take 2-3 minutes to write. I sent my request on Tuesday afternoon. By the end of the day on Friday I had not received a reply.

I had a reason for inquiring, and I didn't intend to create a mountain out of a molehill. The lack of a response, however, now causes me to think that I might have uncovered something.

Are there any buses that have so many students that they must ride three to a seat?

OK, parents (or students)... let me know.

9 comments:

QT said...

My 7 year old rides to and from westwood 3 deep everyday.

Notawannabee said...

Most busses have the capacity clearly posted on the front bulk head by the door. Many are figured at 3 per seat. My kid’s school buses had a capacity of 66.

Seat belts in buses are useless. The seats are attached to the floors with sheet medal screws and rip loose in a hard collision.

Safer would be REAR facing seats. Studies are available on line through the USDOT

Dave Labuz said...

Haven't looked at the "max capacity" labels on the buses lately, but it used to be 72 passengers on the full-sizers = 3 per seat back in the seventies.

This required sitting with only one ass-cheek on the seat for #3, or if you were lucky, and there was no #3 across the aisle from you, you could sit perpendicular, with the rear half of each cheek seated.

It was like Tokyo at rush hour!

Nowadays, I guess there are seatbelts on busses, or some? Wonder if that changed max capacity?

Gus said...

QT, thanks. I'll guess that three 7-year-old students can sit safely on a bus seat without risk of falling into the aisle, as they are considerably smaller in build than are high school students.

Anyone else?

Gus said...

Nota, thanks for the information about seating capacity and posting on a placard at the front of the bus.

Any idea whether the capacity varies as to whether elementary or high school students are being transported?

I recall a sign on a bus in Belize back in 1992. Next to the sign that warned against standing in front of the white line by the driver was a sign that read, "No hanky panky."

AZ Supporter said...

If they're overcrowded, pass a referendum (sp) to buy more busses and hire more drivers. That should FLY by as well as Dist. #156's failed one last week. Each buss probably has a different capacity, due to it's size; thinking those flat nosed deisels may hold more people. In MY day (back when we had dirt roads and horse drawn school wagons)we sat three to a seat.

Dave Labuz said...

I was seaking my peace as a highschool student.

FatParalegal said...

It's too bad you are too old to be a school bus driver, Gus. I think you missed your true calling in life.

FYI the buses with the flat fronts have a higher capacity. As I recall, they can fit about 81? 82? students. D-200 may not have these buses. D-158 does and they are horrible. Too crowded and student management is very difficult for the bus driver since they extend so far back.

I would think you could get an answer very quickly by telephoning the director of transportation for your district. But from what I recall, capacity doesn't change regardless of the age of the student/adult riding. 72 is 72, not "72 if grade school; 62 if middle school; 52 if high school".

Gus said...

Whitmore2, thanks for your comment.

I might not be too old to drive a school bus, but the ticket I got in Woodstock for not signaling a right turn at least 100' before the corner will keep me unemployed (by D-200) for three years. Helluva price to pay, in addition to the $135 for Woodstock, County and State coffers.

I did contact the Director of Transportation - last Tuesday, but by email, rather than by telephone. I'm glad I did it by email. A special treat was delivered later that day.

I like email for communications -
I can write at my convenience;
she can reply at hers; and
there is a written record.

But she hasn't replied yet. It seems like more than three business days are required for a simple response. Maybe there is a rule at D-200 that employees are not to communicate with me. Don't go away. There is more to the story.