Avoid proximity to sex offenders’/predators’ houses
This is common sense, and officials say they strive to stay abreast of these people who reside in their areas of service. They typically have access to this information from their sheriff’s office, and Hennerley says that his operation regularly updates a bulletin board with details about the predators and offenders. In addition, routing software from Transfinder, Tyler Technologies, EDULOG, U.S. Computing and Trapeze Group all offer the ability to store information about sexual predators and sex offenders in the system so that notifications will appear if bus stops or students are in the vicinity of these individuals’ homes.
Minimize cross-over, and don’t overload stops
Fahey says students should approach a bus stop with the least amount of cross-over possible (i.e., students crossing the street to reach the stop) to reduce the potential of getting struck by a vehicle.
“Routing software should recognize the ability to minimize cross-overs and allow you to put in that restriction,” he adds.
Karl, whose company uses Tyler Technologies’ Versatrans routing software, says that it enables her routers to see where the majority of the students they transport are coming from, so they can make right-side stops to cut down on the number of students crossing the street to get to a stop.
Another item to consider, Fahey says, is the number of students at each stop, noting that having too many at one stop could create a hazardous environment. Karl says that with the Versatrans software, the user can enter the maximum number of students desired at a specific stop, and stops will be created based on that information.
Is there room for the bus?
Making sure that your school buses have enough space to maneuver at their stops is essential in planning their locations on a route. At First Student’s terminal in Wichita, Kan., the drivers are not allowed to back up their buses on a route unless the situation is extreme, and even then, the drivers must have a spotter, according to Senior Location Manager John Billigmeier.
Taking that into account, Billigmeier says, “We design our routes so that buses will not have to back up at any time. You don’t want a bus going down a cul-de-sac and not being able to get out.”
Adequate turnaround area for buses is also a consideration for the School District of Maple (Wis.).
David Korhonen, director of buildings, grounds and transportation, says almost every student for which transportation is provided is picked up or dropped off at their rural home addresses.
“Determining safe locations to turn around on rural roadw
ays is of highest priority,” he says. “Because visibility at private driveways is an issue, we most always back into driveways. We always pick up students prior to backing up and drop off students after we have backed up at turnaround locations. We also get great cooperation with townships and villages to create turnaround areas at dead-end roadways when private driveways are inadequate.”
Rely on feedback
Pupil transporters say they often rely on their drivers to tell them if they believe a bus stop is in an unsafe location, and some also welcome feedback from parents.
“We tell parents that if they see bus stops that they think are unsafe, they can contact us and we’ll go down and look at the stops,” Hennerley says.
“In Wichita, we have over 2,400 runs a day between 505 routes, so input from the drivers is extremely important,” Billigmeier says. “We make numerous changes during our dry runs and the first couple of days of school. We have a safety team that also helps to go out to high-interest stops to ensure that we are operating in those areas as safely as possible.”
Somerville also emphasizes the importance of going out to look at stops’ locations as opposed to solely relying on the satellite view of stops through a routing software program.
He adds that at one school district that U.S. Computing worked with, the transportation department staff took photos of their bus stop locations and then stored the pictures in the company’s routing software program for future reference.
This article originally ran in School Bus Fleet magazine.
