When was the first school bus made?
In 1940, the first mid-engined transit school bus was produced by Gillig in California. The custom-built nature of school buses created an inherent obstacle to their profitable mass production on a large scale.
What did school buses look like in 1914?
Early 20th Century: In 1914, there were more cars on the road, and school buses went horseless. The design of the vehicles remained about the same, with wood construction, seating on the perimeter, and a door in the rear. Furthermore, the buses weren't weatherproof, with only a tarp stretched over the passenger seating.
When did the Freightliner Vista school bus come out?
Introduced in 1962 by Perley A. Thomas Car Works school bus division. Saf-T-Liner FS-65 is one product of the Freightliner purchase of Thomas in 1998. All FS-65 chassis wore Thomas bodies after 2001. To aid forward visibility, the Vista mounted the driver's seat alongside the engine rather than behind it, similar to a Type D bus.
What changes were made to school buses in the 1970s?
During the 1970s, school buses would undergo a number of design upgrades related to safety. While many changes were related to protecting passengers, others were intended to minimizing the chances of traffic collisions.
Why do some school buses have flat fronts?
Rear-Engine, Flat-Nose Buses They're much quieter than front-engines. They're usually available in longer lengths. They tend to have more powerful engines and better transmissions. The lower front glass can make a driver more comfortable and offer better visibility.
What is a flat nose school bus called?
Front Engine Flat-Nose & Rear Engine Flat-Nose Skoolies When the engine is in the back of the bus, it's called a pusher. These rear engine school buses generally have a bigger engine in them with more power and they're only found in buses that are 35-40 feet long.
Are flat nose school buses better?
Rear-Engine Flat-Nose (transit) A RE flat nose usually has a smoother, quieter ride, since the engine is located at the opposite end of the bus from the driver. Probably the best option for a highway cruiser, or if you're trying to get the absolute most amount of living space out of your bus.
When were modern school buses invented?
In 1927, a Ford dealership owner named A.L. Luce build the first bus that primarily used steel panels. Like School fleets covered with safety glass lot of safety innovations were introduced on year 1930.
What are the 3 types of buses?
Three types of bus are used.Address bus - carries memory addresses from the processor to other components such as primary storage and input/output devices. ... Data bus - carries the data between the processor and other components. ... Control bus - carries control signals from the processor to other components.
What is a Blue Bird bus?
Blue Bird is the only manufacturer to offer a full line of alternative-fuel school buses that provide our customers with clean, efficient, affordable and environmentally-friendly school transportation solutions in a variety of custom options and configurations.
How long will a Skoolie last?
A properly kept Skoolie can last for a very long time but in truth, a Skoolie engine will not last more than 20 years or 250,000 miles (that if it is maintained and treated with care). You must take this timeline into consideration when buying and converting a school bus.
Is building a Skoolie worth it?
Living in a Skoolie can be totally worth it or a completely bad decision, depending on what your main goal is. If you want space and more of a permanent home, the converted bus is a good option. For travelling, however, Skoolies are best when your trips are short and you stick to easy trails.
Is driving a Skoolie hard?
School districts across the country are struggling to fill vital school bus driver positions. There's a reason that great school bus drivers are difficult to find and keep: driving a school bus requires more than just driving skill and patience. The job requires a unique skill set, and it's not as easy as you'd think.
When was the first yellow school bus made?
1939Yellow color Yellow was adopted as the standard color for North American school buses in 1939. In April of that year, rural education specialist Frank W. Cyr organized a national conference at Columbia University to establish production standards for school buses, including a standard exterior color.
Did Ford make a bus?
The Ford Transit Bus was a medium-duty transit bus produced by Ford from 1936 to 1947. The engine was originally placed at the front, but a rear-engine version replaced the original design in 1939.
Why school buses are painted yellow?
Even if a person is not looking straight, he can spot the yellow coloured school bus in front of him. That's why the school bus is painted yellow to lessen the possibility of an accident for the bus filled with children on the highway.
When did school buses become their own vehicles?
Furthermore, the buses weren't weatherproof, with only a tarp stretched over the passenger seating. The 1930s: In the 1930s, school buses became their own, distinct vehicles, instead of adapted versions of wagons, carriages, or trucks. Wayne Works (one of the longest-running school bus manufacturers), introduced the first all-steel school bus body ...
When did the school bus safety standards go into effect?
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards for School Buses. Most of these requirements went into effect on April 1, 1977. Among the improvements was something called "compartmentalization.".
What is compartmentalization in school buses?
Compartmentalization consists of a few different elements: School bus seats are higher off the ground so that most opposing vehicles are below the kids' feet. The four-inch cushioned seats and high seat backs create a compartment for students in the event of an accident.
Why are seats closer together on buses?
There are no windshields or doors close to riders in an effort to prevent ejection from the bus . Passenger windows are placed higher above students' heads than in typical vehicles.
Why are school buses yellow?
The color was chosen because it's registered by the human eye faster than any other color. It's seen in a person's peripheral vision 1.24 times faster than the color red.
How old do you have to be to drive a school bus in Pennsylvania?
Most states, including Pennsylvania, require school bus drivers to be 18 years of age. Other states have an age requirement of 19 or 21. Driver training ranges from eight to 40 hours of classroom time and eight to 12 hours of on-the-road training. School buses have also been designed to help drivers keep students as safe as possible.
How many students are killed by their own school bus?
Finally, approximately 2/3 of students killed outside of the school bus are struck by their own bus. School buses are now made with complicated and comprehensive mirror systems to reduce the number of blind spots so that kids are more easily seen when they enter and exit the vehicle.
What is a type B school bus?
The Type B school bus consists of a bus body constructed and installed upon a front-section vehicle chassis, or stripped chassis, with a GVWR of more than 10,000 pounds, designed for carrying more than 10 persons. Part of the engine is beneath and/or behind the windshield and beside the driver’s seat.
What color are school buses?
All school buses sold for the purpose of transporting students between home and school must be painted the traditional yellow, but buses not intended to transport between home and school for students from kindergarten through grade 12 don’t have to follow those rules.
How many people can a school bus carry?
The Type A school bus is made of a bus body constructed upon a cutaway front-section vehicle with a left driver’s door, designed to carry 10 or more people. This can be split into two sub-groups of Type A-1, with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less, and a Type A-2, with a GVWR of 10,000 pounds or more.
What is a school van?
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. School vans are traditional vans converted to full school bus specifications. Major alterations are made to the vehicle, including cutting the roof off to increase the height and welding in a full roll cage, among others.
How much does a school bus weigh?
The Type D, or “transit-style” school bus, is a body installed upon a chassis, with the engine mounted in the front, mid-ship, or rear with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10.000 pounds, and designed for carrying more than 10 persons. The engine is often behind the windshield and beside the driver’s seat (referred to as forward-engine or “FE”), or it may be at the rear of the bus, behind the rear wheels (rear-engine or “RE”). The entrance door is ahead of the front wheels.
How many classifications are there for school buses?
That means they all fit within 7 different classifications. Let’s break down the different bus types and how each is allowed to be used.
Where is the engine located on a bus?
The engine is often behind the windshield and beside the driver’s seat (referred to as forward-engine or “FE”), or it may be at the rear of the bus, behind the rear wheels (rear-engine or “RE”). The entrance door is ahead of the front wheels.
What color were the 1939 school buses?
Speaking at a luncheon commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1939 school-bus conference, Cyr recalled that some school districts, by the time of the conference, had already adopted yellow as their school-bus color. Others, though, wanted to paint their buses red, white, and blue. He said at the time, “Red, white and blue was camouflage, ...
When did the Feds change the bus?
Interviewed for this article, he said, “In 1977, the Feds came out with major changes to the bus itself, to the fuel tank, to integrity, to the seating requirements, to rollover protection.”. Those new standards also provided for wheelchair-equipped buses and other disability-related access on conventional school buses.
Where was the old school bus photographed?
An "old school bus" photographed in North Dakota in 1937. (Russell Lee / Library of Congress) A 1939 Dorothea Lange photograph of children boarding a school bus in Malheur County, Oregon. (Dorothea Lange / Library of Congress) A new school bus picks up students at a farmworkers' community in Indio, California, in 1941.
When was school bus color voted on?
School-bus color was just one of 44 standards the conferees voted on in 1939. Others included “body lengths, ceiling heights, door specifications, and aisle widths.”. These and other standards have evolved over the years, with a constant focus on improved safety.
When did the Wheels on the Bus come out?
September 4, 2019. In a 1939 issue of American Childhood, the lyrics to the song, “The Wheels on the Bus,” made their first public appearance. Songwriter Verna Hills composed verses that celebrated the routine of traveling on a bus, closing each with the phrase, “over the city streets.”. Likely unbeknownst to her, at that same time 80 years ago, ...
Is the yellow on a school bus pure spectral?
“The yellow is not pure spectral yellow,” says Ivan Schwab, clinical spokesperson at the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
Who was the teacher who created the yellow bus?
Rural educator Frank Cyr had the vision and pull to force the nation to standardize the color of the ubiquitous vehicle. Children cross the street in front of a yellow school bus in 1965. (H. Armstrong Roberts / ClassicStock via Getty Images) In a 1939 issue of American Childhood, the lyrics to the song, “The Wheels on the Bus,” made their first ...
Who built the bus?
Following the closure of streetcar manufacturer Southern Car Company, Perley A. Thomas (trained as a woodworker and engineer) founded a company specializing in fireplace mantles and home furnishings. In the summer of 1916, Thomas shifted from furniture to streetcar construction, as he secured a contract to enclose existing streetcars in Charlotte, North Carolina, renovating them in a car barn.
Who makes the yellow school bus?
Thomas Built Buses, Inc. (commonly designated Thomas) is an American bus manufacturer. Best known for its production of yellow school buses, Thomas produces other bus designs for a variety of usages; currently, its production is concentrated on school buses and activity buses and their commercial derivatives.
What is the T bus emblem?
As a design change, the "T-bus" roof emblem (used since the early 1980s) was replaced by a scripted Thomas Built Buses emblem (its predecessor). During the later 1990s, Thomas Built Buses would undergo a number of significant changes, with some that have changed the future of school bus manufacturing.
Where were Perley Thomas streetcars made?
While best known from their use in New Orleans, Perley Thomas streetcars produced during the 1920s would also be utilized by communities across the United States, including Charlotte, NC; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Miami, FL; Mobile, AL; New York City; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC, and exported as well, with Havana, Cuba as a user.
When did Thomas introduce the Saf-T liner?
At the beginning of the 2000s, Thomas began to introduce its most extensive updates to its product lines since the 1970s. For 2001, the Saf-T-Liner HD was introduced (combining the Saf-T-Liner ER, WestCoastER, and the MVP ER). Distinguished by its large mirror housings (integrating sideview, convex, and crossview mirrors into a single assembly), the HD also visibly shared several components from Freightliner, including its instrument cluster and headlamps. For 2003, Freightliner became the sole chassis supplier for the Saf-T-Liner Conventional, with all Conventionals becoming Saf-T-Liner FS-65s. In 2004, Thomas renamed the HD the Saf-T-Liner HDX.
When was the Saf T liner C2 made?
Following the 2004 introduction of the Saf-T-Liner C2, Thomas produced the model line along its Saf-T-Liner Conventional predecessor. After nearly 35 years of production of the Saf-T-Liner Conventional body; the 62,764th and final example on the FS-65 chassis was produced on December 13, 2006.
When did Thomas Vista come out?
1995 Thomas Vista (International 3600) in Colorado with wheelchair lift and flat floor. Following the mid-1970s launches of the Wayne Busette and Blue Bird Micro Bird, Thomas would launch its own cutaway-chassis school bus, the Thomas Minotour, in 1980.
Why are some school buses flat?
Regarding this, why do some school buses have a flat front? The driver is in a low position allowing passengers to look out of the front end above the driver. This coach is more aerodynamic than the city bus seen above: The corners are more rounded and the upper part of the front window is sloping back.
Why are busses flat in the front?
The driver is in a low position allowing passengers to look out of the front end above the driver. This coach is more aerodynamic than the city bus seen above: The corners are more rounded and the upper part of the front window is sloping back.
Why do some school buses have black hoods?
The black hood, especially if it’s flat black, greatly cuts down on glare, making it easier for the driver to see, and keeping everyone safer. … Buses can also be ordered with an anti-glare treatment while keeping the hood yellow, it’s called a “lusterless yellow” hood.
What is a flat nose bus?
A RE flat nose usually has a smoother, quieter ride, since the engine is located at the opposite end of the bus from the driver. … You do lose floor space in the rear where the engine box is located, but usually can still make use of the space by installing a bed or storage above it.
What is the front of a bus called?
Senior Member. Is the front part of the inside of a bus ( drivers also sits on that side) called ‘front part’ and the rear part of the inside of a bus is ‘back part’ of the bus.
What is a Type B school bus?
A “Type B” school bus is constructed utilizing a stripped or cutaway chassis with a GVWR of more than 10,000 lbs., originally designed by the manufacturer for carrying 10 to 30 passengers. Part of the engine is beneath and/or behind the windshield and beside the driver’s seat.
Where are bus engines located?
In RE buses, the rear of the bus has the engine. Basically, the engine is located in the trunk. Also, rear-engine vehicles tend to prove exceptional braking ability due to a big amount of weight from the engine remaining over the rear tires during braking.
Overview
Design history
In the second half of the 19th century, many rural areas of the United States and Canada were served by one-room schools. For those students who lived beyond practical walking distance from school, transportation was facilitated in the form of the kid hack; at the time, "hack" was a term referring to certain types of horse-drawn carriages. Essentially re-purposed farm wagons, kid hacks were o…
Design overview
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), school buses are the safest type of road vehicle. On average, five fatalities involve school-age children on a school bus each year; statistically, a school bus is over 70 times safer than riding to school by car. Many fatalities related to school buses are passenger…
Manufacturing
In 2018, 44,381 school buses were sold in North America (compared to 31,194 in 2010). Approximately 70% of production is of Type C configuration.
In the United States and Canada, school buses are currently produced by nine different manufacturers. Four of them—Collins Industries, Starcraft Bus, Trans Tech, and Van Con — specialize exclusively in small buses. Thomas Built Buses and Blue Bird Corporation (the latter, thr…
Operations
Every year in the United States and Canada, school buses provide an estimated 8 billion student trips from home and school. Each school day in 2015, nearly 484,000 school buses transported 26.9 million children to and from school and school-related activities; over half of the United States K–12 student population is transported by school bus. Outside North America, purpose-built vehicles fo…
Environmental impact
As the use of school buses transports students on a much larger scale than by car (on average, the same as 36 separate automobiles ), their use reduces pollution in the same manner as carpooling. Through their usage of internal-combustion engines, school buses are not an emissions-free form of transportation (in comparison to biking or walking). As of 2017, over 95% of sch…
Other uses
Outside of student transport itself, the design of a school bus is adapted for use for a variety of applications. Along with newly produced vehicles, conversions of retired school buses see a large range of uses. Qualities desired from school buses involve sturdy construction (as school buses have an all-steel body and frame), a large seating capacity, and wheelchair lift capability, among others.
Around the world
Outside the United States and Canada, the usage and design of buses for student transport varies worldwide. In Europe, Asia, and Australia, buses utilized for student transport may be derived from standard transit buses. Alongside differences in body, chassis, and seating design, school buses outside North America differ primarily in their signage, livery, and traffic priority.