School Bus Survey from 2018 to 2024
This Survey is an interesting graphic for the data to show prof the difference during pre-Pandemic Times vs Post Pandemic Times 2018 to 2024. The Department of Education has been doing better with Self Advocacy with the Special Needs Population as they increase bus drivers and maintrances to keep in track with the passenger with their own well beings. Some buses have passengers that are loud and energic and others have passengers that are quiet or often silent like looking out the window, listening to their music or video on their earplugs or headsets. In recent years, some parents give Accessible Transportation which it could be an interesting way of mass transit for their Special Needs passenger and it could efficiently accommodate students with the unique needs giving them the chance to arrive to School by the moment when their ready to learn. In Some States, they had access of using everdriven which its also included in the app to know when will the driver be on his way which it could also be a challenge to change the way of taking Special Needs to School. In other news, not every state in the US has seatbelts for passengers which it should be a must just to keep the passengers safe incase the bus may get into an accident which could cost lives to prevent injuries and death. While some buses are trying to add special features on the Wheelchair buses and some transportations and school districts are trying to add car seats for the younger passengers to feel safe. Some School buses has special features like the fancy wheelchair ramp and a van door opened like Collins is going for an exciting change for the first time since the dodge ram and the little van con buses in over 20 years. Others are willing to try new solutions or new suggestions to track the school bus on time.
In the demographics survey of School Bus, there’s a new data that was released to show the graphics of Special Needs Passengers taking the School Bus from 2018 to 2024. They’ll be surprised with the changes in the last 6 years for recent data.
In Type A 48% in 2018 and 54% in 2024
In Type B 26% in 2018 and 16% in 2024
In Type C 71% in 2018 and 64% in 2024
In Type D 23% in 2018 and 18% in 2024
In Van 30% in 2018 and 35% in 2024
In Car 10% in 2018 and 11% in 2024
In SUV 10% in 2018 and 11% in 2024
In Taxi 4% in 2018 and 6% in 2024
In Other category like walk, bike, or mass transit 2% in 2018 and 3% in 2024
The Data of Science which shows the difference
There are school districts and transportation that has a fleet of school buses in their inventory in 2024. For the charts of each respective of each yard has 1 to 24 buses are at 45% in 2024, 25 to 49 buses in fleet are 23%, 50 to 99 buses in fleet are 16%, 100 to 299 in fleet are 11%, and 300 or more in larger fleets or city transportations are 5% in 2024. Special Needs ridership this year from last as 59% of the operations surveyed that passengers with special needs increased this school year compared to last year. It also increased 8% then it did in 2018. The average percentage of buses in fleet primarily transporting special needs students is 33% in 2024 which it has increased 10% back in 2018. The average percentage of passengers with special needs is 33% on a nationwide survey which it had a massive increase from 17% back in 2018. The average percentage of special needs passengers who use a wheelchair is 5% in 2024 which it was down by 2 in 2018. The drivers pay vs general ed driver pay is 88% in 2024 which it declined by 3% from 2018. There’s also a survey that 49% percent of special needs buses that does have an aide on board which has declined by 5% in 2018. Recent data showed that 56% of special needs buses have AC which it increased by 3% than it did in 2018. 88% of special needs passengers shared the same bus route with their mainstreamed peers for a nationwide survey in 2024, which it declined by 10% than it was in 2018. Some bus drivers make sure they don’t leave their devices behind which 64% have an electric system to remind drivers at the end of the run which it increased by 11% then it did in 2018. More information that would apply with new updates in the 2024 reports. How have the supply chain and delayed OEM lead times to affect your ability to effectively transport your special needs students.
Over 57% of respondents indicated that they’ve had supply chain impacts that effected their life and business. 31% think it wasn’t a problem, 21% were unsure about the effects, 7% replied that it was a critical problem, 20% of the majority think it was a small problem, 21% of the respondents thought it was moderate problem, and 9% said it was a major problem as it did affect their business and the school budget which caused budget cuts. The Impact of School Bus Driver Shortage which effected nationwide as 72% indicated that it had small effects to big effects of driver shortage. 48% had a small impact on the shortage, 24% had a major impact on the shortage, 16% had no impact on Special Needs Routes, 3% had no effects on the Bus Routes, 8% had some varies with the difference and 1% were unsure about the changes. More than 57% of respondents that had some major issues with driver or aide shortage and supply chain shortage.
There’re interesting facts that you’ll get curious that effects transporting special needs passengers during the Global Pandemic. 2% had the effects on Funding for equipment, 4% had the effects on Out of District Transportation, 8% had to deal with the lack of communication, 8% had the effects with troubled kids increasing with bad behavior like fights, taunting the other passengers and even with suspicious activity on the bus, 9% with the lack of training available for new crew members, 12% had the effects with the lack of spare buses available, 19% don’t know about the effects of supply chain shortage, and 38% had the effects with the driver and aide shortage. During the tough times, there was a lot of events that effect kids and adults for their natural wellbeing’s which had made it worst in recent years.
In Recent years, 94% of school buses had some or all of their special needs’ buses equipped with a video surveillance inside of the bus or stop sign cameras to capture drivers running through stop signs while loading and unloading the passengers. The average amount of vans in fleet in used for special needs transportation is 9. The most common vans that are used for Ford Transit and Dodge Caravan while dealing with them as their alternative school buses while tight on budget as they planned to get a smaller size mini school bus like using the latest minivans and passenger vans if buying a Type A School Bus is not on their budget if they still buy new buses every year. Hopefully the data could change for the better as the next couple of years to improved to service and the special needs parents & passengers.
Here are some of the classifications about the types of school buses
Type A
The Type A School Bus is the smallest type of school bus which it could carry up to 20 to 10, while others would end up 22 to 15. Type A school buses often have wheelchair lifts and other features to accommodate students with special needs. It could be a rare exclamation that mini buses could pickup non special needs passengers when it comes to very narrow residential streets. Type A also provides child care service and Before/After School Programs in case the regular buses may not have time to merge their Routes. In recent years, a lot of these vans has gained up to 30 passengers due to the national bus driver shortage and it saves time to carry more passengers. In large cities, these buses are more popular for summer programs, because it’s equipped with an AC Unit. The reasons of carrying passengers even, non disabled passengers, because it would help them stay cool and not have to worry about being beaten by the hot sun. On the contrary, chassis were built by Ford, and General Motors. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or less.
Type B
The Type B School Bus was more common along time ago for similar purposes as the Type A’s Larger Vans. Type B Buses can carry up from 31 to 59 passengers, however, some Type B School Buses would have Wheelchair ramps to give the handicap students to ride the bus. While others would expand wheelchair seats if they want design the amount of seats inside the bus depending on the school district. Some States don’t provide school vans, which it saves time to carry this many passengers with development disabilities. It also explains that these smaller type of large buses would be useful for sharp curves and narrow roadways because of the gross amount of tons. In recent years, Type B that has downsize from the big bus chassis to minibus chassis, which only reached up to 36 passengers with 6 row windows. For larger gross tons, only IC Corporation and Thomas Built Bus C2 Saf T Liner were currently used for. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 10,000 pounds or more.
Type C
The Type C School Bus was generally the most type of School Buses from all kinds of models. Generally it can carry passengers from 66 to 44 which some can go up to 72 to 49. Most school districts can carry School Buses that are Type C because it’s the most popular type of school bus that can pick up passengers in every other block in the suburbs. While others may take the long way when it comes to carrying a lot of passengers depending on the area. These buses are also great for Field Trips and Sporting Events because these buses can carry amount of passengers. Some buses can have luggage underneath the bus incase for sporting events or field trips for a special event. There buses are also easy repair when it comes to fixing buses. Some buses can do After School Runs like the late bus runs if the kids usually stay in school longer, which some would drive the sports team to drive them to the other school. On the other hand, the Type C Buses can also do Services like community events if they require a school bus to drive passengers to the specific destinations, or it can be used as a shuttle bus just for the day of the event. The Type C has the highest visibility in its class, plus it has the most outstanding handling, along with outstanding driver ergonomics. Conversely, chassis were manufactured by IC Corporation, Bluebird Vision, and Thomas Built Bus C2 Saf T Liner, which are currently in use. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR): Typically between 23,500 and 29,500 pounds which it weighs more than the Type A & Type B School Buses.
Type D
The Type D School Bus is one of the largest types of school buses which carry out the most passengers. Generally it can carry passengers from 90 to 72 while others can go for 84 to 66 and others can go up from 72 to 48. There one of the school buses that has a shape as a rectangle, which no other type’s of school buses have besides the Type D itself. Not all Type D has the same type of passenger size depending on the chassis of the bus or manufacture of the bus. Every bus has a side door incase of an emergency, which can possibly cause danger if something happens on the bus. The Type D bus is a transit-style bus, making it suitable to provide longer routes and more seating capacity. The Type D School Buses would be great for carrying a lot of people when it comes to school routes or, special accessions for the community. As of now, the current models of these buses are Bluebird All American and the Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX/EFX. The Type D School Buses has declined more chassis of their own buses in recent sales than it was a decade ago. In the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) is over 10,000 lbs, usually between 25,000 and 36,000 lbs, which it weighs way more than the first 3 Types of School Buses
0 Comments