Sample records for school buses

  1. Crashworthiness of Small Poststandard School Buses: Safety Study.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Transportation Safety Board (DOT), Washington, DC.

    In 1977, a series of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) for school buses became effective, mandating different performance standards for school buses compared to other buses. Because data on the crash performance of school buses built to these standards were lacking, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted a series of…

  2. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Glacier-Waterton Park Powers Buses With

    Science.gov Websites

    Photo of a truck Natural Gas Fuels School Buses and Refuse Trucks in Tulsa, Oklahoma Feb. 18, 2017 Photo of buses Baton Rouge School District Adds Propane Buses to Its Fleet Dec. 23, 2016 photo of a truck Buses to Its Fleet Nov. 11, 2016 photo of a propane school bus Propane Powers School Buses in Tuscaloosa

  3. Suitability of commuting by bicycle to Arizona elementary schools.

    PubMed

    Sisson, Susan B; Lee, Sarah M; Burns, Elizabeth K; Tudor-Locke, Catrine

    2006-01-01

    To determine the biking suitability (i.e., bikeability) of and prevalence of biking in 14 elementary schools representing two extremes of bused students (2.4% vs. 53.6%). Street segments (within 0.25-mile radius of school) were scored for bikeability. Bikes in racks per school student population established biking prevalence. Mann-Whitney U-test compared bikeability and prevalence of biking between groups. A total of 12.5 +/- 2.2 streets per school were assessed. Thirteen schools scored very good (< 3.0) and one scored fair (4.0-4.9). Median bikeability score was 0.69 for the low-busing schools and 0.53 for the high-busing schools (nonsignificant). Median biking prevalence was 3.1% in the low-busing schools and 1.3% in the high-busing schools (p < .05). Streets surrounding schools were adequate for biking. Biking prevalence was significantly higher in low-busing schools but was relatively low in both low- and high-busing schools. Other factors, including intraindividual, social, school, and community, likely contribute to choice of biking to school.

  4. Analysis of transportation network design strategies for forced transfer busing.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-12-01

    Forced transfer busing occurs primarily at the elementary school level when students are bused : to an alternate school when their geographically-assigned school is full at their specific grade : level. Ineffective forced transfer busing can result i...

  5. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia

    Science.gov Websites

    Schools Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels

  6. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Michigan School Buses Get Rolling on Propane

    Science.gov Websites

    Michigan School Buses Get Rolling on Propane to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Michigan School Buses Get Rolling on Propane on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Michigan School Buses Get Rolling on Propane on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center

  7. Cost-benefit analysis of safety belts in Texas school buses.

    PubMed

    Begley, C E; Biddle, A K

    1988-01-01

    Although safety belts have been shown to reduce the risk of serious injury or death in automobile crashes, evidence of their effectiveness in school buses is uncertain. In this paper, the potential costs and benefits of mandatory safety belts in Texas school buses are estimated, based on the assumption that their effectiveness is less than or equal to rear seatbelt effectiveness in autos. Costs are based on both retrofitting old buses with belts and installing them in new buses. Benefits include the direct and indirect (forgone earnings) cost-savings from preventable injuries and fatalities. Results indicate that a law mandating safety belts in Texas school buses would not be cost-beneficial. Annual benefits would exceed the annual costs of installing belts in new school buses. However, the benefits would not be large enough to compensate for the five-year costs associated with retrofitting old buses.

  8. Cost-benefit analysis of safety belts in Texas school buses.

    PubMed Central

    Begley, C E; Biddle, A K

    1988-01-01

    Although safety belts have been shown to reduce the risk of serious injury or death in automobile crashes, evidence of their effectiveness in school buses is uncertain. In this paper, the potential costs and benefits of mandatory safety belts in Texas school buses are estimated, based on the assumption that their effectiveness is less than or equal to rear seatbelt effectiveness in autos. Costs are based on both retrofitting old buses with belts and installing them in new buses. Benefits include the direct and indirect (forgone earnings) cost-savings from preventable injuries and fatalities. Results indicate that a law mandating safety belts in Texas school buses would not be cost-beneficial. Annual benefits would exceed the annual costs of installing belts in new school buses. However, the benefits would not be large enough to compensate for the five-year costs associated with retrofitting old buses. PMID:3140273

  9. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Florida Schools First in State to Power up

    Science.gov Websites

    Indian River County School District became the first in the state to adopt propane-powered school buses Oil Powers Biodiesel Vehicles in Vermont March 4, 2017 Photo of a truck Natural Gas Fuels School Buses Natural Gas Jan. 14, 2017 Photo of buses Baton Rouge School District Adds Propane Buses to Its Fleet Dec

  10. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City

    Science.gov Websites

    Save Money Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money on Twitter Bookmark

  11. Wheelchair and Occupant Restraint on School Buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1990-05-01

    This report presents the findings of a literature survey, wheelchair hardware survey, wheelchair usage on school buses survey and assessment of current worldwide standards to address securement of wheelchairs on school buses and other modes of public...

  12. Alternative Fuels Data Center: School Buses Go Green in Virginia

    Science.gov Websites

    Gloucester County Public Schools put five Blue Bird propane school buses on the road. Funds from EPA and VDEQ October 2009 to November 2010, the five buses saved almost $7,000 in fuel and maintenance costs and could see, touch, and ride propane buses. And now, Gloucester's success is helping to make the case for

  13. 49 CFR 393.62 - Emergency exits for buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations) with a GVWR of more than 4... manufacture. (2) Each bus (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Glazing and Window Construction § 393.62 Emergency exits for buses. (a) Buses...

  14. 49 CFR 393.62 - Emergency exits for buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations) with a GVWR of more than 4... manufacture. (2) Each bus (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Glazing and Window Construction § 393.62 Emergency exits for buses. (a) Buses...

  15. 49 CFR 393.62 - Emergency exits for buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations) with a GVWR of more than 4... manufacture. (2) Each bus (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Glazing and Window Construction § 393.62 Emergency exits for buses. (a) Buses...

  16. 49 CFR 393.62 - Emergency exits for buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations) with a GVWR of more than 4... manufacture. (2) Each bus (including a school bus used in interstate commerce for non-school bus operations... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Glazing and Window Construction § 393.62 Emergency exits for buses. (a) Buses...

  17. Bus Ride to Nowhere.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGroarty, Daniel

    1996-01-01

    Describes the situation created by busing in Milwaukee's public schools. The rise of support for school choice developed out of the failure of busing, which was Milwaukee's solution to school problems. Wisconsin now has a private-school voucher law. Busing has been less onerous since the city was divided into five zones from which parents of…

  18. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Michigan Transports Students in Hybrid

    Science.gov Websites

    Electric School Buses Michigan Transports Students in Hybrid Electric School Buses to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Michigan Transports Students in Hybrid Electric School Electric School Buses on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: Michigan Transports Students in

  19. Measurements of ultrafine particles and other vehicular pollutants inside school buses in South Texas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Qunfang; Zhu, Yifang

    2010-01-01

    Increasing evidence has demonstrated toxic effects of vehicular emitted ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter < 100 nm), with the highest human exposure usually occurring on and near roadways. Children are particularly at risk due to immature respiratory systems and faster breathing rates. In this study, children's exposure to in-cabin air pollutants, especially UFPs, was measured inside four diesel-powered school buses. Two 1990 and two 2006 model year diesel-powered school buses were selected to represent the age extremes of school buses in service. Each bus was driven on two routine bus runs to study school children's exposure under different transportation conditions in South Texas. The number concentration and size distribution of UFPs, total particle number concentration, PM 2.5, PM 10, black carbon (BC), CO, and CO 2 levels were monitored inside the buses. The average total particle number concentrations observed inside the school buses ranged from 7.3 × 10 3 to 3.4 × 10 4 particles cm -3, depending on engine age and window position. When the windows were closed, the in-cabin air pollutants were more likely due to the school buses' self-pollution. The 1990 model year school buses demonstrated much higher air pollutant concentrations than the 2006 model year ones. When the windows were open, the majority of in-cabin air pollutants came from the outside roadway environment with similar pollutant levels observed regardless of engine ages. The highest average UFP concentration was observed at a bus transfer station where approximately 27 idling school buses were queued to load or unload students. Starting-up and idling generated higher air pollutant levels than the driving state. Higher in-cabin air pollutant concentrations were observed when more students were on board.

  20. School Buses Answer Calls for Help in Crises

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borja, Rhea R.

    2005-01-01

    Five days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, a convoy of 142 air-conditioned school buses from the 209,000-student Texas district rumbled to life. Loaded with food and bottled water, staffed by 350 school employees, and accompanied by bus-repair trucks and a phalanx of school police cars, the yellow buses traveled all night to reach the…

  1. Predicting Airborne Particle Levels Aboard Washington State School Buses

    PubMed Central

    Adar, Sara D.; Davey, Mark; Sullivan, James R.; Compher, Michael; Szpiro, Adam; Liu, L.-J. Sally

    2008-01-01

    School buses contribute substantially to childhood air pollution exposures yet they are rarely quantified in epidemiology studies. This paper characterizes fine particulate matter (PM2.5) aboard school buses as part of a larger study examining the respiratory health impacts of emission-reducing retrofits. To assess onboard concentrations, continuous PM2.5 data were collected during 85 trips aboard 43 school buses during normal driving routines, and aboard hybrid lead vehicles traveling in front of the monitored buses during 46 trips. Ordinary and partial least square regression models for PM2.5 onboard buses were created with and without control for roadway concentrations, which were also modeled. Predictors examined included ambient PM2.5 levels, ambient weather, and bus and route characteristics. Concentrations aboard school buses (21 μg/m3) were four and two-times higher than ambient and roadway levels, respectively. Differences in PM2.5 levels between the buses and lead vehicles indicated an average of 7 μg/m3 originating from the bus's own emission sources. While roadway concentrations were dominated by ambient PM2.5, bus concentrations were influenced by bus age, diesel oxidative catalysts, and roadway concentrations. Cross validation confirmed the roadway models but the bus models were less robust. These results confirm that children are exposed to air pollution from the bus and other roadway traffic while riding school buses. In-cabin air pollution is higher than roadway concentrations and is likely influenced by bus characteristics. PMID:18985175

  2. Predicting airborne particle levels aboard Washington State school buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Adar, Sara D.; Davey, Mark; Sullivan, James R.; Compher, Michael; Szpiro, Adam; Sally Liu, L.-J.

    School buses contribute substantially to childhood air pollution exposures yet they are rarely quantified in epidemiology studies. This paper characterizes fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) aboard school buses as part of a larger study examining the respiratory health impacts of emission reducing retrofits. To assess onboard concentrations, continuous PM 2.5 data were collected during 85 trips aboard 43 school buses during normal driving routines, and aboard hybrid lead vehicles traveling in front of the monitored buses during 46 trips. Ordinary and partial least squares regression models for PM 2.5 onboard buses were created with and without control for roadway concentrations, which were also modeled. Predictors examined included ambient PM 2.5 levels, ambient weather, and bus and route characteristics. Average concentrations aboard school buses (21 μg m -3) were four and two-times higher than ambient and roadway levels, respectively. Differences in PM 2.5 levels between the buses and lead vehicles indicated an average of 7 μg m -3 originating from the bus's own emission sources. While roadway concentrations were dominated by ambient PM 2.5, bus concentrations were influenced by bus age, diesel oxidative catalysts, and roadway concentrations. Cross-validation confirmed the roadway models but the bus models were less robust. These results confirm that children are exposed to air pollution from the bus and other roadway traffic while riding school buses. In-cabin air pollution is higher than roadway concentrations and is likely influenced by bus characteristics.

  3. In-use fuel economy of hybrid-electric school buses in Iowa.

    PubMed

    Hallmark, Shauna; Sperry, Bob; Mudgal, Abhisek

    2011-05-01

    Although it is much safer and more fuel-efficient to transport children to school in buses than in private vehicles, school buses in the United States still consume 822 million gal of diesel fuel annually, and school transportation costs can account for a significant portion of resource-constrained school district budgets. Additionally, children in diesel-powered school buses may be exposed to higher levels of particulates and other pollutants than children in cars. One solution to emission and fuel concerns is use of hybrid-electric school buses, which have the potential to reduce emissions and overall lifecycle costs compared with conventional diesel buses. Hybrid-electric technologies are available in the passenger vehicle market as well as the transit bus market and have a track record indicating fuel economy and emissions benefits. This paper summarizes the results of an in-use fuel economy evaluation for two plug-in hybrid school buses deployed in two different school districts in Iowa. Each school district selected a control bus with a route similar to that of the hybrid bus. Odometer readings, fuel consumption, and maintenance needs were recorded for each bus. The buses were deployed in 2008 and data were collected through May 2010. Fuel consumption was calculated for each school district. In Nevada, IA, the overall average fuel economy was 8.23 mpg for the hybrid and 6.35 mpg for the control bus. In Sigourney, IA, the overall average fuel economy was 8.94 mpg for the hybrid and 6.42 mpg for the control bus. The fuel consumption data were compared for the hybrid and control buses using a Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results indicate that fuel economy for the Nevada hybrid bus was 29.6% better than for the Nevada control bus, and fuel economy for the Sigourney hybrid bus was 39.2% higher than for the Sigourney control bus. Both differences were statistically significant.

  4. School Buses & Seat Belts: A Discussion.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alaska State Dept. of Education, Juneau.

    Safety belts are not installed in school buses for several reasons. School buses are constructed differently from automobiles in terms of (1) the locations of doors and instrument panels relative to passengers, (2) outer construction, (3) seat design and padding, and (4) visibility on the road. Under current regulations, bus seats are constructed…

  5. Pupil Transportation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bete, Tim, Ed.

    1998-01-01

    Presents the opinions of four transportation experts on issues related to school buses. The experts respond to the following questions: will advertisements placed on buses be used to generate district revenue; will compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas become standard fuel for school buses; and will school bus seat belts be mandatory and…

  6. The Effects of School Desegregation on Minority Group Student Achievement and Self-Concept: An Evaluation of Court Ordered Busing in Waco, Texas. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Felice, Lawrence G.

    The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of busing on the subsequent achievement performance of bused minority students. Differences in achievement gains are hypothesized to be a function of bused student attitudes toward busing and the interracial climate of acceptance in the receiving schools. The design of this study is that of a…

  7. Optimal speed limits for school buses on Virginia highways : a report to Virginia's Superintendent of Public Instruction.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1990-01-01

    On Virginia's rural interstate highways there is a three-tiered speed limit: 45 mph for school buses, 55 mph for trucks, and 65 mph for other vehicles. On the urban interstate highways, school buses are restricted to 45 mph, but other traffic has a 5...

  8. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Deploying Clean Buses in Texas through

    Science.gov Websites

    money for large expenditures--new school buses are a perfect example and offer the perfect opportunity a potential penalty or fine when that money is put toward an SEP. Municipalities may offset 100% of the problem schools have with finding money for large expenditures-new school buses are a perfect

  9. The Bus Stops Here: The Case for Biodiesel in School Buses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rao, Steven T.

    2002-01-01

    Suggests that diesel exhaust from most of the nation's school buses may be hazardous to children's health. Documents studies on the nature and potential magnitude of the risk to children and proposes replacing petroleum diesel with biodiesel as the fuel for school buses. Presents the merits and practicality of switching to biodiesel as a healthier…

  10. Ultrafine particle concentrations in and around idling school buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Qunfang; Fischer, Heidi J.; Weiss, Robert E.; Zhu, Yifang

    2013-04-01

    Unnecessary school bus idling increases children's exposure to diesel exhaust, but to what extent children are exposed to ultrafine particles (UFPs, diameter < 100 nm) in and around idling school buses remains unclear. This study employed nine school buses and simulated five scenarios by varying emissions source, wind direction, and window position. The purpose was to investigate the impact of idling on UFP number concentration and PM2.5 mass concentration inside and near school buses. Near the school buses, total particle number concentration increased sharply from engine off to engine on under all scenarios, by a factor of up to 26. The impact of idling on UFP number concentration inside the school buses depended on wind direction and window position: wind direction was important and statistically significant while the effect of window positions depended on wind direction. Under certain scenarios, idling increased in-cabin total particle number concentrations by a factor of up to 5.8, with the significant increase occurring in the size range of 10-30 nm. No significant change of in-cabin PM2.5 mass concentration was observed due to idling, regardless of wind direction and window position, indicating that PM2.5 is not a good indicator for primary diesel exhaust particle exposure. The deposition rates based on total particle number concentration inside school bus cabins varied between 1.5 and 5.0 h-1 across nine tested buses under natural convection conditions, lower than those of passenger cars but higher than those of indoor environments.

  11. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Powers School Buses in Tuscaloosa,

    Science.gov Websites

    Efficiency March 8, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of a school bus and Plug-In Electric Vehicles March 31, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Electric Trolley Boosts Business in

  12. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Fleet Application for School Transportation

    Science.gov Websites

    /_kZz_IxCsQA Video thumbnail for Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 https://www.youtube.com/embed/VYbBFQEKKCs Video thumbnail for , 2011 https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZJVXELFPywI Video thumbnail for Propane Buses Save Money for

  13. Characterizing ultrafine particles and other air pollutants in and around school buses.

    PubMed

    Zhu, Yifang; Zhang, Qunfang

    2014-03-01

    Increasing evidence has demonstrated toxic effects of ultrafine particles (UFP*, diameter < 100 nm). Children are particularly at risk because of their immature respiratory systems and higher breathing rates per body mass. This study aimed to characterize UFP, PM2.5 (particulate matter < or = 2.5 microm in aerodynamic diameter), and other vehicular-emitted pollutants in and around school buses. Four sub-studies were conducted, including: 1. On-road tests to measure in-cabin air pollutant levels while school buses were being driven; 2. Idling tests to determine the contributions of tailpipe emissions from idling school buses to air pollutant levels in and around school buses under different scenarios; 3. Retrofit tests to evaluate the performance of two retrofit systems, a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) muffler and a crankcase filtration system (CFS), on reducing tailpipe emissions and in-cabin air pollutant concentrations under idling and driving conditions; and 4. High efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter air purifier tests to evaluate the effectiveness of in-cabin filtration. In total, 24 school buses were employed to cover a wide range of school buses commonly used in the United States. Real-time air quality measurements included particle number concentration (PNC), fine and UFP size distribution in the size range 7.6-289 nm, PM2.5 mass concentration, black carbon (BC) concentration, and carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations. For in-cabin measurements, instruments were placed on a platform secured to the rear seats inside the school buses. For all other tests, a second set of instruments was deployed to simultaneously measure the ambient air pollutant levels. For tailpipe emission measurements, the exhaust was diluted and then measured by instruments identical to those used for the in-cabin measurements. The results show that when driving on roads, in-cabin PNC, fine and UFP size distribution, PM2.5, BC, and CO varied by engine age, window position, driving speed, driving route, and operating conditions. Emissions from idling school buses increased the PNC close to the tailpipe by a factor of up to 26.0. Under some circumstances, tailpipe emissions of idling school buses increased the in-cabin PNC by factors ranging from 1.2 to 5.8 in the 10-30 nm particle size range. Retrofit systems significantly reduced the tailpipe emissions of idling school buses. With both DOC and CFS installed, PNC in tailpipe emissions dropped by 20%-94%. No unequivocal decrease was observed for in-cabin air pollutants after retrofitting. The operation of the air conditioning (AC) unit and the pollutant concentrations in the surrounding ambient air played more important roles than retrofit technologies in determining in-cabin air quality. The use of a HEPA air purifier removed up to 50% of in-cabin particles. Because each sub-study tested only a subset of the 24 school buses, the results should be seen as more exploratory than definitive.

  14. 26 CFR 48.6421-2 - Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6421-2 Section 48.6421-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL... Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6421-2 Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. (a) In general. If gasoline is used in an intercity or local bus while engaged in...

  15. 26 CFR 48.6421-2 - Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6421-2 Section 48.6421-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL... Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6421-2 Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. (a) In general. If gasoline is used in an intercity or local bus while engaged in...

  16. 26 CFR 48.6421-2 - Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6421-2 Section 48.6421-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL... Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6421-2 Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. (a) In general. If gasoline is used in an intercity or local bus while engaged in...

  17. 26 CFR 48.6421-2 - Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6421-2 Section 48.6421-2 Internal Revenue INTERNAL... Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6421-2 Credits or payments to ultimate purchasers of gasoline used in intercity, local, or school buses. (a) In general. If gasoline is used in an intercity or local bus while engaged in...

  18. Analysis of real-time variables affecting children's exposure to diesel-related pollutants during school bus commutes in Los Angeles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sabin, Lisa D.; Kozawa, Kathleen; Behrentz, Eduardo; Winer, Arthur M.; Fitz, Dennis R.; Pankratz, David V.; Colome, Steven D.; Fruin, Scott A.

    Variables affecting children's exposure during school bus commutes were investigated using real-time measurements of black carbon (BC), particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PB-PAH) and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) inside 3 conventional diesel school buses, a particle trap-outfitted (TO) diesel school bus and a compressed natural gas (CNG) school bus, while traveling along an urban Los Angeles Unified School District bus route. A video camera was mounted at the front of each bus to record roadway conditions ahead of the bus during each commute. The videotapes from 12 commutes, in conjunction with pollutant concentration time series, were used to determine the influence of variables such as vehicles being followed, bus type and roadway type on pollutant concentrations inside the bus. For all buses tested, the highest concentrations of BC, PB-PAH and NO 2 were observed when following a diesel school bus, especially if that bus was emitting visible exhaust. This result was important because other diesel school buses were responsible for the majority of the diesel vehicle encounters, primarily due to caravanning with each other when leaving a school at the same time. Compared with following a gasoline vehicle or no target, following a smoky diesel school bus yielded BC and PB-PAH concentrations inside the cabin 8 and 11 times higher, respectively, with windows open, and ˜1.8 times higher for both pollutants with windows closed. When other diesel vehicles were not present, pollutant concentrations were highest inside the conventional diesel buses and lowest inside the CNG bus, while the TO diesel bus exhibited intermediate concentrations. Differences in pollutant concentrations between buses were most pronounced with the bus windows closed, and were attributed to a combination of higher concentrations in the exhaust and higher exhaust gas intrusion rates for the conventional diesel buses. Conventional diesel school buses can have a double exposure impact on commuting children: first, exposures to the exhaust from other nearby diesel school buses and, second, exposure to the bus's own exhaust through "self-pollution".

  19. Will Your School Buses Rescue Us from the Energy Crisis?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shannon, Thomas A.

    1980-01-01

    This article introduces a series that discusses energy-saving programs for school transportation systems and the role of school buses in local emergency transportation and local public transportation. (IRT)

  20. Should Seat Belts Be Required on All School Buses?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mawdsley, Ralph D.

    1996-01-01

    Examines the limited case law involving seat belts for school buses and explores emerging legal issues surrounding use of common law causes of action to challenge school bus safety. (51 footnotes) (MLF)

  1. Popular Participation and Representation in the Urban Environment: The School Desegregation Issue in Los Angeles.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weatherford, M. Stephen

    Most scholarly literature on school desegregation treats opposition to busing as racist, reactionary, or as springing from deeper conditions of alienation or anomie. From this viewpoint, anti-busing demonstrations are episodic, unorganized and not founded on any thoroughgoing comprehension of the immediate policy issue. Busing is merely the…

  2. Busing, Desegregation and Student Self-Concept.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Felice, Lawrence G.

    This paper reports findings from the first two years of a 3-year study to evaluate the effects of court-ordered busing in Waco, Texas. The objective of this study is to determine minority student achievement gains or losses, attitudes toward busing and school desegregation, the degree of interracial cooperation and acceptance in Waco schools, and…

  3. School Bus Crash Rates on Routine and Nonroutine Routes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    O'Neal, Elizabeth; Ramirez, Marizen; Hamann, Cara; Young, Tracy; Stahlhut, Mary; Peek-Asa, Corinne

    2014-01-01

    Background: Although prior research has established that school buses are a safe form of transportation, crashes can produce catastrophic consequences. School buses have 2 types of routes: predictable, routine routes that take children to and from school and less predictable, nonroutine routes for school events. No studies have examined school bus…

  4. Big Brother Is Watching: Video Surveillance on Buses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sloggett, Joel

    2009-01-01

    Many school districts in North America have adopted policies to permit cameras on their properties and, when needed, on buses used to transport students. With regard to school buses, the camera is typically a tool for gathering information to monitor behavior or to help investigate a complaint about behavior. If a picture is worth a thousand…

  5. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Fuels School Buses and Refuse

    Science.gov Websites

    Efficiency March 8, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of a school bus Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Vehicles With Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In

  6. A comparison of emissions from vehicles fueled with diesel or compressed natural gas.

    PubMed

    Hesterberg, Thomas W; Lapin, Charles A; Bunn, William B

    2008-09-01

    A comprehensive comparison of emissions from vehicles fueled with diesel or compressed natural gas (CNG) was developed from 25 reports on transit buses, school buses, refuse trucks, and passenger cars. Emissions for most compounds were highest for untreated exhaust emissions and lowest for treated exhaust CNG buses without after-treatment had the highest emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC), volatile organic compounds (VOCs; e.g., benzene, butadiene, ethylene, etc.), and carbonyl compounds (e.g., formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acrolein). Diesel buses without after-treatment had the highest emissions of particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Exhaust after-treatments reduced most emissions to similar levels in diesel and CNG buses. Nitrogen oxides (NO(x)) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions were similar for most vehicle types, fuels, and exhaust after-treatments with some exceptions. Diesel school buses had higher CO2 emissions than the CNG bus. CNG transit buses and passenger cars equipped with three-way catalysts had lower NO(x) emissions. Diesel buses equipped with traps had higher nitrogen dioxide emissions. Fuel economy was best in the diesel buses not equipped with exhaust after-treatment.

  7. North Carolina school bush crash data and issues related to seat belts on large school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-04-01

    School bus transportation and safety is a very serious and sometimes controversial and : emotional issue. Although school buses have been shown to be a very safe form of : transportation, many parents and safety advocates question the absence of seat...

  8. Method for Assessing Risk of Road Accidents in Transportation of School Children

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pogotovkina, N. S.; Volodkin, P. P.; Demakhina, E. S.

    2017-11-01

    The rationale behind the problem being investigated is explained by the remaining high level of the accident rates with the participation of vehicles carrying groups of children, including school buses, in the Russian Federation over the period of several years. The article is aimed at the identification of new approaches to improve the safety of transportation of schoolchildren in accordance with the Concept of children transportation by buses and the plan for its implementation. The leading approach to solve the problem under consideration is the prediction of accidents in the schoolchildren transportation. The article presents the results of the accident rate analysis with the participation of school buses in the Russian Federation for five years. Besides, a system to monitor the transportation of schoolchildren is proposed; the system will allow analyzing and forecasting traffic accidents which involve buses carrying groups of children, including school buses. In addition, the article presents a methodology for assessing the risk of road accidents during the transportation of schoolchildren.

  9. Managing Student Behavior on the School Bus: A Key to Bus Safety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American Federation of Teachers (NJ), 2007

    2007-01-01

    School buses are the safest form of mass transit in America. Every day, school buses travel through congested city traffic and on isolated country roads in all types of weather, safely transporting millions of children to and from school and school-related activities. Federal and state standards for school bus construction and maintenance and…

  10. Improving School Bus Safety. Transportation Research Board Special Report 222.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, DC. Transportation Research Board.

    While school buses transport more passengers per trip, the rate of occupant fatalities per mile driven for school buses is one-quarter that for passenger cars. Nevertheless, the public expects school districts and other school bus operators to take all reasonable precautions to protect children as they travel to and from school. Although a variety…

  11. Modification of Educational Equipment and Curriculum for Maximum Utilization by Physically Disabled Persons. The Transportation of Physically Disabled Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yuker, Harold E.; And Others

    Guidelines for the transporting of physically handicapped children to school are given along with the types of vehicles, selection and training of drivers, problems of traveling time, and administration and financing of a transportation service. Vehicles described and compared include standard school buses, adapted buses, vans and compact buses,…

  12. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Minnesota School District Finds Cost

    Science.gov Websites

    Savings, Cold-Weather Reliability with Propane Buses Minnesota School District Finds Cost Center: Minnesota School District Finds Cost Savings, Cold-Weather Reliability with Propane Buses on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Minnesota School District Finds Cost Savings, Cold

  13. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Mesa Unified School District Reaps Economic

    Science.gov Websites

    and Environmental Benefits with Propane Buses Mesa Unified School District Reaps Economic and School District Reaps Economic and Environmental Benefits with Propane Buses on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Mesa Unified School District Reaps Economic and Environmental Benefits with

  14. Aerosol particles generated by diesel-powered school buses at urban schools as a source of children’s exposure

    PubMed Central

    Hochstetler, Heather A.; Yermakov, Mikhail; Reponen, Tiina; Ryan, Patrick H.; Grinshpun, Sergey A.

    2015-01-01

    Various heath effects in children have been associated with exposure to traffic-related particulate matter (PM), including emissions from school buses. In this study, the indoor and outdoor aerosol at four urban elementary schools serviced by diesel-powered school buses was characterized with respect to the particle number concentrations and size distributions as well as the PM2.5 mass concentrations and elemental compositions. It was determined that the presence of school buses significantly affected the outdoor particle size distribution, specifically in the ultrafine fraction. The time-weighted average of the total number concentration measured outside the schools was significantly associated with the bus and the car counts. The concentration increase was consistently observed during the morning drop-off hours and in most of the days during the afternoon pick-up period (although at a lower degree). Outdoor PM2.5 mass concentrations measured at schools ranged from 3.8 to 27.6 µg m−3. The school with the highest number of operating buses exhibited the highest average PM2.5 mass concentration. The outdoor mass concentrations of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) were also highest at the school with the greatest number of buses. Most (47/55) correlations between traffic-related elements identified in the outdoor PM2.5 were significant with elements identified in the indoor PM2.5. Significant associations were observed between indoor and outdoor aerosols for EC, EC/OC, and the total particle number concentration. Day-to-day and school-to-school variations in Indoor/Outdoor (I/O) ratios were related to the observed differences in opening windows and doors, which enhanced the particle penetration, as well as indoor activities at schools. Overall, the results on I/O ratio obtained in this study reflect the sizes of particles emitted by diesel-powered school bus engines (primarily, an ultrafine fraction capable of penetrating indoors). PMID:25904818

  15. Aerosol particles generated by diesel-powered school buses at urban schools as a source of children's exposure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hochstetler, Heather A.; Yermakov, Mikhail; Reponen, Tiina; Ryan, Patrick H.; Grinshpun, Sergey A.

    2011-03-01

    Various heath effects in children have been associated with exposure to traffic-related particulate matter (PM), including emissions from school buses. In this study, the indoor and outdoor aerosol at four urban elementary schools serviced by diesel-powered school buses was characterized with respect to the particle number concentrations and size distributions as well as the PM2.5 mass concentrations and elemental compositions. It was determined that the presence of school buses significantly affected the outdoor particle size distribution, specifically in the ultrafine fraction. The time-weighted average of the total number concentration measured outside the schools was significantly associated with the bus and the car counts. The concentration increase was consistently observed during the morning drop-off hours and in most of the days during the afternoon pick-up period (although at a lower degree). Outdoor PM2.5 mass concentrations measured at schools ranged from 3.8 to 27.6 μg m-3. The school with the highest number of operating buses exhibited the highest average PM2.5 mass concentration. The outdoor mass concentrations of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) were also highest at the school with the greatest number of buses. Most (47/55) correlations between traffic-related elements identified in the outdoor PM2.5 were significant with elements identified in the indoor PM2.5. Significant associations were observed between indoor and outdoor aerosols for EC, EC/OC, and the total particle number concentration. Day-to-day and school-to-school variations in Indoor/Outdoor (I/O) ratios were related to the observed differences in opening windows and doors, which enhanced the particle penetration, as well as indoor activities at schools. Overall, the results on I/O ratio obtained in this study reflect the sizes of particles emitted by diesel-powered school bus engines (primarily, an ultrafine fraction capable of penetrating indoors).

  16. Aerosol particles generated by diesel-powered school buses at urban schools as a source of children's exposure.

    PubMed

    Hochstetler, Heather A; Yermakov, Mikhail; Reponen, Tiina; Ryan, Patrick H; Grinshpun, Sergey A

    2011-03-01

    Various heath effects in children have been associated with exposure to traffic-related particulate matter (PM), including emissions from school buses. In this study, the indoor and outdoor aerosol at four urban elementary schools serviced by diesel-powered school buses was characterized with respect to the particle number concentrations and size distributions as well as the PM2.5 mass concentrations and elemental compositions. It was determined that the presence of school buses significantly affected the outdoor particle size distribution, specifically in the ultrafine fraction. The time-weighted average of the total number concentration measured outside the schools was significantly associated with the bus and the car counts. The concentration increase was consistently observed during the morning drop-off hours and in most of the days during the afternoon pick-up period (although at a lower degree). Outdoor PM2.5 mass concentrations measured at schools ranged from 3.8 to 27.6 µg m -3 . The school with the highest number of operating buses exhibited the highest average PM2.5 mass concentration. The outdoor mass concentrations of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) were also highest at the school with the greatest number of buses. Most (47/55) correlations between traffic-related elements identified in the outdoor PM2.5 were significant with elements identified in the indoor PM2.5. Significant associations were observed between indoor and outdoor aerosols for EC, EC/OC, and the total particle number concentration. Day-to-day and school-to-school variations in Indoor/Outdoor (I/O) ratios were related to the observed differences in opening windows and doors, which enhanced the particle penetration, as well as indoor activities at schools. Overall, the results on I/O ratio obtained in this study reflect the sizes of particles emitted by diesel-powered school bus engines (primarily, an ultrafine fraction capable of penetrating indoors).

  17. New Britain, Conn. School District will Benefit from $125,000 EPA Rebate for Clean Emission School Buses

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The New Britain, Conn. school district will benefit from a $125,000 US EPA rebate that will pay for retrofitted engines on seven older school buses so they would emit fewer pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

  18. Clean School Bus USA: Tomorrow's Buses for Today's Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    US Environmental Protection Agency, 2010

    2010-01-01

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is ensuring that all new buses meet tighter standards developed to reduce diesel emissions and improve safety. Today's new buses are cleaner--60 times cleaner than buses built before 1990--and feature additional emergency exits, improved mirror systems, and pedestrian safety devices. But replacing…

  19. School Districts Move to the Head of the Class with Propane

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Propane has been a proven fuel for buses for decades. For the first time in 2007, Blue Bird rolled out a propane school bus using direct liquid injection, which was later followed by Thomas Built Buses and Navistar. Because this new technology is much more reliable than previous designs, it is essentially reintroducing propane buses to many school districts. During this same time period, vehicle emissions standards have tightened. To meet them, diesel engine manufacturers have added diesel particulate filters (DPF) and, more recently, selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems. As an alternative to diesel buses with these systems, many schoolmore » districts have looked to other affordable, clean alternatives, and they've found that propane fits the bill.« less

  20. Relative importance of school bus-related microenvironments to children's pollutant exposure.

    PubMed

    Behrentz, Eduardo; Sabin, Lisa D; Winer, Arthur M; Fitz, Dennis R; Pankratz, David V; Colome, Steven D; Fruin, Scott A

    2005-10-01

    Real-time concentrations of black carbon, particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate counts, as well as integrated and real-time fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass concentrations were measured inside school buses during long commutes on Los Angeles Unified School District bus routes, at bus stops along the routes, at the bus loading/unloading zone in front of the selected school, and at nearby urban "background" sites. Across all of the pollutants, mean concentrations during bus commutes were higher than in any other microenvironment. Mean exposures (mean concentration times time spent in a particular microenvironment) in bus commutes were between 50 and 200 times greater than those for the loading/unloading microenvironment, and 20-40 times higher than those for the bus stops, depending on the pollutant. Although the analyzed school bus commutes represented only 10% of a child's day, on average they contributed one-third of a child's 24-hr overall black carbon exposure during a school day. For species closely related to vehicle exhaust, the within- cabin exposures were generally dominated by the effect of surrounding traffic when windows were open and by the bus's own exhaust when windows were closed. Low-emitting buses generally exhibited high concentrations only when traveling behind a diesel vehicle, whereas high-emitting buses exhibited high concentrations both when following other diesel vehicles and when idling without another diesel vehicle in front of the bus. To reduce school bus commute exposures, we recommend minimizing commute times, avoiding caravanning with other school buses, using the cleanest buses for the longest bus routes, maintaining conventional diesel buses to eliminate visible emissions, and transitioning to cleaner fuels and advanced particulate control technologies as soon as possible.

  1. Chicopee, Mass. School District will Benefit from $200,000 EPA Rebate to Clean Up Emissions from School Buses

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    A school district in Chicopee., Mass. will benefit from $200,000 from the US EPA that will pay for rebates to retrofit the engines on 10 older school buses so they would emit fewer pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma & lung damage.

  2. Seat Belts in School Buses: A Technical Analysis of the Literature.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Splaine, Pam; Frankel, Steven M.

    This report, prepared for the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools superintendent and board members, identifies the questions concerning seat belt use in school buses, examines relevant literature, and draws some conclusions. According to the literature, seat belts are one of many alternative and interdependent safety devices built into…

  3. School Bus Safety. An AS&U Roundtable.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American School and University, 1985

    1985-01-01

    A roundtable discussion of the issue of seat belts in school buses features United States Representative Peter H. Kostmayer, who has introduced a bill providing incentive grants to states to adopt and enforce laws requiring the use of seat belts in new school buses; three bus manufacturing executives; and two educators. (MLF)

  4. Studies of self-pollution in diesel school buses: methodological issues.

    PubMed

    Borak, Jonathan; Sirianni, Greg

    2007-09-01

    Considerable interest has focused on levels of exhaust emissions in the cabins of diesel-powered school buses and their possible adverse health effects. Significantly different policy and engineering issues would be raised if compelling evidence found that inc-cabin contamination was due to self-pollution from bus emissions, rather than ambient pollution, neighboring vehicles, and/or re-entrained road dust. We identified 19 reports from 11 studies that measured diesel exhaust particulate in the cabins of 58 school bus of various type. Studies were evaluated in light of their experimental design, their data quality, and their capacity to quantify self-pollution. Only one study had a true experimental design, comparing the same buses with and without emission controls, while four others used intentional tracers to quantify tail pipe and/or crankcase emissions. Although definitive data are still lacking, these studies suggest that currently available control technologies can nearly eliminate particulate self-pollution inside diesel school buses.

  5. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Baton Rouge School District Adds Propane

    Science.gov Websites

    Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of a school bus Michigan Transports Students Vehicles June 8, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Alternative Fuels Oct. 16, 2010 Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools Feb. 25, 2010 MedCorp Fuels

  6. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Boston Public Schools Moves to Propane

    Science.gov Websites

    Efficiency March 8, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of a school bus to Alternative Fuel Vehicles June 8, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov National Park Commits to Alternative Fuels Oct. 16, 2010 Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools Feb

  7. Transportation of Wheelchair Seated Students in School Buses: A Review of State Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Britta; Fuhrman, Susan; Karg, Patricia

    2010-01-01

    This study quantitatively reviews publicly available state policies as they relate to the transportation of wheelchair-seated students in school buses. Inclusion of best practices in specially equipped school bus and driver training policies was assessed. Key points of interest within state policies were identified based on site visits, common…

  8. Alternative Fuels Data Center: California School District Creates

    Science.gov Websites

    vehicle charging stations. Rental Cars Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Deliver at Kansas City Schools on Natural Gas Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in

  9. 75 FR 16007 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Lower Grand River, Iberville Parish, LA

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-03-31

    ... minutes to the end of the morning scheduled closure period to provide more time for school buses to... scheduled closure period to provide more time for school buses to transit across the bridge. Extra time is... 75 pontoon bridge, mile 38.4, in Iberville Parish, Louisiana. The Iberville Parish School Board...

  10. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Pennsylvania Transportation Data for

    Science.gov Websites

    /TTIwZrpNGf4 Video thumbnail for Pennsylvania School Buses Run on Natural Gas Pennsylvania School Buses Run on Network, Clean School Bus/Vehicle Incentive, and Green Jobs Outreach Program Independence National Partnership for Promoting Natural Gas Vehicles Ready to Roll! - Southeastern Pennsylvania's Regional Electric

  11. Cutting Transportation Costs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, Barbara

    1982-01-01

    Beginning on the front cover, this article tells how school districts are reducing their transportation costs. Particularly effective measures include the use of computers for bus maintenance and scheduling, school board ownership of buses, and the conversion of gasoline-powered buses to alternative fuels. (Author/MLF)

  12. A Misleading Safety Record.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fast, Carol

    1985-01-01

    Comparing the safety record of school buses to that of automobiles does not account for the nonschool time when automobiles are used. Experiences where seat belts are installed in school buses show that students use them, insurance is not a problem, and cost is slight. (MLF)

  13. Switch to Diesels Cuts Transportation Costs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meyer, Kay

    1982-01-01

    Since the acquisition of diesel-powered school buses for the Half Hollow Hills (New York) School District, fuel efficiency has doubled. This has helped cover the costs of refurbishing older buses and establishing a more sophisticated shop operation and more efficient recordkeeping. (Author/MLF)

  14. Regulation of private school buses in Virginia : results of a study mandated by the NTSB.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1987-01-01

    In response to major accidents in Florida and Alabama involving privately-owned and privately-operated school buses, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued three safety recommendations to the governors of all states and required each ...

  15. Busing: Who's Being Taken for a Ride. ERIC-IRCD Urban Disadvantaged Series, Number 27, June 1972.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mills, Nicolaus

    As the history and statistics of busing indicate, the greatest demand for it has come from rural states, where population is scattered and the consolidated school district is typical. But urban and suburban areas have begun to use busing more heavily than before. Not only has busing become a safety factor in crowded urban areas or suburbs where no…

  16. A Status report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction on a study of optimal school bus speed limits on Virginia highways.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1988-01-01

    The study was prompted by the fact that on Virginia's rural interstate highways there is a three-tiered speed limit: 45 mph for school buses, 55 mph for other buses and trucks, and 65 mph for passenger vehicles. On the urban interstate system, school...

  17. The Social Adjustment of Neighborhood and Bused Children.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willie, Charles V.

    A study was conducted during the 1964-65 school year to determine the kinds of social adaptation made by inner-city black children who were bused to two middle-class, predominantly white elementary schools and by white students new to the same schools. Two-way social adjustment ratings (from students and teachers) were obtained on about half of…

  18. Stopping for School Buses. Traffic Laws Commentary Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yaw, E. Eugene

    The degree of uniformity among State laws requiring drivers to stop for school buses receiving or discharging children is not such that drivers could reasonably be expected to know these laws. Because of the wide variation of State laws and the inherent vulnerability of school children and of any vehicle stopping on a highway, there can be no…

  19. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Pennsylvania School Buses Run on Natural Gas

    Science.gov Websites

    reduce petroleum use and save money. For information about this project, contact Eastern Pennsylvania Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of a school bus Michigan Transports Students Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels

  20. Using Flexible Busing to Meet Average Class Size Targets

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Felt, Andrew J.; Koelemay, Ryan; Richter, Alexander

    2008-01-01

    This article describes a method of flexible redistricting for K-12 public school districts that allows students from the same geographical region to be bused to different schools, with the goal of meeting average class size (ACS) target ranges. Results of a case study on a geographically large school district comparing this method to a traditional…

  1. 76 FR 53102 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Denial of Petition for Rulemaking; School Buses

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-25

    ... chronological order): Studies NTSB, 1987 In 1987, the NTSB reported on its investigation of forty-three post... seat belts by using the sled test data obtained from NHTSA's 2002 school bus safety study. For... incorporate test procedures to test lap/shoulder belts in small school buses and voluntarily-installed lap...

  2. Walking School Buses as a Form of Active Transportation for Children--A Review of the Evidence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smith, Liz; Norgate, Sarah H.; Cherrett, Tom; Davies, Nigel; Winstanley, Christopher; Harding, Mike

    2015-01-01

    Background: Walking school buses (WSBs) offer a potentially healthier way for children to get to school while reducing traffic congestion. A number of pressing societal challenges make it timely to evaluate evidence of their value. Methods: Studies that focused solely on WSBs were identified through online and manual literature searches. Twelve…

  3. School Districts Move to the Head of the Class with Propane

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    None

    School districts across the country are under pressure to reduce their cost of operations and ensure their budgets are spent wisely. School bus fleets operate more than 675,000 buses in the United States, and many school districts have found the answer to their budget woes in the form of propane, or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). Propane is a reliable, domestic fuel, and it's used in approximately 2% of school buses nationwide.

  4. Diesel Powered School Buses: An Update.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gresham, Robert

    1984-01-01

    Because diesel engines are more economical and longer-lasting than gasoline engines, school districts are rapidly increasing their use of diesel buses. Dependence on diesel power, however, entails vulnerability to cost increases due to the unreliability of crude oil supplies and contributes to air pollution. (MCG)

  5. Busing and Redistricting in the 'Down-Up' Era.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Freeman, David N.

    1987-01-01

    Besides redistricting problems engendered by higher elementary school enrollments (and decreasing secondary enrollments), school administrators face student transport challenges. Acquiring new routes and larger buses could be costly. This article advances computerized systems as the most cost-effective way to optimize routes and manage…

  6. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Virginia Transportation Data for Alternative

    Science.gov Websites

    ://www.youtube.com/embed/1S7JJHQpc1w Video thumbnail for Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools Feb. 25, 2010 https://www.youtube.com/embed/enxaQ_QooWE Chart Data

  7. Was Busing the Problem?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watras, Joseph

    2006-01-01

    On 15 April 2002, the Dayton Board of Education, the Ohio State Department of Education, and the NAACP reached an agreement ending busing for racial balance in the city schools. Participants agreed that the era for litigated desegregation was over because busing had failed to raise academic achievement of African American children and court…

  8. BIODIESEL AS A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE TO PETROLEUM DIESEL IN SCHOOL BUSES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Diesel exhaust is potentially harmful to human health and is a significant air pollutant due to its composition of harmful chemical substances and impact on climate. One of the many current uses of diesel fuel in rural environments is in school buses; however, few studies hav...

  9. Development of a School Bus Fuel System Integrity Compliance Procedure. Final Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morrow, G. W.; Johnson, N. B.

    This report presents a program that derived a compliance test procedure for school buses with a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or greater. The objective of this program was to evaluate Fuel System Integrity (FMVSS 301) in relation to school buses, conduct a limited state-of-the-art survey and run full-scale dynamic tests to produce an…

  10. White Opposition to Busing in Los Angeles: Is Self Interest Rejuvenated?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, H. M., Jr.; Sears, David O.

    The conventional explanation for adult white opposition to busing for school desegregation emphasizes a rational, objective self interested component. Whites are seen as opposing busing because its costs far exceed its benefits. However, little of the social psychological literature supports this view. Studies by and large support the findings…

  11. 45 CFR 1310.12 - Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles. 1310.12 Section 1310.12 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR...

  12. Safety Study--Crashworthiness of Large Poststandard Schoolbuses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Transportation Safety Board (DOT), Washington, DC.

    This study reports on the crash performance of large poststandard school buses (school buses manufactured after April 1, 1977, and weighing more than 10,000 pounds unloaded) in 43 accidents investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. The report discusses the Safety Board's findings as to how well the standards are working to protect…

  13. 45 CFR 1310.12 - Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles. 1310.12 Section 1310.12 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR...

  14. 45 CFR 1310.12 - Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles. 1310.12 Section 1310.12 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR...

  15. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Michigan Transportation Data for Alternative

    Science.gov Websites

    Renewable Energy Laboratory Case Studies Video thumbnail for Michigan's National Lakeshore Reduces Vehicle , 2016 Video thumbnail for Michigan School Buses Get Rolling on Propane Michigan School Buses Get Rolling Videos Text Version More Michigan Videos on YouTube Video thumbnail for Michigan Transports Students in

  16. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Buses Shuttle Visitors in Maine

    Science.gov Websites

    Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Vehicles Relies on Natural Gas Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in

  17. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Biodiesel and Propane Fuel Buses for Dallas

    Science.gov Websites

    Leads in Alternative Fuel Use and Public Transit Efficiency March 8, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money Vehicles March 31, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In

  18. It's Not the Distance, "It's the Niggers." Comments on the Controversy Over School Busing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and Educational Fund, New York, NY.

    This paper focuses on the political nature of the present busing controversy. It is felt that the proposed moratorium on busing threatens gains which have been made in previous years through institutional and judicial enforcement of the Civil Rights Act in providing equal educational opportunities to all children. The advantages and disadvantages…

  19. No Breathing in the Aisles: Diesel Exhaust inside School Buses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Solomon, Gina M.; Campbell, Todd R.; Feuer, Gail Ruderman; Masters, Julie; Samkian, Artineh; Paul, Kavita Ann

    There is evidence that diesel exhaust causes cancer and premature death, and also exacerbates asthma and other respiratory illness. Noting that the vast majority of the nation's school buses run on diesel fuel, this report details a study examining the level of diesel exhaust to which children are typically exposed as they travel to and from…

  20. Here's Just the Best, Most Complete, and (Would You Believe) Interesting Story About School Transportation Ever

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American School Board Journal, 1972

    1972-01-01

    A special study of school bus transportation that (1) describes board responsibility for bus transportation (2) discusses the merits of buying, leasing, or contracting for buses; (3) points out the inadequacy of State safety requirements; and (4) presents the merits of L.P.-gas powered and diesel powered buses. (JF)

  1. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Indiana Sanitation Department Plans to

    Science.gov Websites

    Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of a school bus Michigan Transports Students in Hybrid Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In

  2. How to Cut Costs by Saving School Bus Fuel.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seiff, Hank

    A program started in Washington County, Maryland in 1980 has been successful in saving school bus fuel and bringing down transportation costs incurred by its fleet of 200 buses. Driver training and motivation, as well as a partial transfer to diesel buses, are at the heart of the program. The drivers are taught five fuel saving techniques: cut…

  3. Alternative Fuels for Washington's School Buses: A Report to the Washington State Legislature.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lyons, John Kim; McCoy, Gilbert A.

    This document presents findings of a study that evaluated the use of both propane and compressed natural gas as alternative fuels for Washington State school buses. It discusses air quality improvement actions by state- and federal-level regulators and summarizes vehicle design, development, and commercialization activities by all major engine,…

  4. 45 CFR 1310.12 - Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles. 1310.12 Section 1310.12 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES, HEAD START...

  5. 45 CFR 1310.12 - Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Required use of School Buses or Allowable Alternate Vehicles. 1310.12 Section 1310.12 Public Welfare Regulations Relating to Public Welfare (Continued) OFFICE OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES THE ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMILIES, HEAD START...

  6. Crossing Guards: A Safety Patrol Program at a Residential School for Students Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired. Practice Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Besden, Cheryl; Crow, Nita; Delgado Greenberg, Maya; Finkelstein, Gerri; Shrieves, Gary; Vickroy, Marcia

    2005-01-01

    In 2001, the California School for the Blind (CSB) was faced with a dilemma. The dropoff point for the day buses had to be changed. The new route to the only logical location for this change sent the buses through a driveway where residential students crossed to travel between the school and the dormitories. Some staff members wanted to eliminate…

  7. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Recycled Cooking Oil Powers Biodiesel

    Science.gov Websites

    Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of the front of a red truck Salt Lake City Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Deliver at Kansas City Schools Sept. 17 Electric Buses Aug. 21, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010

  8. Emergency and Disaster Preparedness of School Transportation Staff and School Buses in the United States: Compliance With Recommendations for School Transportation Safety.

    PubMed

    Olympia, Robert P; Weber, Christopher; Brady, Jodi; Ho, Susana

    2017-11-01

    The aim of the study was to determine the compliance of school transportation staff and school buses with recommendations for the safe transportation of children to and from school and school-related activities. An electronic questionnaire was distributed to school transportation staff represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters during the 2013-2014 academic year. Analysis was performed on 558 completed questionnaires (13% usable response rate). Responders had previous training in first aid (89%), basic life support (28%), and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (52%). Seventy-eight percent of school buses in our sample had restraint devices and 87% had seat belt cutters. Responders reported the immediate availability of the following on their bus: communication devices (81%), first aid kits (97%), fire extinguishers (89%), automated external defibrillators (1%), and epinephrine autoinjectors (2%). Thirty percent of responders have had no previous training in the management of emergencies such as trouble breathing, severe allergic reaction, seizures, cardiac arrest or unresponsiveness, and head, neck, or extremity trauma. Thirteen percent of responders are unfamiliar with or have had no previous training on protocols regarding emergency shelters and community evacuation plans in the event of a disaster. Variability exists in the compliance of school transportation staff and school buses with recommendations for the safe transportation of children. Areas for improvement were identified, such as educating school transportation staff in the recognition and initial management of pediatric emergencies, ensuring the presence of restraint devices, increasing the immediate availability of certain emergency medications and equipment, and familiarizing school transportation staff with designated emergency shelters and community evacuation plans.

  9. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Rio Rico Fire District Turns Grease Into

    Science.gov Websites

    Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of a school bus Michigan Transports Students March 31, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Natural Gas Street Sweepers Improve Air Quality in New York March 11, 2010 Propane Buses Save Money for

  10. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Texas Law Enforcement Vehicles Fill up With

    Science.gov Websites

    . 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools Feb. 25, 2010 Michigan Fleet Reduces Gasoline and Diesel Use Feb

  11. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Kansas City Kansas Public Schools Invests in

    Science.gov Websites

    station for up to 70 CNG school buses, one mobile CNG refueling unit, and CNG safety modifications to the buses and fast-fill dispensers for public access. After receiving only one response, KCKPS simplified , or at one of the City of Kansas City, Missouri's private fast-fill stations. The first CNG bus was

  12. Bus industry market study. Report -- Task 3.2: Fuel cell/battery powered bus system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Zalbowitz, M.

    1992-06-02

    In support of the commercialization of fuel cells for transportation, Georgetown University, as a part of the DOE/DOT Fuel Cell Transit Bus Program, conducted a market study to determine the inventory of passenger buses in service as of December, 1991, the number of buses delivered in 1991 and an estimate of the number of buses to be delivered in 1992. Short term and long term market projections of deliveries were also made. Data was collected according to type of bus and the field was divided into the following categories which are defined in the report: transit buses, school buses, commercialmore » non-transit buses, and intercity buses. The findings of this study presented with various tables of data collected from identified sources as well as narrative analysis based upon interviews conducted during the survey.« less

  13. 49 CFR 571.202 - Standard No. 202; Head restraints; Applicable at the manufacturers option until September 1, 2009.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... seat back; or, (ii) Application of a load of 890N. S4.3[Reserved] S4.4.Except for school buses, a head... comply with, at the manufacturer's option, S4.2, S4.4 or S4.5 of this section. S4.2Except for school... outboard front designated seating position. For school buses, a head restraint that conforms to either S4.2...

  14. 49 CFR 571.202 - Standard No. 202; Head restraints; Applicable at the manufacturers option until September 1, 2009.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... seat back; or, (ii) Application of a load of 890N. S4.3[Reserved] S4.4.Except for school buses, a head... comply with, at the manufacturer's option, S4.2, S4.4 or S4.5 of this section. S4.2Except for school... outboard front designated seating position. For school buses, a head restraint that conforms to either S4.2...

  15. 49 CFR 571.202 - Standard No. 202; Head restraints; Applicable at the manufacturers option until September 1, 2009.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... seat back; or, (ii) Application of a load of 890N. S4.3[Reserved] S4.4.Except for school buses, a head... comply with, at the manufacturer's option, S4.2, S4.4 or S4.5 of this section. S4.2Except for school... outboard front designated seating position. For school buses, a head restraint that conforms to either S4.2...

  16. School buses, diesel emissions, and respiratory health.

    PubMed

    Beatty, Timothy K M; Shimshack, Jay P

    2011-09-01

    School buses contribute disproportionately to ambient air quality, pollute near schools and residential areas, and their emissions collect within passenger cabins. This paper examines the impact of school bus emissions reductions programs on health outcomes. A key contribution relative to the broader literature is that we examine localized pollution reduction programs at a fine level of aggregation. We find that school bus retrofits induced reductions in bronchitis, asthma, and pneumonia incidence for at-risk populations. Back of the envelope calculations suggest conservative benefit-cost ratios between 7:1 and 16:1. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Isn't a Safe Bus Worth Another $300 -- And Isn't a Trained Driver Essential?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    American School Board Journal, 1973

    1973-01-01

    Argues that all drivers of school buses should be trained professionals, and explains how parent awareness of discipline problems on buses can be increased by playing them a tape recording of a ride. Discusses the efforts of a research team to draft a performance standard for the construction of a school bus body with emphasis on panel separation,…

  18. 75 FR 50958 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Motorcoach Definition; Occupant Crash Protection

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-08-18

    .... Energy Absorption Capability of Seat Backs c. Retrofitting Used Buses d. School Buses VIII. Lead Time IX... the seat, reinforcing the floor, walls or other areas of the motorcoach. The final cost and weight...

  19. A case study of real-world tailpipe emissions for school buses using a 20% biodiesel blend.

    PubMed

    Mazzoleni, Claudio; Kuhns, Hampden D; Moosmüller, Hans; Witt, Jay; Nussbaum, Nicholas J; Oliver Chang, M-C; Parthasarathy, Gayathri; Nathagoundenpalayam, Suresh Kumar K; Nikolich, George; Watson, John G

    2007-10-15

    Numerous laboratory studies report carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, and particulate matter emission reductions with a slight nitrogen oxides emission increase from engines operating with biodiesel and biodiesel blends as compared to using petroleum diesel. We conducted a field study on a fleet of school buses to evaluate the effects of biodiesel use on gaseous and particulate matter fuel-based emission factors under real-world conditions. The field experiment was carried out in two phases during winter 2004. In January (phase I), emissions from approximately 200 school buses operating on petroleum diesel were measured. Immediately after the end of the first phase measurement period, the buses were switched to a 20% biodiesel blend. Emission factors were measured again in March 2004 (phase II) and compared with the January emission factors. To measure gaseous emission factors we used a commercial gaseous remote sensor. Particulate matter emission factors were determined with a combination of the gaseous remote sensor, a Lidar (light detection and ranging), and transmissometer system developed at the Desert Research Institute of Reno, NV, U.S.A. Particulate matter emissions from school buses significantly increased (up to a factor of 1.8) after the switch from petroleum diesel to a 20% biodiesel blend. The fuel used during this campaign was provided by a local distributor and was independently analyzed at the end of the on-road experiment. The analysis found high concentrations of free glycerin and reduced flash points in the B 100 parent fuel. Both measures indicate improper separation and processing of the biodiesel product during production. The biodiesel fuels used in the school buses were not in compliance with the U.S.A. ASTM D6751 biodiesel standard that was finalized in December of 2001. The U.S.A. National Biodiesel Board has formed a voluntary National Biodiesel Accreditation Program for producers and marketers of biodiesel to ensure product quality and compliance with the ASTM standard. The results of our study underline the importance of the program since potential emission benefits from biodiesel may be reduced or even reversed without appropriate fuel quality control on real-world fuels.

  20. 49 CFR 571.202 - Standard No. 202; Head restraints; Applicable at the manufacturers option until September 1, 2009.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ....2, S4.4 or S4.5 of this section. S4.2Except for school buses, a head restraint that conforms to... position. For school buses, a head restraint that conforms to either S4.2 (a) or (b) of this section must... one of the following occurs: (i) Failure of the seat or seat back; or, (ii) Application of a load of...

  1. 49 CFR 571.202 - Standard No. 202; Head restraints; Applicable at the manufacturers option until September 1, 2009.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ....2, S4.4 or S4.5 of this section. S4.2Except for school buses, a head restraint that conforms to... position. For school buses, a head restraint that conforms to either S4.2 (a) or (b) of this section must... one of the following occurs: (i) Failure of the seat or seat back; or, (ii) Application of a load of...

  2. Bus 54 -- Where are you? A school bus intelligent information system

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Truett, L.F.; Moore, S.; Tonn, B.

    1998-07-01

    Although major accidents involving school buses are rare (only about 0.3% of all fatal crashes since 1986 are classified as school-bus-related), even minor accidents and breakdowns cause a great deal of parental anxiety. The objective of this research is to design an efficient, cost-effective, accurate, and secure system that will track individual school buses and communicate appropriate information to the school system`s central administration unit, to the school transportation administrator, and to parents of children on the bus. The greatest benefit of the proposed information system is that parents and officials can always know the location and condition (these conditionsmore » would vary depending on the needs of a particular school system) of the school buses. In case of an accident or mechanical problem, when emergency crews are needed, they can be dispatched almost immediately with a good understanding of the problem and the exact location of the bus. In addition to being able to track the bus while the child is on board, parents will be able to determine the location of their child`s bus prior to its arrival in the morning in order to prevent the child from needing to wait outside in inclement weather. The information available to parents can also be expanded to include maps of limited routes (e.g., snow routes). Basically, the Bus 54 concept consists of a bus component and a central data processing unit. Each bus will be outfitted with a global positioning satellite (GPS) device, a wireless communication device, and wireless data communication service. The central data processing unit will receive and process information from the buses and provide information access to parents and officials via an Internet link.« less

  3. Case Study - Propane School Bus Fleets

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Laughlin, M; Burnham, A.

    As part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) effort to deploy transportation technologies that reduce U.S. dependence on imported petroleum, this study examines five school districts, one in Virginia and four in Texas, successful use of propane school buses. These school districts used school buses equipped with the newly developed liquid propane injection system that improves vehicle performance. Some of the school districts in this study saved nearly 50% on a cost per mile basis for fuel and maintenance relative to diesel. Using Argonne National Laboratory’s Alternative Fuel Life-Cycle Environmental and Economic Transportation (AFLEET) Tool developed for the DOE’smore » Clean Cities program to help Clean Cities stakeholders estimate petroleum use, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, air pollutant emissions and cost of ownership of light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, the results showed payback period ranges from 3—8 years, recouping the incremental cost of the vehicles and infrastructure. Overall, fuel economy for these propane vehicles is close to that of displaced diesel vehicles, on an energy-equivalent basis. In addition, the 110 propane buses examined demonstrated petroleum displacement, 212,000 diesel gallon equivalents per year, and GHG benefits of 770 tons per year.« less

  4. 78 FR 35354 - Supreme Indiana Operations, Inc., Grant of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-06-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA-2012... Noncompliance AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT. ACTION: Grant of Petition. SUMMARY... Startrans trucks, buses, and multifunction school activity buses (MFSAB) manufactured from 2006 through 2011...

  5. 77 FR 16893 - Supreme Indiana Operations, Inc., Receipt of Petition for Decision of Inconsequential Noncompliance

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-22

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [Docket No. NHTSA-2012... Noncompliance AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, DOT. ACTION: Receipt of petition. SUMMARY... Startrans trucks, buses, and multifunction school activity buses (MFSAB) manufactured from 2006 through 2011...

  6. [Seatbelts on school buses: are they safe for our children?].

    PubMed

    Peleg, Kobi; Goldman, Sharon

    2008-01-01

    In Israel, 280,000 pupils travel daily to school and back home by means of school transportation. In an effort to increase school transportation safety, the installation of lap belts in school transportation vehicles is required since September 1, 2006. In Israel, laws are often passed with good intentions, but frequently without exploring the potential outcomes. Traffic regulation 364a states that "lap belts or other seatbelts" are required in all vehicles used for school transportation. The objective of this study is to review the world-wide literature regarding seatbelts on school buses with an emphasis to identify the risks associated with lap restraints. Over 50 studies, articles and position papers referring to the efficacy of seatbelts, with an emphasis on school transportation, were reviewed. According to the literature, this new traffic regulation could produce more devastating outcomes than previously. Seatbelts were designed to prevent passenger injuries during a motor vehicle crash. Researchers have not proven efficacy of seatbelts in school buses. Lap-only belts have shown to increase the risk of severe injury among children, even in mild crashes. Since young children are not adequately developed to take the force of a lap-only restraint, these belts have been associated with internal injuries, lumbar fracture-dislocations, abdominal contusions and head injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in the USA has reported that lap belts are not effective in preventing injury among children traveling by bus. Children have a two to three fold risk of severe injury when using lap only restraints. On the contrary, lap-shoulder belts may reduce the risk of abdominal injuries by up to 50% relative to lap-only belts. In conclusion, policy makers aimed to implement regulations which will reduce injuries and fatalities. However, neglecting to carry out an in-depth professional review has brought about a regulation requiring lap belts in school buses; a decision which, according to international research studies, can potentially increase the injury risks among pupils.

  7. Life-cycle energy and emissions inventories for motorcycles, diesel automobiles, school buses, electric buses, Chicago rail, and New York City rail

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-05-01

    The development of life-cycle energy and emissions factors for passenger transportation modes : is critical for understanding the total environmental costs of travel. Previous life-cycle studies : have focused on the automobile given its dominating s...

  8. Alternative Fuels Data Center

    Science.gov Websites

    , certain buses, or commercial vehicles that are powered by an alternative fuel, if the vehicles obtain an (GVW) Type of Vehicle Decal Fee 18,000 pounds (lbs.) or less Passenger, School Bus, or Commercial $75 vehicles, buses, or commercial motor vehicles that are powered by compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied

  9. Traffic safety facts 1993 : school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1994-01-01

    A school bus-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus-type vehicle, or a vehicle functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1983, 1,572 people h...

  10. Traffic safety facts 1995 : school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-01-01

    A school bus-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus-type vehicle, or a vehicle functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1985, 1,478 people h...

  11. Traffic safety facts 1994 : school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1995-01-01

    A school bus-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus-type vehicle, or a vehicle functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1984, 1,517 people h...

  12. Traffic safety facts 2000 : school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2001-01-01

    A school bus-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus-type vehicle, or a vehicle functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1990, 1,450 people h...

  13. Traffic safety facts 1996 : school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-01-01

    A school bus-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus-type vehicle, or a vehicle functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1986, 1,458 people h...

  14. Traffic safety facts 1998 : school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-01-01

    A school bus-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus-type vehicle, or a vehicle functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1988, 1,409 people h...

  15. Traffic safety facts 1999 : school buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2000-01-01

    A school bus-related crash is a crash which involves, either directly or indirectly, a school bus-type vehicle, or a vehicle functioning as a school bus, transporting children to or from school or school-related activities. Since 1989, 1,445 people h...

  16. Helping Black and Latino Males Succeed

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Growing up in a poor, dysfunctional family in a violent inner-city neighborhood, Jackson faced daily challenges even getting to the bus stop without being attacked by gang members. When he was bused to a white suburban school in 5th grade, things got even worse. Every black student who was bused in from his neighborhood was placed in remedial…

  17. Perspectives on Busing. Inequality in Education, Number Eleven, March 1972.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Center for Law and Education.

    Contents of this issue of "Inequality in Education" include: (1) "Busing is not the issue," Reubin Askew, Governor of Florida; (2) "Pupil transportation: a brief history," Paul V. Smith; (3) "White parents' fears," Patricia Derian, which discusses the desegregation of the schools in Jackson, Mississippi in the late 1960's from the point of view of…

  18. 49 CFR Appendix A to Part 605 - Appendix A to Part 605

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SCHOOL BUS OPERATIONS Pt. 605, App. A Appendix A to Part 605 Comptroller General... the City originally included in its grant application a request for funds to purchase 8 buses designed... answered in the order presented. Number one: “The grant of funds to a City to purchase buses and equipment...

  19. 49 CFR Appendix A to Part 605 - Appendix A to Part 605

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SCHOOL BUS OPERATIONS Pt. 605, App. A Appendix A to Part 605 Comptroller General... the City originally included in its grant application a request for funds to purchase 8 buses designed... answered in the order presented. Number one: “The grant of funds to a City to purchase buses and equipment...

  20. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Alternative Fuel Vehicles Lower Emissions in

    Science.gov Websites

    improve air quality and save money. For information about this project, contact Clean Fuels Ohio. Download Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010

  1. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Cities Clean up With Biofuels

    Science.gov Websites

    . 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at Charging Stations Spread Through Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In

  2. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Hydrogen Powers Fuel Cell Vehicles in

    Science.gov Websites

    . 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Gas Street Sweepers Improve Air Quality in New York March 11, 2010 Propane Buses Save Money for

  3. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Golden Eagle Delivers Beer With Natural Gas

    Science.gov Websites

    charging stations. Rental Cars Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Charging Stations Spread Through Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In Electric Bus

  4. Alternative Fuels Data Center: South Florida Furnishing Retailer Relies on

    Science.gov Websites

    Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010

  5. Alternative Fuels Data Center: North Carolina City Expands Alternative Fuel

    Science.gov Websites

    Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Vehicles Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In

  6. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Electric Trucks Deliver at Kansas City

    Science.gov Websites

    vehicle charging stations. Rental Cars Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks

  7. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Natural Gas Powers Milk Delivery Trucks in

    Science.gov Websites

    Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at a charging station Companies Power School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Vehicles Relies on Natural Gas Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in

  8. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Virginia Converts Vehicles to Propane in

    Science.gov Websites

    . 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Vehicles Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Texas Taxis Go Hybrid May 6, 2010

  9. Science Teacher Training Programme in Rural Schools: An ODL Lesson from Zimbabwe

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mhishi, Misheck; Bhukuvhani, Crispen Erinos; Sana, Abel Farikai

    2012-01-01

    This case study looked at 76 randomly selected preservice science teachers from Mbire and Guruve districts who were learning at the Mushumbi Centre in Zimbabwe and assessed their motivations for enrolling under the Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE)'s Virtual and Open Distance Learning (VODL) programme. It also looked at the challenges…

  10. A School in Change.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilmore, Elaine L.

    This paper describes how a predominantly white elementary school responded to a school-district reorganization effort to promote ethnic balance among the schools. The redistricting plan reassigned some former students to other schools and bused in many Spanish-speaking students. The school staff encountered language problems with the new students…

  11. The Commercial Assault on Children and the School Environment.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molnar, Alex

    Commercialism in schools is the topic of this transcribed presentation. It addresses advertisements on school buses and educational websites; schools and districts exclusive agreements with bottling companies to sell only their products; corporate marketing to schools; corporate presence at educational conferences; corporate sponsorship of…

  12. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Cleveland Car Dealership Working Toward a

    Science.gov Websites

    charging stations. Rental Cars Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Stations Spread Through Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12 Natural Gas Street Sweepers Improve Air Quality in New York March 11, 2010 Propane Buses Save Money for

  13. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Corporate Fleets Set the Pace for a Green

    Science.gov Websites

    , 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at a Through Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010

  14. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Idle-Reduction Efforts Cut Emissions and

    Science.gov Websites

    Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at a charging station Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Relies on Natural Gas Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in

  15. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Krug Energy Opens Natural Gas Fueling

    Science.gov Websites

    Cars Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Charging Stations Spread Through Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In Electric Bus

  16. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Salt Lake City Fuels Vehicles With Natural

    Science.gov Websites

    Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Through Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Airport Relies on Natural Gas Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides

  17. Alternative Fuels Data Center: New Hampshire Cleans up with Biodiesel Buses

    Science.gov Websites

    Public Transit Efficiency March 8, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Deliver at Kansas City Schools Sept. 17, 2011 Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In Electric Bus

  18. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Frito-Lay Delivers With Electric Truck Fleet

    Science.gov Websites

    . Rental Cars Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1 Through Philly March 3, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In

  19. An Unfulfilled Dream: A Catalogue and Analysis of the Differing Perceptions of Busing 1954-1976.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hennessey, Gary J.

    During the period 1954 to 1976, the public's perception and ultimate reaction to busing went from mild disfavor to vehement rejection. An analysis of the information which seemed to cause this revealed that four factors seemed to be involved: the neighborhood school concept and its validity; the educational benefit to be derived from the program;…

  20. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Propane Buses Help Minnesota Schools Carve

    Science.gov Websites

    information about this project, contact Twin Cities Clean Cities Coalition. Download QuickTime Video QuickTime videos provided by Clean Cities TV and FuelEconomy.gov. MotorWeek - Television's Original Automotive Propane Aug. 22, 2015 A photo of two national parks buses parked in front of Redwood trees. Clean Cities

  1. Special Study: Inadequate Structural Assembly of Schoolbus Bodies. The Accidents at Decatur and Huntsville, Alabama.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Transportation Safety Board (DOT), Washington, DC. Bureau of Surface Transportation Safety.

    This study reviews some examples of injuries received in two school bus accidents; explains how the design of joints and fastenings in the buses was involved in the injuries and in the structural strength of schoolbuses; and compares schoolbus construction with construction of other types of buses that employ more efficient and complete…

  2. Trim Transportation Fuel Costs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Black, J. Dickson

    1982-01-01

    The change from gasoline power to compressed natural gas for 34 school buses in Bentonville (Arkansas) has saved the school district money, reduced its maintenance needs, and increased bus safety. (MLF)

  3. School Transportation: A Guide for Supervisors.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Safety Council, Chicago, IL.

    This working guide for the school bus supervisor shows how to increase the safety and efficiency of school transportation. Guidelines are provided to help prevent accidents involving school buses and to establish sound operating policies for school transportation fleets. The booklet points out how any school transportation system can provide its…

  4. School Law.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Splitt, David A.

    1986-01-01

    Reviews four recent court decisions affecting school law. A Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upheld Norfolk Schools' decision to abolish busing and reinstate neighborhood schools. The United States Supreme Court dismissed appeals to lower court decisions involving a minimum grade prerequisite, a teacher's privacy rights, and an "adult"…

  5. An Evaluation of Traffic Management at ISF Academy on Kong Sin Wan Road

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, M.

    2016-12-01

    The ISF Academy, a school with 1500 students, is located on Kong Sin Wan Road. The majority of students from the academy commute to school every morning by private cars, school buses and other public transportation. For the past few years, the school management team has been imposing traffic management regulations to alleviate and minimize traffic congestion in the nearby area. In spite of that, traffic management on Kong Sin Wan Road is fairly limited and inadequate, resulting in congestion at the start and finish of the school day. As a school, we are dedicated to reduce and mitigate the number of private cars and school buses, as well as to control carbon dioxide emissions from the variety of vehicles. In order to implement strategies to make improvements to the current traffic management system, we, as a school, aim to establish a systematic approach to calculate and model the number of private cars, EV cars, plug-in hybrids and school buses flowing near the ISF campus every day, and the number of students on each vehicle. According to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the average annual carbon dioxide emission for a typical passenger vehicle is 4.7 metric tons. By multiplying the average carbon dioxide emission by the number of cars coming to campus every morning, we will gain a better understanding of the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from school vehicles. To extend the research, we will design a survey to investigate and encourage carpooling between families and students who live close, in order to combat and relieve rising traffic congestion and minimize cars crowding the roads. The traffic study project will not only help the school community create a more environment-friendly campus, but also improve the traffic congestion around the school area.

  6. Electric School Bus Testing | Transportation Research | NREL

    Science.gov Websites

    Electric School Bus Evaluation Electric School Bus Evaluation Photo of children boarding school bus . NREL is evaluating the performance of electric and conventional school buses operated by two California school districts. Photo courtesy of School Bus Fleet Magazine NREL is evaluating the in-service

  7. School Desegregation, Interracial Exposure, and Antibusing Activity in Contemporary Urban America.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Olzak, Susan; And Others

    1994-01-01

    Reviews research on the impact of efforts to achieve school desegregation. Argues that increased interracial exposure in schools and neighborhoods triggers racial and ethnic conflict. Reviews recent research and asserts that school desegregation significantly raised rates of protests against busing. (CFR)

  8. Missouri Minimum Standards for School Buses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicastro, Chris L.

    2008-01-01

    The revised minimum standards for school bus chassis and school bus bodies have been prepared in conformity with the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo) for school bus transportation. The standards recommended by the 2005 National Conference on School Transportation and the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) promulgated by the U. S.…

  9. Rural School Busing. ERIC Digest.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Howley, Aimee; Howley, Craig

    This digest summarizes information suggesting that long bus rides are part of the hidden costs of school and district consolidation. Rural school districts spend more than twice per pupil what urban districts spend on transportation. A review of studies shows that rural school children were more likely than suburban school children to have bus…

  10. Alternative Fuels Data Center

    Science.gov Websites

    Clean School Bus Program Any school district or charter school may receive a grant through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to pay for the incremental costs to replace school equipment, and other emissions reduction technologies in qualified school buses. Furthermore, funds may also

  11. The Bus Stops Here.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milshtein, Amy

    1999-01-01

    Explores some of the factors to consider before school planners decide to buy new school buses. Provides a checklist to help build and maintain a bus fleet. Concludes by addressing bus safety and advertising. (GR)

  12. Adopting Clean Fuels and Technologies on School Buses. Pollution and Health Impacts in Children.

    PubMed

    Adar, Sara D; D'Souza, Jennifer; Sheppard, Lianne; Kaufman, Joel D; Hallstrand, Teal S; Davey, Mark E; Sullivan, James R; Jahnke, Jordan; Koenig, Jane; Larson, Timothy V; Liu, L J Sally

    2015-06-15

    More than 25 million American children breathe polluted air on diesel school buses. Emission reduction policies exist, but the health impacts to individual children have not been evaluated. Using a natural experiment, we characterized the exposures and health of 275 school bus riders before, during, and after the adoption of clean technologies and fuels between 2005 and 2009. Air pollution was measured during 597 trips on 188 school buses. Repeated measures of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), lung function (FEV1, FVC), and absenteeism were also collected monthly (1,768 visits). Mixed-effects models longitudinally related the adoption of diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs), closed crankcase ventilation systems (CCVs), ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD), or biodiesel with exposures and health. Fine and ultrafine particle concentrations were 10-50% lower on buses using ULSD, DOCs, and/or CCVs. ULSD adoption was also associated with reduced FeNO (-16% [95% confidence interval (CI), -21 to -10%]), greater changes in FVC and FEV1 (0.02 [95% CI, 0.003 to 0.05] and 0.01 [95% CI, -0.006 to 0.03] L/yr, respectively), and lower absenteeism (-8% [95% CI, -16.0 to -0.7%]), with stronger associations among patients with asthma. DOCs, and to a lesser extent CCVs, also were associated with improved FeNO, FVC growth, and absenteeism, but these findings were primarily restricted to patients with persistent asthma and were often sensitive to control for ULSD. No health benefits were noted for biodiesel. Extrapolating to the U.S. population, changed fuel/technologies likely reduced absenteeism by more than 14 million/yr. National and local diesel policies appear to have reduced children's exposures and improved health.

  13. Adopting Clean Fuels and Technologies on School Buses. Pollution and Health Impacts in Children

    PubMed Central

    D’Souza, Jennifer; Sheppard, Lianne; Kaufman, Joel D.; Hallstrand, Teal S.; Davey, Mark E.; Sullivan, James R.; Jahnke, Jordan; Koenig, Jane; Larson, Timothy V.; Liu, L. J. Sally

    2015-01-01

    Rationale: More than 25 million American children breathe polluted air on diesel school buses. Emission reduction policies exist, but the health impacts to individual children have not been evaluated. Methods: Using a natural experiment, we characterized the exposures and health of 275 school bus riders before, during, and after the adoption of clean technologies and fuels between 2005 and 2009. Air pollution was measured during 597 trips on 188 school buses. Repeated measures of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), lung function (FEV1, FVC), and absenteeism were also collected monthly (1,768 visits). Mixed-effects models longitudinally related the adoption of diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs), closed crankcase ventilation systems (CCVs), ultralow-sulfur diesel (ULSD), or biodiesel with exposures and health. Measurements and Main Results: Fine and ultrafine particle concentrations were 10–50% lower on buses using ULSD, DOCs, and/or CCVs. ULSD adoption was also associated with reduced FeNO (−16% [95% confidence interval (CI), −21 to −10%]), greater changes in FVC and FEV1 (0.02 [95% CI, 0.003 to 0.05] and 0.01 [95% CI, −0.006 to 0.03] L/yr, respectively), and lower absenteeism (−8% [95% CI, −16.0 to −0.7%]), with stronger associations among patients with asthma. DOCs, and to a lesser extent CCVs, also were associated with improved FeNO, FVC growth, and absenteeism, but these findings were primarily restricted to patients with persistent asthma and were often sensitive to control for ULSD. No health benefits were noted for biodiesel. Extrapolating to the U.S. population, changed fuel/technologies likely reduced absenteeism by more than 14 million/yr. Conclusions: National and local diesel policies appear to have reduced children’s exposures and improved health. PMID:25867003

  14. 2013 Missouri Minimum Standards for School Buses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nicastro, Chris L.

    2012-01-01

    The revised minimum standards for school bus chassis and school bus bodies have been prepared in conformity with the Revised Statutes of Missouri (RSMo) for school bus transportation. The standards recommended by the 2010 National Conference on School Transportation and the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) promulgated by the U. S.…

  15. 49 CFR 383.123 - Requirements for a school bus endorsement.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Requirements for a school bus endorsement. 383.123... Requirements for a school bus endorsement. (a) An applicant for the school bus endorsement must satisfy the... for school buses by State or Federal law or regulation. (ii) Emergency exits and procedures for safely...

  16. Quantification of Self Pollution from Two Diesel School Buses using Three Independent Methods.

    PubMed

    Liu, L-J Sally; Phuleria, Harish C; Webber, Whitney; Davey, Mark; Lawson, Douglas R; Ireson, Robert G; Zielinska, Barbara; Ondov, John M; Weaver, Christopher S; Lapin, Charles A; Easter, Michael; Hesterberg, Thomas W; Larson, Timothy

    2010-09-01

    We monitored two Seattle school buses to quantify the buses' self pollution using the dual tracers (DT), lead vehicle (LV), and chemical mass balance (CMB) methods. Each bus drove along a residential route simulating stops, with windows closed or open. Particulate matter (PM) and its constituents were monitored in the bus and from a LV. We collected source samples from the tailpipe and crankcase emissions using an on-board dilution tunnel. Concentrations of PM(1), ultrafine particle counts, elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) were higher on the bus than the LV. The DT method estimated that the tailpipe and the crankcase emissions contributed 1.1 and 6.8 mug/m(3) of PM(2.5) inside the bus, respectively, with significantly higher crankcase self pollution (SP) when windows were closed. Approximately two-thirds of in-cabin PM(2.5) originated from background sources. Using the LV approach, SP estimates from the EC and the active personal DataRAM (pDR) measurements correlated well with the DT estimates for tailpipe and crankcase emissions, respectively, although both measurements need further calibration for accurate quantification. CMB results overestimated SP from the DT method but confirmed crankcase emissions as the major SP source. We confirmed buses' SP using three independent methods and quantified crankcase emissions as the dominant contributor.

  17. Quantification of self pollution from two diesel school buses using three independent methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sally Liu, L.-J.; Phuleria, Harish C.; Webber, Whitney; Davey, Mark; Lawson, Douglas R.; Ireson, Robert G.; Zielinska, Barbara; Ondov, John M.; Weaver, Christopher S.; Lapin, Charles A.; Easter, Michael; Hesterberg, Thomas W.; Larson, Timothy

    2010-09-01

    We monitored two Seattle school buses to quantify the buses' self pollution using the dual tracers (DT), lead vehicle (LV), and chemical mass balance (CMB) methods. Each bus drove along a residential route simulating stops, with windows closed or open. Particulate matter (PM) and its constituents were monitored in the bus and from a LV. We collected source samples from the tailpipe and crankcase emissions using an on-board dilution tunnel. Concentrations of PM 1, ultrafine particle counts, elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) were higher on the bus than the LV. The DT method estimated that the tailpipe and the crankcase emissions contributed 1.1 and 6.8 μg m -3 of PM 2.5 inside the bus, respectively, with significantly higher crankcase self pollution (SP) when windows were closed. Approximately two-thirds of in-cabin PM 2.5 originated from background sources. Using the LV approach, SP estimates from the EC and the active personal DataRAM (pDR) measurements correlated well with the DT estimates for tailpipe and crankcase emissions, respectively, although both measurements need further calibration for accurate quantification. CMB results overestimated SP from the DT method but confirmed crankcase emissions as the major SP source. We confirmed buses' SP using three independent methods and quantified crankcase emissions as the dominant contributor.

  18. Long School Bus Rides: Stealing the Joy of Childhood.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spence, Beth

    Every school day, hundreds of West Virginia children ride school buses much longer than state guidelines say they should. Under those guidelines, no elementary student should be on the bus more than 30 minutes one way, middle school students 45 minutes, and high school students 1 hour. In fall 1999, public hearings about school transportation…

  19. Measuring self-pollution in school buses using a tracer gas technique

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Behrentz, Eduardo; Fitz, Dennis R.; Pankratz, David V.; Sabin, Lisa D.; Colome, Steven D.; Fruin, Scott A.; Winer, Arthur M.

    A potentially important, but inadequately studied, source of children's exposure to pollutants during school bus commutes is the introduction of a bus's own exhaust into the passenger compartment. We developed and applied a method to determine the amount of a bus's own exhaust penetrating into the cabin in a study of six in-use school buses over a range of routes, roadway types, fuels, and emission control technologies. A tracer gas, SF 6, was metered into the bus's exhaust system using a mass flow controller whose flow rate was logged by a data acquisition system and processed with the concurrent real-time pollutant measurement data. At the same time, the SF 6 concentration inside the bus was measured using an AeroVironment CTA-1000 continuous analyzer connected to a series of solenoids that switched the sample inlet between the front and rear of the bus cabin. To account for a baseline drift of the CTA-1000, SF 6-free air was also drawn through a line located outside at the front of the bus. Although this third sample line generally provided a reference zero value, it also showed that under certain wind conditions (i.e., wind from the rear) when the bus was stopped and was idling, significant amounts of the bus's own exhaust reached this location at the front of the bus. Self-pollution, the percentage of a bus's own exhaust that can be found inside its cabin, was a function of bus type and age, and a strong function of window position (i.e., open or closed). We estimated up to 0.3% of the air inside the cabin was from the bus's own exhaust in older buses, approximately 10 times the percentage observed for newer buses, and 25% of the black carbon concentration variance was explained by the buses' self-pollution. Analysis of the tracer gas concentrations provided a powerful tool for identifying potentially high-exposure conditions.

  20. Compressed natural gas bus safety: a quantitative risk assessment.

    PubMed

    Chamberlain, Samuel; Modarres, Mohammad

    2005-04-01

    This study assesses the fire safety risks associated with compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle systems, comprising primarily a typical school bus and supporting fuel infrastructure. The study determines the sensitivity of the results to variations in component failure rates and consequences of fire events. The components and subsystems that contribute most to fire safety risk are determined. Finally, the results are compared to fire risks of the present generation of diesel-fueled school buses. Direct computation of the safety risks associated with diesel-powered vehicles is possible because these are mature technologies for which historical performance data are available. Because of limited experience, fatal accident data for CNG bus fleets are minimal. Therefore, this study uses the probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) approach to model and predict fire safety risk of CNG buses. Generic failure data, engineering judgments, and assumptions are used in this study. This study predicts the mean fire fatality risk for typical CNG buses as approximately 0.23 fatalities per 100-million miles for all people involved, including bus passengers. The study estimates mean values of 0.16 fatalities per 100-million miles for bus passengers only. Based on historical data, diesel school bus mean fire fatality risk is 0.091 and 0.0007 per 100-million miles for all people and bus passengers, respectively. One can therefore conclude that CNG buses are more prone to fire fatality risk by 2.5 times that of diesel buses, with the bus passengers being more at risk by over two orders of magnitude. The study estimates a mean fire risk frequency of 2.2 x 10(-5) fatalities/bus per year. The 5% and 95% uncertainty bounds are 9.1 x 10(-6) and 4.0 x 10(-5), respectively. The risk result was found to be affected most by failure rates of pressure relief valves, CNG cylinders, and fuel piping.

  1. Gas Phase Emission Ratios From In-Use Diesel and CNG Curbside Passenger Buses in New York City

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Herndon, S. C.; Shorter, J.; Canagaratna, M.; Jayne, J.; Nelson, D. D.; Wormhoudt, J. C.; Williams, P.; Silva, P. J.; Shi, Q.; Ghertner, A.; Zahniser, M.; Worsnop, D.; Kolb, C.; Lanni, T.; Drewnick, F.; Demerjian, K. L.

    2002-12-01

    The Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory simultaneously measured gas phase and particulate emissions from in use vehicles during two campaigns in New York City. The campaigns took place during two weeks in October, 2000 and four weeks in July-August, 2001. Passenger curbside buses were the primary focus of the study, but school buses and several other heavy duty diesel vehicles were also characterized. This paper describes the methodologies used to measure individual in use vehicles and presents the results of the gas phase measurements. Emission ratios for NO, NO2, SO2, N2O, CO, CH4 and H2CO relative to CO2 have been determined across several classes of buses. The gas phase concentrations were measured each second, using Tunable Infrared Laser Direct Absorption Spectroscopy (TILDAS). Some of the categories of buses into which the data has been sorted are; diesel (both 6V92 and Series 50) with and without the Continuous Regenerative Technology (CRT) retrofit, compressed natural gas powered(CNG) and hybrid diesel-electric buses. The New York Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) cooperated with this work, providing details about each of their buses followed. In addition to MTA buses, other New York City passenger bus operators were also measured. In September 2000, MTA began to switch to 30 ppm sulfur diesel fuel while it is believed the non MTA operators did not. The measured emission ratios show that low sulfur fuel greatly reduces the amount of SO2 per CO2. Roughly one third of the MTA fleet of diesel buses have been equipped with the CRT retrofit. The gas phase results of interest in this category show increased direct emission of NO2 and companion work (also submitted to the 12th CRC) show the impact the CRT refit has on particulate emissions. CNG buses show increased H2CO and CH4 emission ratios relative to diesel powered motors.

  2. On-road, in-use gaseous emission measurements by remote sensing of school buses equipped with diesel oxidation catalysts and diesel particulate filters.

    PubMed

    Burgard, Daniel A; Provinsal, Melissa N

    2009-12-01

    A remote sensing device was used to obtain on-road and in-use gaseous emission measurements from three fleets of schools buses at two locations in Washington State. This paper reports each fleet's carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbon (HC), nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) mean data. The fleets represent current emission retrofit technologies, such as diesel particulate filters and diesel oxidation catalysts, and a control fleet. This study shows that CO and HC emissions decrease with the use of either retrofit technology when compared with control buses of the same initial emission standards. The CO and HC emission reductions are consistent with published U.S. Environmental Protection Agency verified values. The total oxides of nitrogen (NOx), NO, and the NO2/NOx ratio all increase with each retrofit technology when compared with control buses. As was expected, the diesel particulate filters emitted significantly higher levels of NO2 than the control fleet because of the intentional conversion of NO to NO2 by these systems. Most prior research suggests that NOx emissions are unaffected by the retrofits; however, these previous studies have not included measurements from retrofit devices on-road and after nearly 5 yr of use. Two 2006 model-year buses were also measured. These vehicles did not have retrofit devices but were built to more stringent new engine standards. Reductions in HCs and NOx were observed for these 2006 vehicles in comparison to other non-retrofit earlier model-year vehicles.

  3. School Planning Safe Transporting.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New Jersey State Dept. of Education, Trenton. Bureau of Pupil Transportation.

    Prepared for boards of education and municipal planning authorities, school site selection is related to school bus safety. Consideration of direction and density of traffic flow, street crossings, curbing, drainage, road width, parking areas, number of pupils and personnel, number of buses, method of transportation, schedules and extra-curricular…

  4. Technology in rural transportation. Simple solution #13, speed warning systems

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1975-11-01

    The purpose of the School Trip Safety and Urban Play Areas research project was to develop guidelines for the protection of young pedestrians (5-14 yrs) walking to and from school, entering and leaving school buses, and at neighborhood play. Volume I...

  5. Alternative Fuels Data Center

    Science.gov Websites

    Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Revolving Loan Program The Mississippi Alternative Fuel School Bus and Municipal Motor Vehicle Revolving Loan Program provides zero-interest loans for public school districts and municipalities to cover the incremental cost to purchase alternative fuel school buses and

  6. Large school bus design vehicle dimensions

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-09-01

    A survey of United States school bus operators and manufacturers was conducted to define the larger sizes of school buses in regular use. A mid-60 passenger type-c bus (SB-C) and a mid-80 passenger type-D bus (SB-D) were selected as design vehicles. ...

  7. 75 FR 66686 - Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Seat Belt Assembly Anchorages, School Bus Passenger...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-29

    ... School District (MCSD) of Ohio. With regard to changes to the regulatory text adopted by the October 2008... school buses greater than 4,536 kg (10,000 lb) GVWR, IC petitioned to change the requirement for school... Anchorages, School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection AGENCY: National Highway Traffic Safety...

  8. Settle for Segregation or Strive for Diversity? A Defining Moment for Maryland's Public Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ayscue, Jennifer B.

    2013-01-01

    Maryland, as one of 17 states that had de jure segregation, has an intense history of school segregation. Following the 1954 Brown decision, school districts across the state employed various methods to desegregate their schools, including mandatory busing in Prince George's County, magnet schools in Montgomery County, and a freedom of choice plan…

  9. Legal Aspects of Fuel Shortage

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hill, Frederick W.

    1974-01-01

    School administrators are advised to get legal authorization now for as much maneuvering room as can be worked out with vendors of heating fuels and gasoline for school buses. Safeguards for saving gasoline and anti-freeze are outlined. (Author/MF)

  10. Coordination of transit and school busing in Iowa.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-12-01

    "The 2003 Iowa General Assembly asked the Iowa Department of Transportation (Iowa DOT) to conduct a study of Iowa public policy : regarding coordination of public transit services and school transportation. This report describes the efficiencies that...

  11. Pupil Transportation Management.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miller, Anthony R.

    The safest means of transportation in the United States is the school bus fleet. Each school day, over 350,000 school buses transport about 22,000,000 children ages 3 to 21--from wheelchair pupils to varsity football players--to and from school in weather conditions ranging from those for Fairbanks, Alaska, to those typical of Cave Creek, Arizona.…

  12. Wareham, Mass. Selected for $200,000 EPA Rebate to Reduce School Bus Emissions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Wareham, Mass. school district was chosen to receive $200,000 from the US EPA to retrofit the engines on seven older school buses so they would emit fewer pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

  13. Saco, Maine Gets $180,000 EPA Rebate to Reduce School Bus Emissions

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Saco, Maine school district was chosen to receive $180,000 from the US EPA to retrofit the engines on seven older school buses so they would emit fewer pollutants that are linked to health problems such as asthma and lung damage.

  14. Old and New Ideas about School Desegregation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Willie, Charles V.

    This paper presents a set of new ideas which support the value of school desegregation in the United States. First, school desegregation efforts have been almost universally effective, no matter what implementation strategy was employed. Even busing, although widely criticized, has been effective. Second, desegregation efforts have usually…

  15. Riding to School in a Wheelchair

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Buning, Mary Ellen; Shutrump, Sue; Manary, Miriam A.

    2007-01-01

    Riding on a school bus is one of the safest forms of transportation in the U.S. Every year 450,000 public school buses travel more than 4.3 billion miles to transport 23.5 million children to and from school and school related activities. Students are reportedly eight times safer on the school bus than they are in cars. However, the percentage of…

  16. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE FINE PARTICLE AND GASEOUS EMISSIONS DURING SCHOOL BUS IDLING

    EPA Science Inventory

    The particulate matter (PM) and gaseous emissions from six diesel school buses were determined over a simulated idling period typical of schools in the northeastern U.S. Testing was conducted for both continuous idle and hot restart conditions using particle and gas analyzers. Th...

  17. School Bus Safety Advisory Committee: 1999 Annual Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lazenberry, Dennis; Anderson, Barbara

    This report summarizes the deliberations and recommendations of Minnesota's School Bus Safety Advisory Committee (SBSAC). The committee, which operates under the auspices of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, is charged to study issues affecting the safety of students on school buses, arrive at consensus on ways to improve student safety…

  18. Designing with Traffic Safety in Mind.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Matthews, John

    1998-01-01

    Provides an example of how one county public school system was able to minimize traffic accidents and increase safety around its schools. Illustrations are provided of safer bus loading zones, pedestrian walkways and sidewalks, staff parking, and acceptable methods for staging buses. A checklist for school driveway design concludes the article.…

  19. Exact and Metaheuristic Approaches for a Bi-Objective School Bus Scheduling Problem.

    PubMed

    Chen, Xiaopan; Kong, Yunfeng; Dang, Lanxue; Hou, Yane; Ye, Xinyue

    2015-01-01

    As a class of hard combinatorial optimization problems, the school bus routing problem has received considerable attention in the last decades. For a multi-school system, given the bus trips for each school, the school bus scheduling problem aims at optimizing bus schedules to serve all the trips within the school time windows. In this paper, we propose two approaches for solving the bi-objective school bus scheduling problem: an exact method of mixed integer programming (MIP) and a metaheuristic method which combines simulated annealing with local search. We develop MIP formulations for homogenous and heterogeneous fleet problems respectively and solve the models by MIP solver CPLEX. The bus type-based formulation for heterogeneous fleet problem reduces the model complexity in terms of the number of decision variables and constraints. The metaheuristic method is a two-stage framework for minimizing the number of buses to be used as well as the total travel distance of buses. We evaluate the proposed MIP and the metaheuristic method on two benchmark datasets, showing that on both instances, our metaheuristic method significantly outperforms the respective state-of-the-art methods.

  20. School Bus Rider Safety Education Modules for Use with Drills on School Buses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    New York State Education Dept., Albany. Div. of Physical Education, Fitness, Health, Nutrition and Safety Services.

    Developed for teachers and members of the pupil transportation staff who conduct school bus drills, these 10 lesson outlines are intended for classroom instruction on school bus safety. Lessons may be adapted to fit the grade level, intelligence, and special needs of students. Topics covered are: preparing to ride the bus, boarding and proceeding…

  1. Reducing Children's Exposure to School Bus Diesel Exhaust in One School District in North Carolina

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mazer, Mary E.; Jacobson Vann, Julie C.; Lamanna, Beth F.; Davison, Jean

    2014-01-01

    Children who are exposed to diesel exhaust from idling school buses are at increased risk of asthma exacerbation, decreased lung function, immunologic reactions, leukemia, and increased susceptibility to infections. Policies and initiatives that aim to protect school children from the harmful effects of exposure to diesel exhaust range from…

  2. Can We Have It All? A Review of the Impacts of School Choice on Racial Integration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swanson, Elise

    2017-01-01

    This article reviews the literature evaluating the impact of school choice programs on racial integration. Evidence on the impacts of magnet schools, voluntary busing programs, open enrollment practices, charter schools, and voucher programs is reviewed. The literature is mixed on this question, finding that the impacts of choice on racial…

  3. Pupil Transportation in Vehicles Not Meeting Federal School Bus Standards

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-01-01

    This report contains the findings of a special investigation conducted as a result of four fatal accidents involving nonconforming buses used to transport school children. In the first accident, on March 25, 1998, three children were ejected when the...

  4. Evaluation of retrofit crankcase ventilation controls and diesel oxidation catalysts for reducing air pollution in school buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Trenbath, Kim; Hannigan, Michael P.; Milford, Jana B.

    2009-12-01

    This study evaluates the effect of retrofit closed crankcase ventilation filters (CCFs) and diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) on the in-cabin air quality in transit-style diesel school buses. In-cabin pollution levels were measured on three buses from the Pueblo, CO District 70 fleet. Monitoring was conducted while buses were driven along their regular routes, with each bus tested three times before and three times after installation of control devices. Ultrafine number concentrations in the school bus cabins were 33-41% lower, on average, after the control devices were installed. Mean mass concentrations of particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) were 56% lower, organic carbon (OC) 41% lower, elemental carbon (EC) 85% lower, and formaldehyde 32% lower after control devices were installed. While carbon monoxide concentrations were low in all tests, mean concentrations were higher after control devices were installed than in pre-retrofit tests. Reductions in number, OC, and formaldehyde concentrations were statistically significant, but reductions in PM2.5 mass were not. Even with control devices installed, during some runs PM2.5 and OC concentrations in the bus cabins were elevated compared to ambient concentrations observed in the area. OC concentrations inside the bus cabins ranged from 22 to 58 μg m -3 before and 13 to 33 μg m -3 after control devices were installed. OC concentrations were correlated with particle-bound organic tracers for lubricating oil emissions (hopanes) and diesel fuel and tailpipe emissions (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and aliphatic hydrocarbons). Mean concentrations of hopanes, PAH, and aliphatic hydrocarbons were lower by 37, 50, and 43%, respectively, after the control devices were installed, suggesting that both CCFs and DOCs were effective at reducing in-cabin OC concentrations.

  5. Pupil Transportation Safety Program Plan.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Delahanty, Joseph F.; And Others

    This study has been undertaken to assess the magnitude of the school bus safety problem and to develop a plan to improve pupil transportation safety. The resulting report provides estimates of school bus population and daily usage, gives an account of injuries and fatalities that occur annually, and compares the safety records of school buses to…

  6. Busing, Taxes, and Desegregation. Special Monograph No. 4. Management Series.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DeMont, Roger, Ed.; And Others

    This monograph summarizes recent developments in school law in the areas of school segregation, school finance, and interdistrict integration in order to project future developments in these areas. The content of this publication has been taken in part from transcripts of a conference on law and public education. (Detroit, Michigan, October 27,…

  7. What Happened to Teachers during the Desegregation of Dayton City Schools (1968-1976)?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Watras, Joseph

    This paper describes teacher attitudes and circumstances during and after Dayton City School's successful desegregation. Teachers were moved to integrated schools relatively early and easily. As a group, they did not become involved in the 1972-76 busing brouhaha that accompanied court-ordered desegregation. Fearing the destabilization of their…

  8. 49 CFR 571.220 - Standard No. 220; School bus rollover protection.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... result from failure of the school bus body structure to withstand forces encountered in rollover crashes. S3. Applicability. This standard applies to school buses. S4. Requirements. When a force in Newtons... roof of the vehicle's body structure through a force application plate as specified in S5, Test...

  9. 49 CFR 571.220 - Standard No. 220; School bus rollover protection.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... result from failure of the school bus body structure to withstand forces encountered in rollover crashes. S3. Applicability. This standard applies to school buses. S4. Requirements. When a force in Newtons... roof of the vehicle's body structure through a force application plate as specified in S5, Test...

  10. 49 CFR 571.220 - Standard No. 220; School bus rollover protection.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... result from failure of the school bus body structure to withstand forces encountered in rollover crashes. S3. Applicability. This standard applies to school buses. S4. Requirements. When a force in Newtons... roof of the vehicle's body structure through a force application plate as specified in S5, Test...

  11. 49 CFR 571.220 - Standard No. 220; School bus rollover protection.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... result from failure of the school bus body structure to withstand forces encountered in rollover crashes. S3. Applicability. This standard applies to school buses. S4. Requirements. When a force in Newtons... roof of the vehicle's body structure through a force application plate as specified in S5, Test...

  12. Seat Belts: Are They the Best Solution to the Real Problem?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Comeau, Lee F.

    1985-01-01

    More children are killed outside their school buses than inside. To solve this problem, we should improve bus design, provide driver training programs for all school bus drivers, utilize the latest safety devices available, and improve ridership safety curriculum. (MLF)

  13. Spiral of Decline or "Beacon of Hope": Stories of School Choice in a Dual Language School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pearson, Timothy; Wolgemuth, Jennifer R.; Colomer, Soria E.

    2015-01-01

    Public schools in some areas of the U.S. are as segregated as they were prior to court-ordered busing, in part due to school choice policies that appear to exacerbate extant segregation. In particular, Latina/o students are increasingly isolated in schools characterized as being in cycles of decline. Our case study of one such school is based on a…

  14. Reorganization of Elementary Educational System and Commutation of Children to Collective Commune Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Palonka, Krystyna Maria

    Between 1973-1979, the elementary educational system in rural areas of Poland has been reorganized into a system of collective commune schools; students commute or are bused to the schools. Since September 1973, 944 new collective commune schools have been set up. A study of the data indicates that the process of setting up collective commune…

  15. Eleven Ways To Make Money.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vail, Kathleen

    1998-01-01

    Many school districts are becoming aggressively entrepreneurial in their efforts to raise money. One district serves as the Internet service provider for their area, another rents buses and drivers to community groups. A sidebar describes a controversial deal between Coca-Cola and the Colorado Springs School District. (MLF)

  16. The Selection and Training of School Bus Drivers.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKnight, A. James; And Others

    This report describes procedures used in developing a set of selection requirements and training objectives for operators of school buses. The selection requirements include collection and interpretation of personal history and other background information, physical examination covering vision, hearing, handicaps, and general health, written…

  17. The Wise Bus Buyer.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dervarics, Charles

    1993-01-01

    School transportation experts consider the following essential rules in purchasing school buses: know your geography; know federal and state regulations; write specifications carefully; plan for replacement and growth; check out prospective bidders; keep up with recent trends; and remain flexible. New Jersey enacted a law last year requiring seat…

  18. Alternative Fuels Data Center

    Science.gov Websites

    School Bus Replacement Grant Program The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supports the purchase of replacement school buses in eligible Ohio counties through the Diesel Emission Reduction Grant program. Purchases are also supported with state allocated grant funding from the U.S. Environmental

  19. Choosing a Motion Detector.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ballard, David M.

    1990-01-01

    Examines the characteristics of three types of motion detectors: Doppler radar, infrared, and ultrasonic wave, and how they are used on school buses to prevent students from being killed by their own school bus. Other safety devices cited are bus crossing arms and a camera monitor system. (MLF)

  20. Getting the Facts Straight about the Effects of School Desegregation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hawley, Willis D.

    1979-01-01

    Examines the effects of school desegregation by suggesting some reasons why those who review the research might misinterpret or misrepresent the evidence; and by summarizing what is known about two significant types of outcomes--academic achievement, and busing and "white flight." (Author/MLF)

  1. Carbon Dioxide Concentrations and Temperatures within Tour Buses under Real-Time Traffic Conditions.

    PubMed

    Chiu, Chun-Fu; Chen, Ming-Hung; Chang, Feng-Hsiang

    2015-01-01

    This study monitored the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and temperatures of three 43-seat tour buses with high-passenger capacities in a course of a three-day, two-night school excursion. Results showed that both driver zones and passenger zones of the tour buses achieved maximum CO2 concentrations of more than 3000 ppm, and maximum daily average concentrations of 2510.6 and 2646.9 ppm, respectively. The findings confirmed that the CO2 concentrations detected in the tour buses exceeded the indoor air quality standard of Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (8 hr-CO2: 1000 ppm) and the air quality guideline of Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (1 hr-CO2: 2500 ppm for Level 1 for buses). Observations also showed that high-capacity tour bus cabins with air conditioning system operating in recirculation mode are severely lacking in air exchange rate, which may negatively impact transportation safety. Moreover, the passenger zones were able to maintain a temperature of between 20 and 25°C during travel, which effectively suppresses the dispersion of volatile organic compounds. Finally, the authors suggest that in the journey, increasing the ventilation frequency of tour bus cabin, which is very beneficial to maintain the travel safety and enhance the quality of travel.

  2. Carbon Dioxide Concentrations and Temperatures within Tour Buses under Real-Time Traffic Conditions

    PubMed Central

    Chiu, Chun-Fu; Chen, Ming-Hung; Chang, Feng-Hsiang

    2015-01-01

    This study monitored the carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations and temperatures of three 43-seat tour buses with high-passenger capacities in a course of a three-day, two-night school excursion. Results showed that both driver zones and passenger zones of the tour buses achieved maximum CO2 concentrations of more than 3000 ppm, and maximum daily average concentrations of 2510.6 and 2646.9 ppm, respectively. The findings confirmed that the CO2 concentrations detected in the tour buses exceeded the indoor air quality standard of Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (8 hr-CO2: 1000 ppm) and the air quality guideline of Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (1 hr-CO2: 2500 ppm for Level 1 for buses). Observations also showed that high-capacity tour bus cabins with air conditioning system operating in recirculation mode are severely lacking in air exchange rate, which may negatively impact transportation safety. Moreover, the passenger zones were able to maintain a temperature of between 20 and 25°C during travel, which effectively suppresses the dispersion of volatile organic compounds. Finally, the authors suggest that in the journey, increasing the ventilation frequency of tour bus cabin, which is very beneficial to maintain the travel safety and enhance the quality of travel. PMID:25923722

  3. Impact of a pilot walking school bus intervention on children's pedestrian safety behaviors: a pilot study

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Walking school buses (WSB) increased children's physical activity, but impact on pedestrian safety behaviors (PSB) is unknown. We tested the feasibility of a protocol evaluating changes to PSB during a WSB program. Outcomes were school-level street crossing PSB prior to (Time 1) and during weeks 4–5...

  4. Manual of First-Aid Practices for School Bus Drivers. Revised.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nesbitt, William R.

    This manual is intended to provide California school bus drivers with the required course of instruction in first aid practices. It deals with the basic principles of handling serious medical emergencies, but major emphasis is on the variety of minor injuries or illnesses that may occur while students are riding on school buses. Chapter 1 covers…

  5. School Bus Accidents: Reducing Incidents and Injuries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mahoney, Daniel

    2009-01-01

    The number of children injured in nonfatal school bus accidents annually is more than double the number previously estimated. In Ohio alone, approximately 20,800 children younger than 18 were occupants of school buses that were involved in crashes in 2003 and 2004 (McGeehan 2007). Among those children, most had minor or no injuries. However, there…

  6. Alternate Transportation Routes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vogel, Carl

    2009-01-01

    Since last school year, the St. Lucie County (Florida) Public Schools reduced the number of buses it operates from 399 to 362, despite opening two new schools. Add in some other smart changes in policy, and the district lowered its annual transportation costs by more than $3 million over last year. Saving $3 million a year does not come easily,…

  7. An Evaluation of a Museum Science Education Project with Social Integration and Urban Environmental Problems as a Focus.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Allen, David W.

    The Paired School Science Project (PSSP) conducted between public and parochial schools was evaluated over a period from 1968-71. A pilot program was carried out among fifth and sixth grade students of 30 schools in the 1967-68 school year. During the study period, these classes of the paired schools were bused to the Franklin Institute for…

  8. Walking school buses as a form of active transportation for children-a review of the evidence.

    PubMed

    Smith, Liz; Norgate, Sarah H; Cherrett, Tom; Davies, Nigel; Winstanley, Christopher; Harding, Mike

    2015-03-01

    Walking school buses (WSBs) offer a potentially healthier way for children to get to school while reducing traffic congestion. A number of pressing societal challenges make it timely to evaluate evidence of their value. Studies that focused solely on WSBs were identified through online and manual literature searches. Twelve WSB studies involving a total of 9169 children were reviewed. Study aims, designs, methods, outcomes, and barriers and facilitators were examined. WSBs were found to be associated with increased prevalence of walking to school and general activity levels although not always significantly. Time constraints emerged as barriers to WSBs, impacting on recruitment of volunteers and children to the WSBs. Facilitators of WSBs included children enjoying socializing and interacting with the environment. Preliminary evidence of the health value of WSBs was demonstrated, along with recommendations for the design of future studies. By tackling barriers of time constraints, volunteer recruitment, and parents' safety concerns while at the same time, increasing convenience and time savings for families, future WSBs are likely to be more sustainable and taken up by more schools. Implications for future innovation in school health were identified. © 2015, American School Health Association.

  9. Exact and Metaheuristic Approaches for a Bi-Objective School Bus Scheduling Problem

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Xiaopan; Kong, Yunfeng; Dang, Lanxue; Hou, Yane; Ye, Xinyue

    2015-01-01

    As a class of hard combinatorial optimization problems, the school bus routing problem has received considerable attention in the last decades. For a multi-school system, given the bus trips for each school, the school bus scheduling problem aims at optimizing bus schedules to serve all the trips within the school time windows. In this paper, we propose two approaches for solving the bi-objective school bus scheduling problem: an exact method of mixed integer programming (MIP) and a metaheuristic method which combines simulated annealing with local search. We develop MIP formulations for homogenous and heterogeneous fleet problems respectively and solve the models by MIP solver CPLEX. The bus type-based formulation for heterogeneous fleet problem reduces the model complexity in terms of the number of decision variables and constraints. The metaheuristic method is a two-stage framework for minimizing the number of buses to be used as well as the total travel distance of buses. We evaluate the proposed MIP and the metaheuristic method on two benchmark datasets, showing that on both instances, our metaheuristic method significantly outperforms the respective state-of-the-art methods. PMID:26176764

  10. Natural Gas Moves Little Tykes in Hudson

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    2004-04-01

    This 2-page Clean Cities fact sheet describes the use of natural gas power in buses by Hudson City Schools, located in Hudson, OH. It includes information on the history of the program, along with contact information for the local Clean Cities Coordinator and Hudson City Schools.

  11. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Yellowstone Park Recycles Vehicle Batteries

    Science.gov Websites

    school bus Michigan Transports Students in Hybrid Electric School Buses Jan. 4, 2014 Photo of a natural of a school bus. California School District Creates First-of-Its-Kind Zero-Emissions Bus Dec. 20 , 2014 Photo of an electric car. College Students Engineer Efficient Vehicles in EcoCAR 2 Competition Aug

  12. Early to Rise? The Effect of Daily Start Times on Academic Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edwards, Finley

    2012-01-01

    Local school districts often stagger daily start times for their schools in order to reduce busing costs. This paper uses data on all middle school students in Wake County, NC from 1999 to 2006 to identify the causal effect of daily start times on academic performance. Using variation in start times within schools over time, the effect is a two…

  13. Manual for School Administrators on Pupil Transportation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tennessee State Dept. of Education, Nashville.

    Guiding principles, state laws, and state board rules and regulations are covered, providing school administrators with a ready reference in the field of pupil transportation. Divided into three sections, the manual initially covers administrative procedures including--(1) the purchase of buses, (2) bus maintenance, (3) employment of drivers, (4)…

  14. The Educational Value of Field Trips

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Greene, Jay P.; Kisida, Brian; Bowen, Daniel H.

    2014-01-01

    The school field trip has a long history in American public education. For decades, students have piled into yellow buses to visit a variety of cultural institutions, including art, natural history, and science museums, as well as theaters, zoos, and historical sites. Schools gladly endured the expense and disruption of providing field trips…

  15. A Cooperative Transportation Model for Occupational or Special Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Daniel J.

    1976-01-01

    Demonstrates the application of a mathematical model to the problem of cooperative busing across school districts for transportation to regional centers for occupational or special education. (Author)

  16. Defensive Driving.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutton, Judy

    1997-01-01

    Discusses management issues surrounding school busing operations within the context of tightening budgets while simultaneously serving the growing number of students with special needs. The debate on bus use for advertising is highlighted. (GR)

  17. Toward Understanding the Persistence of Opposition to School Desegregation in Boston.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hannon, Barbara

    In Boston a number of factors contributed to the prolonged community resistance to school desegregation and busing to achieve it. First, for ten years prior to 1974, Boston residents had been assured that their children had a right to attend neighborhood schools and that this right would never be abridged. Thus, the court order to utilize bus…

  18. Creative Bus Financing.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malone, Wade

    1982-01-01

    Alternative ways of financing school bus purchases include financing privately through contractors or commercial banks, financing through sources such as insurance companies and pension funds, leasing the buses, or contracting for transportation services. (Author/MLF)

  19. Measuring In-Cabin School Bus Tailpipe and Crankcase PM2.5: A New Dual Tracer Method.

    PubMed

    Ireson, Robert G; Ondov, John M; Zielinska, Barbara; Weaver, Christopher S; Easter, Michael D; Lawson, Douglas R; Hesterberg, Thomas W; Davey, Mark E; Liu, L-J Sally

    2011-05-01

    Exposures of occupants in school buses to on-road vehicle emissions, including emissions from the bus itself, can be substantially greater than those in outdoor settings. A dual tracer method was developed and applied to two school buses in Seattle in 2005 to quantify in-cabin fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) concentrations attributable to the buses' diesel engine tailpipe (DPM tp ) and crankcase vent (PM ck ) emissions. The new method avoids the problem of differentiating bus emissions from chemically identical emissions of other vehicles by using a fuel-based organometallic iridium tracer for engine exhaust and by adding deuterated hexatriacontane to engine oil. Source testing results showed consistent PM:tracer ratios for the primary tracer for each type of emissions. Comparisons of the PM:tracer ratios indicated that there was a small amount of unburned lubricating oil emitted from the tailpipe; however, virtually no diesel fuel combustion products were found in the crankcase emissions. For the limited testing conducted here, although PM ck emission rates (averages of 0.028 and 0.099 g/km for the two buses) were lower than those from the tailpipe (0.18 and 0.14 g/km), in-cabin PM ck concentrations averaging 6.8 μg/m 3 were higher than DPM tp (0.91 μg/m 3 average). In-cabin DPM tp and PM ck concentrations were significantly higher with bus windows closed (1.4 and 12 μg/m 3 , respectively) as compared with open (0.44 and 1.3 μg/m 3 , respectively). For comparison, average closed- and open-window in-cabin total PM 2.5 concentrations were 26 and 12 μg/m 3 , respectively. Despite the relatively short in-cabin sampling times, very high sensitivities were achieved, with detection limits of 0.002 μg/m 3 for DPM tp and 0.05 μg/m 3 for PM ck . [Box: see text].

  20. Measuring in-cabin school bus tailpipe and crankcase PM2.5: a new dual tracer method.

    PubMed

    Ireson, Robert G; Ondov, John M; Zielinska, Barbara; Weaver, Christopher S; Easter, Michael D; Lawson, Douglas R; Hesterberg, Thomas W; Davey, Mark E; Liu, L-J Sally

    2011-05-01

    Exposures of occupants in school buses to on-road vehicle emissions, including emissions from the bus itself, can be substantially greater than those in outdoor settings. A dual tracer method was developed and applied to two school buses in Seattle in 2005 to quantify in-cabin fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations attributable to the buses' diesel engine tailpipe (DPMtp) and crankcase vent (PMck) emissions. The new method avoids the problem of differentiating bus emissions from chemically identical emissions of other vehicles by using a fuel-based organometallic iridium tracer for engine exhaust and by adding deuterated hexatriacontane to engine oil. Source testing results showed consistent PM:tracer ratios for the primary tracer for each type of emissions. Comparisons of the PM:tracer ratios indicated that there was a small amount of unburned lubricating oil emitted from the tailpipe; however, virtually no diesel fuel combustion products were found in the crankcase emissions. For the limited testing conducted here, although PMck emission rates (averages of 0.028 and 0.099 g/km for the two buses) were lower than those from the tailpipe (0.18 and 0.14 g/km), in-cabin PMck concentrations averaging 6.8 microg/m3 were higher than DPMtp (0.91 microg/m3 average). In-cabin DPMtp and PMck concentrations were significantly higher with bus windows closed (1.4 and 12 microg/m3, respectively) as compared with open (0.44 and 1.3 microg/m3, respectively). For comparison, average closed- and open-window in-cabin total PM2.5 concentrations were 26 and 12 microg/m3, respectively. Despite the relatively short in-cabin sampling times, very high sensitivities were achieved, with detection limits of 0.002 microg/m3 for DPMtp and 0.05 microg/m3 for PMck.

  1. 49 CFR 605.12 - Use of project equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ..., facilities or equipment funded under the Acts. A grantee or operator may, however, use such buses, facilities... 49 Transportation 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Use of project equipment. 605.12 Section 605.12..., DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SCHOOL BUS OPERATIONS School Bus Agreements § 605.12 Use of project equipment...

  2. Implementation Practices of Bilingual Education Programs.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ortiz, Flora Ida

    The ethnographic study investigated the implementation practices of a bilingual education program. A school site containing factors which were determined to be prevalent across Title VII programs was selected from over 300 Title VII sites. In addition, the school also contained a local student population, i.e., no one was bused from elsewhere; two…

  3. Educational Reform for a Changing Society: Anticipating Tomorrow's Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rubin, Louis, Ed.

    The essays in this book emphasize trends now shaping society that the authors believe will have a profound effect on schools in the decades to come. Topics covered include declining enrollments and increasing educational costs, the changing role of vocational education, government financing for educational quality, the role of busing, politicking…

  4. Beyond Busing: A Societal and Genetic View.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carrison, Muriel Paskin

    In this paper the author takes the position that integrated schools are basic to a genuinely integrated society. Similarly, only through equal education can we offer equal opportunity to every citizen. Segregated schools, the author states, are a result of poverty and government sanctioned segregation in other areas. The most obvious of these…

  5. Integrating the Desegregated School: Some Observations and Suggestions.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Virag, Wayne F.

    The problem of the desegregation process in public schools, beginning with the Supreme Court decision Brown v the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, is that it is conceived of as an artificial climate imposed by ratios and busing rather than a learning situation wherein ethnocentricity is developed as a positive attribute. Integration, however,…

  6. California Bus Aid Still in Budget Cross Hairs

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fleming, Nora

    2012-01-01

    California legislators swiftly passed a budget bill last week aimed at sheltering school busing dollars from a midyear budget cut many districts and advocates said particularly hurt rural school systems, along with urban districts with desegregation plans. While the measure, which Gov. Jerry Brown was expected to sign into law, would restore $248…

  7. 49 CFR 578.6 - Civil penalties for violations of specified provisions of Title 49 of the United States Code.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... paragraph for a related series of violations is $16,375,000. (2) School buses. Notwithstanding paragraph (a... commerce, or importation of a school bus or school bus equipment (as those terms are defined in 49 U.S.C... which a certificate is not provided, or for which a false or misleading certificate is provided, under...

  8. Evaluation of horizontal curve design

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1980-08-01

    This report documents an initial evaluation of horizontal curve design criteria which involved two phases: an observational study and an analytical evaluation. Three classes of vehicles (automobiles, school buses and tractor semi-trailers) and three ...

  9. Performance of school bus retrofit systems: ultrafine particles and other vehicular pollutants.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Qunfang; Zhu, Yifang

    2011-08-01

    This study evaluated the performance of retrofit systems for diesel-powered school buses, a diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) muffler and a spiracle crankcase filtration system (CFS), regarding ultrafine particles (UFPs) and other air pollutants from tailpipe emissions and inside bus cabins. Tailpipe emissions and in-cabin air pollutant levels were measured before and after retrofitting when the buses were idling and during actual pick-up/drop off routes. Retrofit systems significantly reduced tailpipe emissions with a reduction of 20-94% of total particles with both DOC and CFS installed. However, no unequivocal decrease was observed for in-cabin air pollutants after retrofitting. The AC/fan unit and the surrounding air pollutant concentrations played more important roles for determining the in-cabin air quality of school buses than did retrofit technologies. Although current retrofit systems reduce children's exposure while waiting to board at a bus station, retrofitting by itself does not protect children satisfactorily from in-cabin particle exposures. Turning on the bus engine increased in-cabin UFP levels significantly only when the wind blew from the bus' tailpipe toward its hood with its windows open. This indicated that wind direction and window position are significant factors determining how much self-released tailpipe emissions may penetrate into the bus cabin. The use of an air purifier was found to remove in-cabin particles by up to 50% which might be an alternative short-to-medium term strategy to protect children's health.

  10. Adequacy Review of State Implementation Plan (SIP) Submissions for Conformity

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This page is for state and local air quality regulators and transportation planners that offers guidance on how to reduce air pollution from cars, diesel trucks, city and school buses, construction equipme

  11. Charter Schools, Parent Choice, and Segregation: A Longitudinal Study of the Growth of Charters and Changing Enrollment Patterns in Five School Districts over 26 Years

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Archbald, Doug; Hurwitz, Andrew; Hurwitz, Felicia

    2017-01-01

    In 1975, a court-ordered busing program was launched to desegregate the schools of New Castle County, Delaware. It was by many accounts one of the most significant and successful desegregation programs in the nation (Armor & Rossell, 2002; Orfield, 2014; Raffel, 1980). In 1995, the districts of the county were declared "unitary" and…

  12. A Field Trip without Buses: Connecting Your Students to Scientists through a Virtual Visit

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adedokun, Omolola; Parker, Loran Carleton; Loizzo, Jamie; Burgess, Wilella; Robinson, J. Paul

    2011-01-01

    One school offers zipTrips as an alternative to actual field trips taken outside of school. ZipTrips are web- and broadcast-delivered electronic field trips that include online videos, lesson plans, and a live, 45-minute interactive program consisting of four core components: an in-studio audience, live interaction with scientists, prerecorded…

  13. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels

    Science.gov Websites

    Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Deliver at Kansas City Schools Sept. 17, 2011 Quality in New York March 11, 2010 Propane Buses Save Money for Virginia Schools Feb. 25, 2010 Michigan

  14. Million Dollar Busing: Saving Money through Privatization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crates, Cheryl

    2009-01-01

    The economic crisis has had--and will continue to have--a dramatic effect on tax revenue and education spending throughout the United States and beyond. Yet children still show up for school every day in need of an education. In times like these, educators and school business managers must be as committed as ever to providing it. The economic…

  15. "Not the Bus, but Us": George W. Bush and School Desegregation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McAndrews, Larry

    2009-01-01

    In 1982 civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson criticized President Ronald Reagan's attacks on busing to coerce school desegregation for targeting "not the bus, but us." Two decades later, the United States Supreme Court ended the thirty-two-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, plan which had launched the era of court-ordered busing…

  16. Districts Cut Back Busing, Seek Ways to Save Energy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Aarons, Dakarai I.

    2008-01-01

    A struggling economy and skyrocketing fuel costs are making their grim presence felt as school districts across the country open their doors. With fewer dollars to spend, everything from teaching positions to bus transportation is on the chopping block. As students go back to school, many will find themselves in more crowded classrooms with texts…

  17. Hard Times Hit Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McNeil, Michele

    2008-01-01

    Hard-to-grasp dollar amounts are forcing real cuts in K-12 education at a time when the cost of fueling buses and providing school lunches is increasing and the demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act still loom larger over states and districts. "One of the real challenges is to continue progress in light of the economy," said…

  18. The use of biodiesel in a school transportation system: the case of Medford Township, New Jersey.

    PubMed

    Biluck, Joe

    2007-09-01

    A combination of high fuel prices, bus maintenance costs, and the health and safety of school children, along with a consideration of federal and state regulations, prompted Medford Township school district in southern New Jersey to explore the use of alternative fuels, specifically biodiesel. The school district owns and operates 62 school buses that transport 3500 children daily. The evolution of this switch from petroleum-based fuel to biodiesel is described. The district is the nation's longest continuous user of biodiesel in a school transportation system.

  19. Fort McHenry alternative transportation study

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2004-06-01

    This project assesses transportation management issues at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine in the Locust Point area of Baltimore. Goals of the study include mitigating traffic congestion and idling of school or tour buses, encouragi...

  20. Busing in Waco, Texas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Felice, Lawrence G.

    1974-01-01

    Discusses research investigating whether differences in students' perceptions of the interracial climate of the school relate to differences in individual student achievement; a sample of seventh to twelfth grade students was used in a three year longitudinal design. (Author/JM)

  1. Wheelchair transportation safety on school buses: stakeholder recommendations for priority issues and actions.

    PubMed

    Buning, Mary Ellen; Karg, Patricia E

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents results from and provides discussion of a state-of-the-science workshop in which highly informed stakeholders in wheelchair transportation safety for students on school buses were participants. The Nominal Group Technique was used to create a process in which the main issues preventing safe transportation of wheelchair-seated students and key strategies to overcome these issues were identified and ranked. These results, along with a synthesis of group discussion and recommendations for action, are presented along with consideration of current policies, regulations, and political realities. Critical safety shortcomings exist in this highly specialized enterprise that varies from state to state. Recommended strategies include implementing wheelchair requirements in federal transportation safety standards, creation of a clearinghouse for wheelchair transportation best practices and education, creation of national standards for training, practices, and monitoring, and increased "buy-in" to voluntary wheelchair standards by wheelchair manufacturers.

  2. 26 CFR 48.4221-8 - Tax-free sales of tires, tubes, and tread rubber used on intercity, local, and school buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... travelled with passengers as well as mileage travelled incidental to such passenger transportation, such as... which “substantially all” (85 percent or more) of the use involves transporting students and employees... which students or employees of school are transported is considered to be a use which involves...

  3. Increasing Fuel Costs Hit Hard: Districts Change Policies to Offset Rising Prices

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ash, Katie

    2008-01-01

    This article reports that with fuel prices soaring nationwide, reaching more than $4 for each gallon of gas or diesel, school districts are struggling to supplement transportation-budget shortfalls and find ways to offset the increasing costs as a new school year approaches. Now districts--most of whose buses run on diesel fuel--are scrambling to…

  4. Advising a Bus Company on Number of Needed Buses: How High-School Physics Students' Deal With a "Complex Problem"?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Balukovic, Jasmina; Slisko, Josip; Hadzibegovic, Zalkida

    2011-01-01

    Since 2003, international project PISA evaluates 15-year old students in solving problems that include "decision taking", "analysis and design of systems" and "trouble-shooting". This article presents the results of a pilot research conducted with 215 students from first to fourth grade of a high school in Sarajevo…

  5. Alternative Fuels Data Center: San Diego Leads in Promoting EVs

    Science.gov Websites

    of a school bus Michigan Transports Students in Hybrid Electric School Buses Jan. 4, 2014 Photo of San Diego Leads in Promoting EVs to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: San Diego Leads in Promoting EVs on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: San Diego Leads in

  6. Learning from the Past--Preparing for the Future: Addressing Fair and Affordable Housing Issues in the Chicago Region.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lewis, James H.

    This conference paper discusses the current situation of racial differences in housing in the Chicago (Illinois) area with regard to the ramifications of the "Miliken v. Bradley" (1974) case. The Miliken case closed the door on busing and school desegregation plans crossing school district lines and in many cases, crossing municipal…

  7. 29 CFR 1982.101 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... include school buses, charter, or intercity bus transportation or intercity passenger rail transportation... transportation systems that connect metropolitan areas, without regard to whether those systems use new technologies not associated with traditional railroads, but does not include rapid transit operations in an...

  8. Stationary Source Related Documents for State and Local Transportation

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    State and Local Transporation Resources is an EPA/OTAQ web page for state and local air quality regulators and transportation planners that offers guidance on how to reduce air pollution from cars, diesel trucks, city and school buses

  9. DOJ News Release: Boise Couple Sentenced for Defrauding Idaho DEQ

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Jorge Garcia and Karen Damberg Garcia were sentenced today for conspiring to defraud the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality of federal grant funds that were to be used to install diesel emission reduction equipment on Idaho school buses.

  10. General Guidance on Innovative and Voluntary Air Pollution Control Strategies

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    State and Local Transporation Resources is an EPA/OTAQ web page for state and local air quality regulators and transportation planners that offers guidance on how to reduce air pollution from cars, diesel trucks, city and school buses.

  11. Propane Update.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brantner, Max

    1984-01-01

    Reports on a northern Illinois school bus fleet converted to propane fuel in 1981 and 1982. Includes tables showing, first, total annual fuel costs before and after conversion and, second, fuel efficiency for 16 buses using propane and three using gasoline. Notes precautions for propane use. (MCG)

  12. School bus pollution and changes in the air quality at schools: a case study.

    PubMed

    Li, Chunlei; Nguyen, Quyen; Ryan, Patrick H; Lemasters, Grace K; Spitz, Henry; Lobaugh, Megan; Glover, Samuel; Grinshpun, Sergey A

    2009-05-01

    Millions of children attending US schools are exposed to traffic-related air pollutants, including health-relevant ultrafine aerosols generated from school buses powered with diesel fuel. This case study was established in a midwestern (USA) metropolitan area to determine the concentration and elemental composition of aerosol in the vicinity of a public school during morning hours when the bus traffic in and out of the adjacent depot was especially intense. Simultaneous measurements were performed at a control site. The ambient aerosol was first characterized in real time using a particle size selective aerosol spectrometer and then continuously monitored at each site with a real-time non-size-selective instrument that detected particles of 20 nm to >1 microm. In addition, air samples were collected with PM2.5 Harvard Impactors and analyzed for elemental composition using the X-ray fluorescence technique (for 38 elements) and thermal-optical transmittance (for carbon). The measurements were conducted during two seasons: in March at ambient temperature around 0 degrees C and in May when it ranged mostly between 10 and 20 degrees C. The particle number concentration at the test site exhibited high temporal variability while it was time independent at the control site. Overall, the aerosol particle count at the school was 4.7 +/- 1.0 times (March) and 2.2 +/- 0.4 times (May) greater than at the control site. On some days, a 15 min-averaged particle number concentration showed significant correlation with the number of school bus arrivals and departures during these time intervals. On other days, the correlation was less than statistically significant. The 3 h time-averaged particle concentrations determined in the test site on days when the school buses operated were found to be more than two-fold greater (on average) than those measured on bus-free days at the same location, and this difference was statistically significant. Overall, the data suggest a possible association between the number of detected aerosol particles and the school bus traffic intensity. Analysis of the filter samples collected at the school site between 6:00 and 9:00 AM revealed higher concentrations of elemental carbon as compared to the control site (2.8 +/- 0.9 times in March and 3.1 +/- 1.1 times in May). The data collected in this case study suggest that school buses significantly contribute to exposure of children to aerosol pollutants (including diesel exhaust particles) in the school vicinity.

  13. Success Starts at Home: Using the Federal Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule to Tackle Education Inequalities for Minority Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Mitria

    2015-01-01

    Far too often, the question of how to improve educational outcomes for minority children living in the United States leads to familiar proposals involving school busing, educational vouchers, or the formation of mixed-community charter schools. The purpose of this report is to note that each of these shares a commonality that should not be…

  14. On-road measurement of regulated pollutants from diesel and CNG buses with urea selective catalytic reduction systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Jiadong; Ge, Yunshan; Hao, Lijun; Tan, Jianwei; Li, Jiaqiang; Feng, Xiangyu

    2014-12-01

    In this study, emissions from 13 buses operated in Beijing, including two Euro-III diesel buses, four Euro-IV diesel buses, three Euro-V diesel buses and four Euro-V CNG buses, were characterized in real world conditions. All of the buses tested were fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems except for the Euro-III diesel buses. A SEMTECH-DS was used for testing the gaseous pollutants, and an electric low pressure impactor (ELPI) was used for measuring of particle numbers and size distributions. A comparison was made based on emission performance of these buses by employing the VSP approach and fuel- based emissions factors. Diesel buses emitted less CO and THC but more NOx and PM pollutants than CNG buses. The NOx reduction efficiencies of the SCR systems for CNG buses were higher because of the high exhaust temperature and high NO2/NOx ratio, whereas the efficiencies for diesel buses were lower. This resulted in extremely low NOx emissions from CNG buses, but the high NO2/NOx ratio needs further study. Failures of urea injection in the SCR systems were detected in this research, which resulted in very high NOx emissions. The CNG buses also emitted smaller numbers of particles and less particle mass with the presence of oxidation catalysts. Diesel buses satisfying the Euro-V standard performed better than Euro-IV and Euro-III diesel buses in terms of emission performance, except for more nuclei mode particles. Most of time, the Euro-IV diesel buses show no advantages in CO and NOx emissions compared with the Euro-III diesel buses.

  15. 36 CFR 7.43 - Natchez Trace Parkway.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... vehicles. Animal-drawn vehicles or implements are prohibited on the main parkway road. (3) Farm vehicles. Farm vehicles, including agricultural implements, with or without load carrying capacity, and whether... from the Superintendent or his representative. School buses may travel on the parkway without such...

  16. 36 CFR 7.43 - Natchez Trace Parkway.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... vehicles. Animal-drawn vehicles or implements are prohibited on the main parkway road. (3) Farm vehicles. Farm vehicles, including agricultural implements, with or without load carrying capacity, and whether... from the Superintendent or his representative. School buses may travel on the parkway without such...

  17. 36 CFR 7.43 - Natchez Trace Parkway.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... vehicles. Animal-drawn vehicles or implements are prohibited on the main parkway road. (3) Farm vehicles. Farm vehicles, including agricultural implements, with or without load carrying capacity, and whether... from the Superintendent or his representative. School buses may travel on the parkway without such...

  18. 36 CFR 7.43 - Natchez Trace Parkway.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... vehicles. Animal-drawn vehicles or implements are prohibited on the main parkway road. (3) Farm vehicles. Farm vehicles, including agricultural implements, with or without load carrying capacity, and whether... from the Superintendent or his representative. School buses may travel on the parkway without such...

  19. In-vehicle signing for school buses at railroad-highway grade crossings : evaluation report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1998-08-01

    The Minnesota Department of Transportation, 3M, and Dynamic Vehicle Safety Systems have developed an in-vehicle signing system to alert drivers of potentially dangerous railroad crossing situations. In this project the in-vehicle signing system was i...

  20. The Big Brown Bus: Teaching Future Elementary School Teachers about Mass Production.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Linnell, Charles C.

    1996-01-01

    Describes a project that helps teachers introduce the concept of mass production in the elementary classroom. Provides instructions for the activity in which students produce "buses" made of juice containers and brown paper on an assembly line. (JOW)

  1. 75 FR 5244 - Civil Penalties

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-02-02

    ... [Docket No. NHTSA-2009-0066; Notice 2] RIN 2127-AK40 Civil Penalties AGENCY: National Highway Traffic... civil penalty amounts for violations of motor vehicle safety requirements involving school buses, bumper... theft protection requirements. This action is taken pursuant to the Federal Civil Monetary Penalty...

  2. COMPARISON OF CLEAN DIESEL BUSES TO CNG BUSES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Lowell, D.; Parsley, W.; Bush,C

    2003-08-24

    Using previously published data on regulated and unregulated emissions, this paper will compare the environmental performance of current generation transit buses operated on compressed natural gas (CNG) to current generation transit buses operated on ultra low sulfur diesel fuel (ULSD) and incorporating diesel particulate filters (DPF). Unregulated emissions evaluated include toxic compounds associated with adverse health effects (carbonyl, PAH, NPAH, benzene) as well as PM particle count and size distribution. For all regulated and unregulated emissions, both technologies are shown to be comparable. DPF equipped diesel buses and CNG buses have virtually identical levels of PM mass emissions and particlemore » number emissions. DPF-equipped diesel buses have lower HC and CO emissions and lower emissions of toxic substances such as benzene, carbonyls and PAHs than CNG buses. CNG buses have lower NOx emissions than DPF-equipped buses, though CNG bus NOx emissions are shown to be much more variable. In addition, this paper will compare the capital and operating costs of CNG and DPF-equipped buses. The cost comparison is primarily based on the experience of MTA New York City Transit in operating CNG buses since 1995 and DPF-equipped buses fueled with ULSD since 2001. Published data on the experience of other large transit agencies in operating CNG buses is used to validate the NYCT experience. The incremental cost (compared to ''baseline'' diesel) of operating a typical 200-bus depot is shown to be six times higher for CNG buses than for ''clean diesel'' buses. The contributors to this increased cost for CNG buses are almost equally split between increased capital costs for purchase of buses and installation of fueling infrastructure, and increased operating costs for purchase of fuel, bus maintenance, and fuel station maintenance.« less

  3. Prioritizing Safety with Seat Belts: The Unanswered Question.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farrell, Elaine

    1987-01-01

    Reviews conflicting federal and state developments (including liability lawsuits) involving seat belt installation on school buses. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board differ on this issue, and several states are considering seat belt legislation or crashworthiness studies. Hints are…

  4. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Kansas Transportation Data for Alternative

    Science.gov Websites

    Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Save Money Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 https://www.youtube.com

  5. The wheels on the bus go "buy buy buy": school bus advertising laws.

    PubMed

    Pomeranz, Jennifer L

    2012-09-01

    School buses, a practical necessity for millions of children, are at the center of new efforts to raise revenue. School bus advertising laws bring public health and commercialization concerns to the school setting. In doing so, they potentially expose school districts to First Amendment lawsuits. I examined various school bus advertising bills and laws. I reviewed First Amendment "forum analysis" as applied in the transit and school settings to clarify how this legal test may affect school districts subject to such laws. I have made recommendations for school districts to enact appropriate policies to ensure that such advertising does not undermine public health and to enable the districts to maintain control over their property.

  6. Characteristics of cabin air quality in school buses in Central Texas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rim, Donghyun; Siegel, Jeffrey; Spinhirne, Jarett; Webb, Alba; McDonald-Buller, Elena

    This study assessed in-cabin concentrations of diesel-associated air pollutants in six school buses with diesel engines during a typical route in suburban Austin, Texas. Air exchange rates measured by SF 6 decay were 2.60-4.55 h -1. In-cabin concentrations of all pollutants measured exhibited substantial variability across the range of tests even between buses of similar age, mileage, and engine type. In-cabin NO x concentrations ranged from 44.7 to 148 ppb and were 1.3-10 times higher than roadway NO x concentrations. Mean in-cabin PM 2.5 concentrations were 7-20 μg m -3 and were generally lower than roadway levels. In-cabin concentrations exhibited higher variability during cruising mode than frequent stops. Mean in-cabin ultrafine PM number concentrations were 6100-32,000 particles cm -3 and were generally lower than roadway levels. Comparison of median concentrations indicated that in-cabin ultrafine PM number concentrations were higher than or approximately the same as the roadway concentrations, which implied that, by excluding the bias caused by local traffic, ultrafine PM levels were higher in the bus cabin than outside of the bus. Cabin pollutant concentrations on three buses were measured prior to and following the phased installation of a Donaldson Spiracle Crankcase Filtration System and a Diesel Oxidation Catalyst. Following installation of the Spiracle, the Diesel Oxidation Catalyst provided negligible or small additional reductions of in-cabin pollutant levels. In-cabin concentration decreases with the Spiracle alone ranged from 24 to 37% for NO x and 26 to 62% and 6.6 to 43% for PM 2.5 and ultrafine PM, respectively. Comparison of the ranges of PM 2.5 and ultrafine PM variations between repetitive tests suggested that retrofit installation could not always be conclusively linked to the decrease of pollutant levels in the bus cabin.

  7. Alternative Energy Busing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    LaFee, Scott

    2012-01-01

    In recent years, school districts have converted portions of their bus fleets to cleaner-burning, sometimes cheaper, alternative fossil fuels, such as compressed natural gas or propane. Others have adopted biodiesel, which combines regular diesel with fuel derived from organic sources, usually vegetable oils or animal fats. The number of biodiesel…

  8. For Your Bookshelf.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jones, Rebecca

    2002-01-01

    Reviews notable education books of 2001: "Not in Front of the Children" (Marjorie Heins); "The other Boston Busing Story" (Susan E. Eaton); "Another Planet" (Elinor Burkett); "Parents Under Siege" (James Garbarino and Claire Bedard); "Radical Equations" (Robert P. Moses and Charles E. Cobb, Jr.); "School" (Sheila Curran Bernard and Sarah Mondale);…

  9. 45 CFR 1310.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    .... Allowable Alternate Vehicle means a vehicle designed for carrying eleven or more people, including the driver, that meets all the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards applicable to school buses, except 49... driver in ensuring the safety of the children while they ride, board, or exit the vehicle and for...

  10. 45 CFR 1310.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    .... Allowable Alternate Vehicle means a vehicle designed for carrying eleven or more people, including the driver, that meets all the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards applicable to school buses, except 49... driver in ensuring the safety of the children while they ride, board, or exit the vehicle and for...

  11. 45 CFR 1310.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    .... Allowable Alternate Vehicle means a vehicle designed for carrying eleven or more people, including the driver, that meets all the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards applicable to school buses, except 49... driver in ensuring the safety of the children while they ride, board, or exit the vehicle and for...

  12. Too Many Choices?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gardner, Howard

    2002-01-01

    Reviews two books, "The Other Boston Busing Story: What's Won and Lost across the Boundary Line" (Susan E. Eaton) and "Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement" (Mitchell L. Stevens), which provide revealing perspectives on the experiences of those American families who veture beyond the traditional local school.…

  13. The Impact of Staffing on Program Efficiency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farmer, Ernest

    1988-01-01

    Adequate staffing for pupil transportation provides for the following: (1) drivers are appropriately instructed; (2) school buses meet the highest standards of construction and maintenance; (3) discipline is uniformly administered; (4) instruction in safe riding practices is provided; and (5) salary and fringe benefits retain the best qualified…

  14. A comparative investigation of ultrafine particle number and mass emissions from a fleet of on-road diesel and CNG buses.

    PubMed

    Jayaratne, E R; He, C; Ristovski, Z D; Morawska, L; Johnson, G R

    2008-09-01

    Particle number, particle mass, and CO2 concentrations were measured on the curb of a busy urban busway used entirely by a mix of diesel and CNG operated buses. With the passage of each bus, the ratio of particle number concentration and particle mass concentration to CO2 concentration in the diluted exhaust plume were used as measures of the particle number and mass emission factors, respectively. With all buses accelerating pastthe monitoring point, the results showed that the median particle mass emission from CNG buses was less than 9% of that from diesel buses. However, the median particle number emission from CNG buses was 6 times higher than the diesel buses, and the particles from the CNG buses were mainly in the nanoparticle size range. Using a thermodenuder to remove the volatile material from the sampled emissions showed that the majority of particles from the CNG buses, but not from the diesel buses, were volatile. Approximately, 82% of the particles from the CNG buses and 38% from the diesel buses were removed by heating the emissions to 300 degrees C.

  15. The Afro-American before the Burger Court, 1976-1978: Justice Granted or Justice Denied?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gill, Robert Lewis

    1978-01-01

    Supreme Court rulings during 1976-78 on capital punishment; criminal justice and prisoner rights; busing and school desegregation; discrimination in housing and employment; rights of illegitimates and family relations; abortion, voting rights, tenant landlord relations; and "reverse discrimination" have had a significant impact on Black…

  16. Clubs Reach Urban Middle Level Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hale, Rosalind P.

    1993-01-01

    When busing limits number of afternoon activities and students do not seem interested anyway, principals must look for opportunities during day to involve students. One inner-city middle-school principal helped teachers initiate program of morning clubs and assemblies to increase student self-esteem and encourage student and parent involvement…

  17. Toms River Drivers Manual 1984-1985.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Patricia

    The procedures in this manual are designed to establish stability and continuity within the student transportation department of the Toms River Regional Schools in New Jersey. The manual is divided into three sections. Section 1 provides driver and aide specific information. It includes directives related to time clock, spare buses, and…

  18. The Wheels on the Bus Go “Buy Buy Buy”: School Bus Advertising Laws

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    School buses, a practical necessity for millions of children, are at the center of new efforts to raise revenue. School bus advertising laws bring public health and commercialization concerns to the school setting. In doing so, they potentially expose school districts to First Amendment lawsuits. I examined various school bus advertising bills and laws. I reviewed First Amendment “forum analysis” as applied in the transit and school settings to clarify how this legal test may affect school districts subject to such laws. I have made recommendations for school districts to enact appropriate policies to ensure that such advertising does not undermine public health and to enable the districts to maintain control over their property. PMID:22742065

  19. Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway Navigation Season Extension. Volume 2. Appendixes A - B

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-08-01

    of 12 automobiles. During the winter season the ferry transports about 60 autos per day. In addition, the ferry transports the school buses for about...50 children attending schools on the mainland, as well as trucks supplying provisions and fuel oil to the island. Prior to the extended navigation...January (+ 2 weeks) on the upper four Great Lakes. However, the state-of-the- art , with available biological information-, data, and ecosystem

  20. Spatial and temporal variations in traffic-related particulate matter at New York City high schools

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Patel, Molini M.; Chillrud, Steven N.; Correa, Juan C.; Feinberg, Marian; Hazi, Yair; Deepti, K. C.; Prakash, Swati; Ross, James M.; Levy, Diane; Kinney, Patrick L.

    Relatively little is known about exposures to traffic-related particulate matter at schools located in dense urban areas. The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of diesel traffic proximity and intensity on ambient concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and black carbon (BC), an indicator of diesel exhaust particles, at New York City (NYC) high schools. Outdoor PM 2.5 and BC were monitored continuously for 4-6 weeks at each of 3 NYC schools and 1 suburban school located 40 km upwind of the city. Traffic count data were obtained using an automated traffic counter or video camera. BC concentrations were 2-3 fold higher at urban schools compared with the suburban school, and among the 3 urban schools, BC concentrations were higher at schools located adjacent to highways. PM 2.5 concentrations were significantly higher at urban schools than at the suburban school, but concentrations did not vary significantly among urban schools. Both hourly average counts of trucks and buses and meteorological factors such as wind direction, wind speed, and humidity were significantly associated with hourly average ambient BC and PM 2.5 concentrations in multivariate regression models. An increase of 443 trucks/buses per hour was associated with a 0.62 μg/m 3 increase in hourly average BC at an NYC school located adjacent to a major interstate highway. Car traffic counts were not associated with BC. The results suggest that local diesel vehicle traffic may be important sources of airborne fine particles in dense urban areas and consequently may contribute to local variations in PM 2.5 concentrations. In urban areas with higher levels of diesel traffic, local, neighborhood-scale monitoring of pollutants such as BC, which compared to PM 2.5, is a more specific indicator of diesel exhaust particles, may more accurately represent population exposures.

  1. Chemical and toxicological properties of emissions from CNG transit buses equipped with three-way catalysts compared to lean-burn engines and oxidation catalyst technologies

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yoon, Seungju; Hu, Shaohua; Kado, Norman Y.; Thiruvengadam, Arvind; Collins, John F.; Gautam, Mridul; Herner, Jorn D.; Ayala, Alberto

    2014-02-01

    Chemical and toxicological properties of emissions from compressed natural gas (CNG) fueled transit buses with stoichiometric combustion engines and three-way catalyst (TWC) exhaust control systems were measured using a chassis dynamometer testing facility and compared to the data from earlier CNG engine and exhaust control technologies. Gaseous and particulate matter emissions from buses with stoichiometric engines and TWC were significantly lower than the emissions from buses with lean-burn engines. Carbonyls and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from buses with stoichiometric engines and TWC were lower by more than 99% compared to buses with lean-burn engines. Elemental and organic carbons (EC and OC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and trace elements from buses with stoichiometric engines and TWC were effectively controlled and significantly lower than the emissions from buses with lean-burn engines. Potential mutagenicity measured using a microsuspension modification of the Salmonella/microsome assay was lower by more than 99% for buses with stoichiometric engines and TWC, compared to buses with lean-burn engines and OxC.

  2. Are We There Yet? Alternative Fuels for School Buses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lea, Dennis; Carter, Deborah

    2009-01-01

    America's annual oil consumption continues to increase and is projected to continue the upward spiral into the foreseeable future. Alternative-fuel options are available that are not only cheaper in some cases on an energy-equivalent basis but are also more environmentally friendly. Education leaders need to be concerned with both these facts.…

  3. Endogenous Peer Effects: Fact or Fiction?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yeung, Ryan; Nguyen-Hoang, Phuong

    2016-01-01

    The authors examine endogenous peer effects, which occur when a student's behavior or outcome is a function of the behavior or outcome of his or her peer group. Endogenous peer effects have important implications for educational policies such as busing, school choice and tracking. In this study, the authors quantitatively review the literature on…

  4. . . . While Others Conserve Cash by Converting from Gasoline to Propane.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rasmussen, Scott A.

    1988-01-01

    Since 1983, when the David Douglas Public Schools (Portland, Oregon) converted 30 buses to propane fuel, the district has saved $75,000 in fuel and maintenance costs. Propane is priced consistently lower than gasoline and burns cleaner. Since propane engines do not require a carburetor, there are fewer maintenance problems. (MLH)

  5. Social Justice for the Advantaged: Freedom from Racial Equality Post-"Milliken"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Horsford, Sonya Douglass

    2016-01-01

    Background/Context: In "Milliken v. Bradley" (1974), the U.S. Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional a metropolitan-wide desegregation plan in Detroit that sought to achieve racial balance in part by busing white suburban students to the city's majority black schools. In a stark departure from "Brown v. Board of Education of…

  6. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Minnesota Transportation Data for

    Science.gov Websites

    Energy Laboratory Case Studies Video thumbnail for Minnesota School District Finds Cost Savings, Cold Reliability with Propane Buses Jan. 26, 2016 Video thumbnail for Minneapolis Makes EV-Charging History Record Minnesota Videos on YouTube Video thumbnail for GE Showcases Innovation in Alternative Fuel Vehicles GE

  7. PROJECT CONCERN--A CASE STUDY IN URBAN-SUBURBAN COOPERATION. POSITION PAPER.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MAHAN, THOMAS W.

    PROJECT CONCERN SEEKS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE LOWER ACHIEVEMENT OF DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS IS AN "ARTIFACT" OF A NEGATIVE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE SLUM NEIGHBORHOOD AND THE SLUM SCHOOL. TO COUNTERACT THIS EFFECT, THE PROJECT HAS BUSED OVER 250 INNER CITY MINORITY GROUP CHILDREN, FROM KINDERGARTEN THROUGH FIFTH GRADE, TO FIVE MIDDLE CLASS…

  8. Characterizing the range of children's air pollutant exposure during school bus commutes.

    PubMed

    Sabin, Lisa D; Behrentz, Eduardo; Winer, Arthur M; Jeong, Seong; Fitz, Dennis R; Pankratz, David V; Colome, Steven D; Fruin, Scott A

    2005-09-01

    Real-time and integrated measurements of gaseous and particulate pollutants were conducted inside five conventional diesel school buses, a diesel bus with a particulate trap, and a bus powered by compressed natural gas (CNG) to determine the range of children's exposures during school bus commutes and conditions leading to high exposures. Measurements were made during 24 morning and afternoon commutes on two Los Angeles Unified School District bus routes from South to West Los Angeles, with seven additional runs on a rural/suburban route, and three runs to test the effect of window position. For these commutes, the mean concentrations of diesel vehicle-related pollutants ranged from 0.9 to 19 microg/m(3) for black carbon, 23 to 400 ng/m(3) for particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PB-PAH), and 64 to 220 microg/m(3) for NO(2). Concentrations of benzene and formaldehyde ranged from 0.1 to 11 microg/m(3) and 0.3 to 5 microg/m(3), respectively. The highest real-time concentrations of black carbon, PB-PAH and NO(2) inside the buses were 52 microg/m(3), 2000 ng/m(3), and 370 microg/m(3), respectively. These pollutants were significantly higher inside conventional diesel buses compared to the CNG bus, although formaldehyde concentrations were higher inside the CNG bus. Mean black carbon, PB-PAH, benzene and formaldehyde concentrations were higher when the windows were closed, compared with partially open, in part, due to intrusion of the bus's own exhaust into the bus cabin, as demonstrated through the use of a tracer gas added to each bus's exhaust. These same pollutants tended to be higher on urban routes compared to the rural/suburban route, and substantially higher inside the bus cabins compared to ambient measurements. Mean concentrations of pollutants with substantial secondary formation, such as PM(2.5), showed smaller differences between open and closed window conditions and between bus routes. Type of bus, traffic congestion levels, and encounters with other diesel vehicles contributed to high exposure variability between runs.

  9. [Quantitative study of diesel/CNG buses exhaust particulate size distribution in a road tunnel].

    PubMed

    Zhu, Chun; Zhang, Xu

    2010-10-01

    Vehicle emission is one of main sources of fine/ultra-fine particles in many cities. This study firstly presents daily mean particle size distributions of mixed diesel/CNG buses traffic flow by 4 days consecutive real world measurement in an Australia road tunnel. Emission factors (EFs) of particle size distribution of diesel buses and CNG buses are obtained by MLR methods, particle distributions of diesel buses and CNG buses are observed as single accumulation mode and nuclei-mode separately. Particle size distributions of mixed traffic flow are decomposed by two log-normal fitting curves for each 30 min interval mean scans, the degrees of fitting between combined fitting curves and corresponding in-situ scans for totally 90 fitting scans are from 0.972 to 0.998. Finally particle size distributions of diesel buses and CNG buses are quantified by statistical whisker-box charts. For log-normal particle size distribution of diesel buses, accumulation mode diameters are 74.5-86.5 nm, geometric standard deviations are 1.88-2.05. As to log-normal particle size distribution of CNG buses, nuclei-mode diameters are 19.9-22.9 nm, geometric standard deviations are 1.27-1.3.

  10. Environmental Assessment Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Travis Air Force Base, California

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-09-01

    Forbes Street and De Ronde Drive 0630 to 0900 and 1145 to 1630 weekdays POV, school buses, school children and their parents 225 POV privately...03L North Gate- Vacaville Gate Air Base Pkwy. Ra gsi de St. Hangar Ave. Travis Ave. Bu rg an B lvd . Hickam Ave. Fi rs t S t. Broadway St. Ca nn on D...Facility Addition and Alteration to Life Support Shop Taxiway Lima Repairs Electrical, Utilities, and Supporting Infrastructure* Engine Storage Facility

  11. Application of an Ir tracer to determine soot exposure to students commuting to school on Baltimore public buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Charles C.; Suarez, Ana E.; Lin, Zhibo; Kidwell, Christopher B.; Borgoul, Polina V.; Caffrey, Peter F.; Ondov, John M.; Sattler, Barbara

    An important component of urban aerosol, diesel soot is a known respiratory irritant and contains mutagenic and carcinogenic organic compounds. To estimate student exposures to soot emitted from public diesel buses during commutes to city high schools, a portion of the Baltimore municipal fuel supply was tagged with an iridium tracer and exposure was monitored during commutes with personal aerosol monitors as a part of an Environmental Justice Project. A total of 68.2 g of Ir as iridium(III)-2,4-pentanedionate were used to induce a concentration of 48.5 μg Ir ℓ -1 of fuel. Twenty samples were collected over 10 days while four students commuted on regularly scheduled buses and a fifth student commuted by private car. Individual samples integrated from 1 to 4 round trips. Iridium analyses were performed instrumentally after neutron activation with a detection limit (DL) of about 500 fg. For students commuting by bus and following protocols, Ir tracer concentrations ranged from 53±38 to >1980±49 fg m -3. Concentrations up to 3530±220 fg m -3 were observed for student #5, who sampled only when boarding and disembarking. Exposure were greatest for students commuting through the heavily trafficked central business district. Corresponding estimates of exposures to soot emitted from municipal buses ranged from ⩽3 to 82 ng soot m -3 (⩽145 ng m -3 for student #5), i.e. well below the exposure level of 2-10 μg m -3 total C from all sources, including the more than 30,000 diesel trucks which pass through the city's major toll facilities each day. Ir was undetectable in samples collected by the student commuting by car when its windows were closed, but comparable to those of the other students when commutes were made with windows open. The Ir tracer DL corresponds to about 21 ng soot, about half of which is carbon. This is far below the 230 ng reported for analysis by a highly sensitive thermal-optical technique.

  12. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses: Preliminary Evaluation Results

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chandler, K.; Eudy, L.

    2007-03-01

    This report provides an evaluation of three prototype fuel cell-powered transit buses operating at AC Transit in Oakland, California, and six baseline diesel buses similar in design to the fuel cell buses.

  13. Alternative Fuels Data Center: The Heat Is on in St. Louis Buses

    Science.gov Websites

    The Heat Is on in St. Louis Buses to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: The Heat Is on in St. Louis Buses on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: The Heat Is on in St. Louis Buses on Twitter Bookmark Alternative Fuels Data Center: The Heat Is on in St. Louis Buses

  14. Real-time measurements of nitrogen oxide emissions from in-use New York City transit buses using a chase vehicle.

    PubMed

    Shorter, Joanne H; Herndon, Scott; Zahniser, Mark S; Nelson, David D; Wormhoudt, Joda; Demerjian, Kenneth L; Kolb, Charles E

    2005-10-15

    New diesel engine technologies and alternative fuel engines are being introduced into fleets of mass transit buses to try to meet stricter emission regulations of nitrogen oxides and particulates: Real-time instruments including an Aerodyne Research tunable infrared laser differential absorption spectrometer (TILDAS) were deployed in a mobile laboratory to assess the impact of the implementation of the new technologies on nitrogen oxide emissions in real world driving conditions. Using a "chase" vehicle sampling strategy, the mobile laboratory followed target vehicles, repeatedly sampling their exhaust. Nitrogen oxides from approximately 170 in-use New York City mass transit buses were sampled during the field campaigns. Emissions from conventional diesel buses, diesel buses with continuously regenerating technology (CRT), diesel hybrid electric buses, and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses were compared. The chase vehicle sampling method yields real world emissions that can be included in more realistic emission inventories. The NO, emissions from the diesel and CNG buses were comparable. The hybrid electric buses had approximately one-half the NOx emissions. In CRT diesels, NO2 accounts for about one-third of the NOx emitted in the exhaust, while for non-CRT buses the NO2 fraction is less than 10%.

  15. Cost Effectiveness of Premium Versus Regular Gasoline in MCPS Buses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baacke, Clifford M.; Frankel, Steven M.

    The primary question posed in this study is whether premium or regular gasoline is more cost effective for the Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) bus fleet, as a whole, when miles-per-gallon, cost-per-gallon, and repair costs associated with mileage are considered. On average, both miles-per-gallon, and repair costs-per-mile favor premium…

  16. Alternative Fuels Data Center: South Florida Fleet Fuels with Propane

    Science.gov Websites

    Alternative Fuel Use and Public Transit Efficiency March 8, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Electric Vehicles March 31, 2012 Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In Electric Bus in Michigan June 3

  17. Beyond Buses, Boilers, and Books: Instructional Support Takes Center Stage for Principal Supervisors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Syed, Sarosh

    2014-01-01

    Denver Public Schools, one of 14 districts that receive funding from The Wallace Foundation to improve principal effectiveness, is also one of a number of districts around the country emphasizing the development of principals' managers in the central office. The principal's job has changed over the last decade, going from a role that revolved…

  18. "Mingle with Us:" Religious Integration in Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century American Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Beneke, Chris

    2006-01-01

    From the colonial period to the present, no form of integration (defined as the opening of institutions and communal spaces to members of different groups) has produced more conflict than the integration of American schools. Struggles to open other locations within the social landscape--such as railroad cars, buses, restaurant counters, and water…

  19. Short and Fraught: The History of Primary Education in England

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillard, Derek

    2009-01-01

    Official reports on primary education are a bit like London buses. You wait ages and then three come along at once. There has been no major report on primary education since the 1967 Plowden Report "Children and their Primary Schools". Now, final reports are awaited from the Cambridge Primary Review and the government-appointed…

  20. Reflections on "Brown" to Understand "Milliken v. Bradley": What if We Are Focusing on the Wrong Policy Questions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milner, H. Richard, IV; Delale-O'Connor, Lori A.; Murray, Ira E.; Farinde, Abiola A.

    2016-01-01

    Background/Context: Prior research on "Milliken v. Bradley" focuses on the failure of this case to implement interdistrict busing in the highly segregated Detroit schools. Much of this work focuses explicitly on desegregation, rather than on equity and addressing individual, systemic, institutional, and organizational challenges that may…

  1. Microbial air quality in mass transport buses and work-related illness among bus drivers of Bangkok Mass Transit Authority.

    PubMed

    Luksamijarulkul, Pipat; Sundhiyodhin, Viboonsri; Luksamijarulkul, Soavalug; Kaewboonchoo, Orawan

    2004-06-01

    The air quality in mass transport buses, especially air-conditioned buses may affect bus drivers who work full time. Bus numbers 16, 63, 67 and 166 of the Seventh Bus Zone of Bangkok Mass Transit Authority were randomly selected to investigate for microbial air quality. Nine air-conditioned buses and 2-4 open-air buses for each number of the bus (36 air-conditioned buses and 12 open-air buses) were included. Five points of in-bus air samples in each studied bus were collected by using the Millipore A ir Tester Totally, 180 and 60 air samples collected from air-conditioned buses and open-air buses were cultured for bacterial and fungal counts. The bus drivers who drove the studied buses were interviewed towards histories of work-related illness while working. The results revealed that the mean +/- SD of bacterial counts in the studied open-air buses ranged from 358.50 +/- 146.66 CFU/m3 to 506 +/- 137.62 CFU/m3; bus number 16 had the highest level. As well as the mean +/- SD of fungal counts which ranged from 93.33 +/- 44.83 CFU/m3 to 302 +/- 294.65 CFU/m3; bus number 166 had the highest level. Whereas, the mean +/- SD of bacterial counts in the studied air-conditioned buses ranged from 115.24 +/- 136.01 CFU/m3 to 244.69 +/- 234.85 CFU/m3; bus numbers 16 and 67 had the highest level. As well as the mean +/- SD of fungal counts which rangedfrom 18.84 +/- 39.42 CFU/m3 to 96.13 +/- 234.76 CFU/m3; bus number 166 had the highest level. When 180 and 60 studied air samples were analyzed in detail, it was found that 33.33% of the air samples from open-air buses and 6.11% of air samples from air-conditioned buses had a high level of bacterial counts (> 500 CFU/m3) while 6.67% of air samples from open-air buses and 2.78% of air samples from air-conditioned buses had a high level of fungal counts (> 500 CFU/m3). Data from the history of work-related illnesses among the studied bus drivers showed that 91.67% of open-air bus drivers and 57.28% of air-conditioned bus drivers had symptoms of work-related illnesses, p = 0.0185.

  2. Fresh and Oxidized Emissions from In-Use Transit Buses Running on Diesel, Biodiesel, and CNG.

    PubMed

    Watne, Ågot K; Psichoudaki, Magda; Ljungström, Evert; Le Breton, Michael; Hallquist, Mattias; Jerksjö, Martin; Fallgren, Henrik; Jutterström, Sara; Hallquist, Åsa M

    2018-06-26

    The potential effect of changing to a nonfossil fuel vehicle fleet was investigated by measuring primary emissions (by extractive sampling of bus plumes) and secondary mass formation, using a Gothenburg Potential Aerosol Mass (Go:PAM) reactor, from 29 in-use transit buses. Regarding fresh emissions, diesel (DSL) buses without a diesel particulate filter (DPF) emitted the highest median mass of particles, whereas compressed natural gas (CNG) buses emitted the lowest ( Md EF PM 514 and 11 mg kg fuel -1 , respectively). Rapeseed methyl ester (RME) buses showed smaller Md EF PM and particle sizes than DSL buses. DSL (no DPF) and hybrid-electric RME (RME HEV ) buses exhibited the highest particle numbers ( Md EF PN 12 × 10 14 # kg fuel -1 ). RME HEV buses displayed a significant nucleation mode ( D p < 20 nm). EF PN of CNG buses spanned the highest to lowest values measured. Low Md EF PN and Md EF PM were observed for a DPF-equipped DSL bus. Secondary particle formation resulting from exhaust aging was generally important for all the buses (79% showed an average EF PM:AGED /EF PM:FRESH ratio >10) and fuel types tested, suggesting an important nonfuel dependent source. The results suggest that the potential for forming secondary mass should be considered in future fuel shifts, since the environmental impact is different when only considering the primary emissions.

  3. School bus transportation for students seated in wheelchairs.

    PubMed

    Buning, Mary Ellen; Karg, Patricia E

    2011-01-01

    For children with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), transportation is considered a related service and a part of their education. This paper presents an overview of the current status of wheelchair transportation for students on school buses within the United States. The review includes the school transportation environment for wheelchair-seated students, applicable regulations and voluntary standards, primary safety issues for wheelchair-seated students, and key stakeholders roles in improving wheelchair transportation safety. Future actions to improve wheelchair transportation safety in school transportation are discussed, including the need to improve data collection, mandate payment for and use of RESNA WC19-compliant wheelchairs, improve training for bus operators and attendants, and require specialty certification for school bus operators who transport wheelchair-seated students.

  4. Reducing children's exposure to school bus diesel exhaust in one school district in North Carolina.

    PubMed

    Mazer, Mary E; Vann, Julie C Jacobson; Lamanna, Beth F; Davison, Jean

    2014-04-01

    Children who are exposed to diesel exhaust from idling school buses are at increased risk of asthma exacerbation, decreased lung function, immunologic reactions, leukemia, and increased susceptibility to infections. Policies and initiatives that aim to protect school children from the harmful effects of exposure to diesel exhaust range from general environmental air quality standards to more specific legislation that targets diesel exhaust near school children. School nurse standards of practice specify that school nurses should attain current knowledge of environmental health concepts, implement environmental health strategies, and advocate for environmental health principles. This article provides a description of the professional responsibilities of school nurses in protecting children from harmful environmental exposures, provides an overview of legislative initiatives intended to protect school children from diesel exhaust exposure, and summarizes one school district's effort to reduce diesel exhaust exposure among school children.

  5. Desegregation of Public Schools. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Separation of Powers, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, William Bradford

    This testimony was delivered by William Bradford Reynolds, the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, before the Subcommttee on Separation of Powers, Committee on the Judiciary of the United States Senate. Reynold states that compulsory busing of students is not an acceptable remedy to achieve racial balance. He emphasizes the…

  6. Youth With Wheels and Their Responsibilities. A Combined Teacher Guide and Student Handbook for Pre Driving Age Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oklahoma Curriculum Improvement Commission, Oklahoma City.

    The purpose of this guide is to help pre-driving age students understand the responsibilities inherent in using public streets and highways. Materials, which can be integrated into existing secondary school courses, are divided into nine chapters covering traffic rules and signs; alcohol and drugs; safety on buses, skateboards, multigeared…

  7. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Dallas Airport Operates With Alternative

    Science.gov Websites

    Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at a charging station Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Texas Taxis Go Hybrid May 6, 2010 Electric Trolley Boosts Business

  8. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Yellowstone National Park Commits to

    Science.gov Websites

    Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at a charging station Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Deliver at Kansas City Schools Sept. 17, 2011 San Relies on Natural Gas Fueling Stations July 1, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in

  9. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Happy Cab Fuels Taxi Fleet With CNG

    Science.gov Websites

    Happy Cab Fuels Taxi Fleet With CNG Find out how a cab company in Omaha, Nebraska, saves money fueling Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels

  10. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Tennessee Reduces Pollution With Propane

    Science.gov Websites

    Money With Propane Vans Feb. 1, 2014 Photo of an electric vehicle at a charging station Companies Power Natural Gas School Buses Help Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Electric Trucks Deliver at Kansas City Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In Electric Bus in Michigan June 3

  11. Mexican-American Self-Concept and Educational Achievement: The Effects of Ethnic Isolation and Socio-Economic Deprivation.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Felice, Lawrence G.

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative importance of school socioeconomic and racial-ethnic context for Mexican American student achievement and dropout behavior. Data reported in this paper were obtained from the first part of a larger 3-year panel study evaluating the effects of court-ordered busing on majority and minority…

  12. A Review of Cases Pending Before the United States Supreme Court.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fearen, William

    This article, the fifteenth chapter of a book on school law, presents a sketch of education cases for which a hearing has been granted by the Supreme Court or for which petitions are pending. Hearings have been granted to education cases in five areas: church-state relationships, Title IX, book censorship, busing, and P.L. 94-142. Regarding…

  13. Party on wheels: mobile party spaces in the Norwegian high school graduation celebration.

    PubMed

    Fjaer, Eivind Grip; Pedersen, Willy; Sandberg, Sveinung

    2016-06-01

    Research on partying and nightlife often emphasizes commercial control while overlooking participants' creativity and agency. Due to their age, appearance and transgressive partying, participants in the Norwegian high school graduation celebration have limited access to bars and pubs in the ordinary night-time economy. To create alternative party spaces under their own control they utilize the spatial opportunities offered by automobility. Groups of students get together many years in advance and buy old buses which they refurbish to become rolling nightclubs that enable them to 'transcend space' through partying while on the move. These mobile party spaces provide a material and symbolic centre of communion and a tight space for physical assembly that enhances the production of intense positive emotions. In a cat-and-mouse game with the police, the buses provide a sense of nomadic autonomy, and enable participants to drink heavily for days on end. The study examines how youth may creatively zone their own party spaces within the context of automobility and how these mobile spaces again shape the partying that goes on within them. While this party practice opens up for autonomy, creativity and social transgressions reminiscent of liminal phases or carnivals, at a deeper level participants clearly reproduce class-based differences and exaggerate conventional practices and symbols. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2016.

  14. Detailed characterization and profiles of crankcase and diesel particulate matter exhaust emissions using speciated organics.

    PubMed

    Zielinska, Barbara; Campbell, David; Lawson, Douglas R; Ireson, Robert G; Weaver, Christopher S; Hesterberg, Thomas W; Larson, Timothy; Davey, Mark; Liu, L J Sally

    2008-08-01

    A monitoring campaign was conducted in August-September 2005 to compare different experimental approaches quantifying school bus self-pollution. As part of this monitoring campaign, a detailed characterization of PM2.5 diesel engine emissions from the tailpipe and crankcase emissions from the road draft tubes was performed. To distinguish between tailpipe and crankcase vent emissions, a deuterated alkane, n-hexatriacontane-d74 (n-C36D74) was added to the engine oil to serve as an intentional quantitative tracer for lubricating oil PM emissions. This paper focuses on the detailed chemical speciation of crankcase and tailpipe PM emissions from two school buses used in this study. We found that organic carbon emission rates were generally higher from the crankcase than from the tailpipe for these two school buses, while elemental carbon contributed significantly only in the tailpipe emissions. The n-C36D74 that was added to the engine oil was emitted at higher rates from the crankcase than the tailpipe. Tracers of engine oil (hopanes and steranes) were present in much higher proportion in crankcase emissions. Particle-associated PAH emission rates were generally very low (< 1 microg/km), but more PAH species were present in crankcase than in tailpipe emissions. The speciation of samples collected in the bus cabins was consistent with most of the bus self-pollution originating from crankcase emissions.

  15. Detailed Characterization and Profiles of Crankcase and Diesel Particular Matter Exhaust Emissions Using Speciated Organics

    PubMed Central

    Zielinska, Barbara; Campbell, David; Lawson, Douglas R.; Ireson, Robert G.; Weaver, Christopher S.; Hesterberg, Thomas W.; Larson, Timothy; Davey, Mark; Liu, L.-J. Sally

    2008-01-01

    A monitoring campaign was conducted in August-September 2005 to compare different experimental approaches quantifying school bus self-pollution. As part of this monitoring campaign, a detailed characterization of PM2.5 diesel engine emissions from the tailpipe and crankcase emissions from the road draft tubes was performed. To distinguish between tailpipe and crankcase vent emissions, a deuterated alkane, n-hexatriacontane-d74 (n-C36D74) was added to the engine oil to serve as intentional quantitative tracers for lubricating oil PM emissions. This paper focuses on the detailed chemical speciation of crankcase and tailpipe PM emissions from two school buses used in this study. We found that organic carbon emission rates were generally higher from the crankcase than from the tailpipe for these two school buses, while elemental carbon contributed significantly only in the tailpipe emissions. The n-C36D74 that was added to the engine oil was emitted at higher rates from the crankcase than the tailpipe. Tracers of engine oil (hopanes, and steranes) were present in much higher proportion in crankcase emissions. Particle-associated PAH emission rates were generally very low (< 1 μg/km), but more PAH species were present in crankcase than in tailpipe emissions. The speciation of samples collected in the bus cabins was consistent with most of the bus self-pollution originating from crankcase emissions. PMID:18754490

  16. In-vehicle measurement of ultrafine particles on compressed natural gas, conventional diesel, and oxidation-catalyst diesel heavy-duty transit buses.

    PubMed

    Hammond, Davyda; Jones, Steven; Lalor, Melinda

    2007-02-01

    Many metropolitan transit authorities are considering upgrading transit bus fleets to decrease ambient criteria pollutant levels. Advancements in engine and fuel technology have lead to a generation of lower-emission buses in a variety of fuel types. Dynamometer tests show substantial reductions in particulate mass emissions for younger buses (<10 years) over older models, but particle number reduction has not been verified in the research. Recent studies suggest that particle number is a more important factor than particle mass in determining health effects. In-vehicle particle number concentration measurements on conventional diesel, oxidation-catalyst diesel and compressed natural gas transit buses are compared to estimate relative in-vehicle particulate exposures. Two primary consistencies are observed from the data: the CNG buses have average particle count concentrations near the average concentrations for the oxidation-catalyst diesel buses, and the conventional diesel buses have average particle count concentrations approximately three to four times greater than the CNG buses. Particle number concentrations are also noticeably affected by bus idling behavior and ventilation options, such as, window position and air conditioning.

  17. School bus and children's traffic safety.

    PubMed

    Pan, Shu-ming; Hargarten, Stephen; Zhu, Shan-kuan

    2007-08-01

    There is no safer way to transport a child than a school bus. Fatal crashes involving occupants are extremely rare events in the US. In recent years, school bus transportation began to develop in China. We want to bring advanced experience on school bus safety in Western countries such as the US to developing countries. We searched the papers related to school bus safety from Medline, Chinese Scientific Journals Database and the Web of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). There were only 9 papers related to school bus safety, which showed that higher levels of safety standards on school buses, school bus-related transportation and environmental laws and injury prevention were the primary reasons for the desired outcome. Few school bus is related to deaths and injuries in the developed countries. The developing countries should make strict environmental laws and standards on school bus safety to prevent children's injury and death.

  18. Rapid identification of high particle number emitting on-road vehicles and its application to a large fleet of diesel buses.

    PubMed

    Jayaratne, E R; Morawska, L; Ristovski, Z D; He, C

    2007-07-15

    Pollutant concentrations measured in the exhaust plume of a vehicle may be related to the pollutant emission factor using the CO2 concentration as a measure of the dilution factor. We have used this method for the rapid identification of high particle number (PN) emitting on-road vehicles. The method was validated for PN using a medium-duty vehicle and successfully applied to measurements of PN emissions from a large fleet of on-road diesel buses. The ratio of PN concentration to CO2 concentration, Z, in the exhaust plume was estimated for individual buses. On the average, a bus emitted about 1.5 x 10(9) particles per mg of CO2 emitted. A histogram of the number of buses as a function of Z showed, for the first time, that the PN emissions from diesel buses followed a gamma distribution, with most of the values within a narrow range and a few buses exhibiting relatively large values. It was estimated that roughly 10% and 50% of the PN emissions came from just 2% and 25% of the buses, respectively. A regression analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between Z and age of buses, with the slope of the best line being significantly different from zero. The mean Z value for the pre-Euro buses was significantly greater than each of the values for the Euro I and II buses.

  19. Particle and gaseous emissions from compressed natural gas and ultralow sulphur diesel-fuelled buses at four steady engine loads.

    PubMed

    Jayaratne, E R; Ristovski, Z D; Meyer, N; Morawska, L

    2009-04-01

    Exhaust emissions from thirteen compressed natural gas (CNG) and nine ultralow sulphur diesel in-service transport buses were monitored on a chassis dynamometer. Measurements were carried out at idle and at three steady engine loads of 25%, 50% and 100% of maximum power at a fixed speed of 60 km h(-1). Emission factors were estimated for particle mass and number, carbon dioxide and oxides of nitrogen for two types of CNG buses (Scania and MAN, compatible with Euro 2 and 3 emission standards, respectively) and two types of diesel buses (Volvo Pre-Euro/Euro1 and Mercedez OC500 Euro3). All emission factors increased with load. The median particle mass emission factor for the CNG buses was less than 1% of that from the diesel buses at all loads. However, the particle number emission factors did not show a statistically significant difference between buses operating on the two types of fuel. In this paper, for the very first time, particle number emission factors are presented at four steady state engine loads for CNG buses. Median values ranged from the order of 10(12) particles min(-)(1) at idle to 10(15) particles km(-)(1) at full power. Most of the particles observed in the CNG emissions were in the nanoparticle size range and likely to be composed of volatile organic compounds The CO2 emission factors were about 20% to 30% greater for the diesel buses over the CNG buses, while the oxides of nitrogen emission factors did not show any difference due to the large variation between buses.

  20. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free

    Science.gov Websites

    Rides in Maryland Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland to someone by E -mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in

  1. 49 CFR 579.22 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of 100 or more buses, manufacturers of 500 or more...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ...-heavy vehicles (other than buses and emergency vehicles) annually. 579.22 Section 579.22 Transportation... buses, manufacturers of 500 or more emergency vehicles and manufacturers of 5,000 or more medium-heavy... whose aggregate number of medium-heavy vehicles (a sum that does not include buses or emergency vehicles...

  2. 49 CFR 579.27 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... manufacturers of fewer than 5,000 light vehicles, medium-heavy vehicles (other than buses and emergency vehicles... fewer than 5,000 light vehicles, medium-heavy vehicles (other than buses and emergency vehicles... vehicles, medium-heavy vehicles and buses, motorcycles, or trailers submitted pursuant to §§ 579.21 through...

  3. Definition, analysis and development of an optical data distribution network for integrated avionics and control systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Burns, R. R.

    1981-01-01

    The potential and functional requirements of fiber optic bus designs for next generation aircraft are assessed. State-of-the-art component evaluations and projections were used in the system study. Complex networks were decomposed into dedicated structures, star buses, and serial buses for detailed analysis. Comparisons of dedicated links, star buses, and serial buses with and without full duplex operation and with considerations for terminal to terminal communication requirements were obtained. This baseline was then used to consider potential extensions of busing methods to include wavelength multiplexing and optical switches. Example buses were illustrated for various areas of the aircraft as potential starting points for more detail analysis as the platform becomes definitized.

  4. Creating regional consensus for starting school later: a physician-driven approach in southern Maine.

    PubMed

    Collins, Tracey Ann; Indorf, Christopher; Klak, Thomas

    2017-12-01

    In April 2016, several contiguous school districts and an independent high school academy in southern Maine voted simultaneously to start school later, beginning with the 2016-17 academic year. They became Maine's first school districts to implement the American Academy of Pediatrics' 1 and the American Medical Association's 2 health policy recommendations that middle and high schools should not start before 8:30 AM. Local physicians' presentations to school staff and parents on the medical evidence of the health benefits of a later start solidified early consensus. The action required special permission from the Maine Municipal Association to hold a joint school board vote, impacted approximately 6500 students across the region, resulted in no increase in busing costs, and took 8 months to implement after the first formal school board discussions. Copyright © 2017 National Sleep Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Impact of a pilot walking school bus intervention on children's pedestrian safety behaviors: a pilot study.

    PubMed

    Mendoza, Jason A; Watson, Kathy; Chen, Tzu-An; Baranowski, Tom; Nicklas, Theresa A; Uscanga, Doris K; Hanfling, Marcus J

    2012-01-01

    Walking school buses (WSB) increased children's physical activity, but impact on pedestrian safety behaviors (PSB) is unknown. We tested the feasibility of a protocol evaluating changes to PSB during a WSB program. Outcomes were school-level street crossing PSB prior to (Time 1) and during weeks 4-5 (Time 2) of the WSB. The protocol collected 1252 observations at Time 1 and 2548 at Time 2. Mixed model analyses yielded: intervention schoolchildren had 5-fold higher odds (p<0.01) of crossing at the corner/crosswalk but 5-fold lower odds (p<0.01) of stopping at the curb. The protocol appears feasible for documenting changes to school-level PSB. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Crisis Relocation Workshops for Transportation Industry Representatives

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1979-12-01

    executive, two National Guard members, one Air Force transporta- _a ,tion representative, two Red Cross representatives, one school bus z coordinators...manaaers, local transitCD operator, and miiltary busingA authorityA Local Governa-ient 2 Fire chief, assistantI Air Force 3 Liaison Support D CPA :z...to attend the workshop. Majur trans- portation problems anticipated during crisis relocation include: 1. Transportation of carless residents; 2. The

  7. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Kentucky Charges Forward with All-Electric

    Science.gov Websites

    Partnership. Download QuickTime Video QuickTime (.mov) Download Windows Media Video Windows Media (.wmv) Video Fuel Cell Vehicles in California Nov. 18, 2017 Photo of a car Smart Car Shopping Nov. 4, 2017 Image of Photo of a truck Natural Gas Fuels School Buses and Refuse Trucks in Tulsa, Oklahoma Feb. 18, 2017 Photo

  8. Using Task Clarification, Goal Setting, and Feedback to Decrease Table Busing Times in a Franchise Pizza Restaurant

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Amigo, Seth; Smith, Andrew; Ludwig, Timothy

    2008-01-01

    The current study investigated the effects of task-clarification, and manager verbal and graphic feedback on employee busing times at a pizza restaurant. Using an ABC design, task-clarification was provided in a memo, which described the process, priority, and goal time of busing. The busing time decreased slightly, from an average of 315 seconds…

  9. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter in buses on highways in Taiwan

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hsu, Der-Jen; Huang, Hsiao-Lin

    2009-12-01

    Although airborne pollutants in urban buses have been studied in many cities globally, long-distance buses running mainly on highways have not been addressed in this regard. This study investigates the levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO 2) and particulate matter (PM) in the long-distance buses in Taiwan. Analytical results indicate that pollutants levels in long-distance buses are generally lower than those in urban buses. This finding is attributable to the driving speed and patterns of long-distance buses, as well as the meteorological and geographical features of the highway surroundings. The levels of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) found in bus cabins exceed the proposed indoor VOC guidelines for aromatic compounds, and are likely attributable to the interior trim in the cabins. The overall average CO level is 2.3 ppm, with higher average level on local streets (2.9 ppm) than on highways (2.2 ppm). The average CO 2 level is 1493 ppm, which is higher than the guideline for non-industrial occupied settings. The average PM level in this study is lower than those in urban buses and IAQ guidelines set by Taiwan EPA. However, the average PM 10 and PM 2.5 is higher than the level set by WHO. Besides the probable causes mentioned above, fewer passenger movements and less particle re-suspension from bus floor might also cause the lower PM levels. Measurements of particle size distribution reveal that more than 75% of particles are in submicron and smaller sizes. These particles may come from the infiltration from the outdoor air. This study concludes that air exchange rates in long-distance buses should be increased in order to reduce CO 2 levels. Future research on long-distance buses should focus on the emission of VOCs from brand new buses, and the sources of submicron particles in bus cabins.

  10. Comparison of on-road emissions for hybrid and regular transit buses.

    PubMed

    Hallmark, Shauna L; Wang, Bo; Sperry, Robert

    2013-10-01

    Hybrid technology offers an attractive option for transit buses, since it has the potential to significantly reduce operating costs for transit agencies. The main impetus behind use of hybrid transit vehicles is fuel savings and reduced emissions. Laboratory tests have indicated that hybrid transit buses can have significantly lower emissions compared with conventional transit buses. However the number of studies is limited and laboratory tests may not represent actual driving conditions, since in-use vehicle operation differs from laboratory test cycles. This paper describes an on-road evaluation of in-use emission differences between hybrid-electric and conventional transit buses for the Ames, Iowa transit authority, CyRide. Emissions were collected on-road using a portable emissions monitoring system (PEMS) for three hybrid and two control buses. Emissions were collected for at least one operating bus day. Each bus was evaluated over the same route pattern, which utilizes the same driver. The number of passengers embarking or disembarking at each stop was collected by an on-board data collector so that passenger load could be included. Vehicle emissions are correlated to engine load demand, which is a function of factors such as vehicle load, speed, and acceleration. PEMS data are provided second by second and vehicle-specific power (VSP) was calculated for each row of data. Instantaneous data were stratified into the defined VSP bins and then average modal emission rates and standard errors were calculated for each bus for each pollutant. Pollutants were then compared by bus type. Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbon emissions were higher for the regular buses across most VSP bins than for the hybrid buses. Nitrogen oxide emissions were unexpectedly higher for the hybrid buses than for the control buses.

  11. Vibration Tests on Transit Buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1979-03-01

    The objective of this vibration measurement program was to quantify the vibration environment which would be experienced by Automatic Vehicle Monitoring (AVM) equipment when installed on buses during typical city route service operations. Two buses w...

  12. Robust planning of dynamic wireless charging infrastructure for battery electric buses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Liu, Zhaocai; Song, Ziqi

    Battery electric buses with zero tailpipe emissions have great potential in improving environmental sustainability and livability of urban areas. However, the problems of high cost and limited range associated with on-board batteries have substantially limited the popularity of battery electric buses. The technology of dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT), which provides bus operators with the ability to charge buses while in motion, may be able to effectively alleviate the drawbacks of electric buses. In this paper, we address the problem of simultaneously selecting the optimal location of the DWPT facilities and designing the optimal battery sizes of electric buses formore » a DWPT electric bus system. The problem is first constructed as a deterministic model in which the uncertainty of energy consumption and travel time of electric buses is neglected. The methodology of robust optimization (RO) is then adopted to address the uncertainty of energy consumption and travel time. The affinely adjustable robust counterpart (AARC) of the deterministic model is developed, and its equivalent tractable mathematical programming is derived. Both the deterministic model and the robust model are demonstrated with a real-world bus system. The results of our study demonstrate that the proposed deterministic model can effectively determine the allocation of DWPT facilities and the battery sizes of electric buses for a DWPT electric bus system; and the robust model can further provide optimal designs that are robust against the uncertainty of energy consumption and travel time for electric buses.« less

  13. On-road pollutant emission and fuel consumption characteristics of buses in Beijing.

    PubMed

    Wang, Aijuan; Ge, Yunshan; Tan, Jianwei; Fu, Mingliang; Shah, Asad Naeem; Ding, Yan; Zhao, Hong; Liang, Bin

    2011-01-01

    On-road emission and fuel consumption (FC) levels for Euro III and IV buses fueled on diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) were compared, and emission and FC characteristics of buses were analyzed based on approximately 28,700 groups of instantaneous data obtained in Beijing using a portable emissions measurement system (PEMS). The experimental results revealed that NOx and PM emissions from CNG buses were decreased by 72.0% and 82.3% respectively, compared with Euro IV diesel buses. Similarly, these emissions were reduced by 75.2% and 96.3% respectively, compared with Euro III diesel buses. In addition, CO2, CO, HC, NOx, PM emissions and FC of Euro IV diesel buses were reduced by 26.4%, 75.2%, 73.6%, 11.4%, 79.1%, and 26.0%, respectively, relative to Euro III diesel buses. The CO2, CO, HC, NOx, PM emissions and FC factors all decreased with bus speed increased, while increased as bus acceleration increased. At the same time, the emission/FC rates as well as the emission/FC factors exhibited a strong positive correlation with the vehicle specific power (VSP). They all were the lowest when VSP < 0, and then rapidly increased as VSP increased. Furthermore, both the emission/FC rates and emission/FC factors were the highest at accelerations, higher at cruise speeds, and the lowest at decelerations for non-idling buses. These results can provide a base reference to further estimate bus emission and FC inventories in Beijing.

  14. Physical and Chemical Characterization of Real-World Particle Number and Mass Emissions from City Buses in Finland.

    PubMed

    Pirjola, Liisa; Dittrich, Aleš; Niemi, Jarkko V; Saarikoski, Sanna; Timonen, Hilkka; Kuuluvainen, Heino; Järvinen, Anssi; Kousa, Anu; Rönkkö, Topi; Hillamo, Risto

    2016-01-05

    Exhaust emissions of 23 individual city buses at Euro III, Euro IV and EEV (Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle) emission levels were measured by the chasing method under real-world conditions at a depot area and on the normal route of bus line 24 in Helsinki. The buses represented different technologies from the viewpoint of engines, exhaust after-treatment systems (ATS) and fuels. Some of the EEV buses were fueled by diesel, diesel-electric, ethanol (RED95) and compressed natural gas (CNG). At the depot area the emission factors were in the range of 0.3-21 × 10(14) # (kg fuel)(-1), 6-40 g (kg fuel)(-1), 0.004-0.88 g (kg fuel)(-1), 0.004-0.56 g (kg fuel)(-1), 0.01-1.2 g (kg fuel)(-1), for particle number (EFN), nitrogen oxides (EFNOx), black carbon (EFBC), organics (EFOrg), and particle mass (EFPM1), respectively. The highest particulate emissions were observed from the Euro III and Euro IV buses and the lowest from the ethanol and CNG-fueled buses, which emitted BC only during acceleration. The organics emitted from the CNG-fueled buses were clearly less oxidized compared to the other bus types. The bus line experiments showed that lowest emissions were obtained from the ethanol-fueled buses whereas large variation existed between individual buses of the same type indicating that the operating conditions by drivers had large effect on the emissions.

  15. Robust planning of dynamic wireless charging infrastructure for battery electric buses

    DOE PAGES

    Liu, Zhaocai; Song, Ziqi

    2017-10-01

    Battery electric buses with zero tailpipe emissions have great potential in improving environmental sustainability and livability of urban areas. However, the problems of high cost and limited range associated with on-board batteries have substantially limited the popularity of battery electric buses. The technology of dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT), which provides bus operators with the ability to charge buses while in motion, may be able to effectively alleviate the drawbacks of electric buses. In this paper, we address the problem of simultaneously selecting the optimal location of the DWPT facilities and designing the optimal battery sizes of electric buses formore » a DWPT electric bus system. The problem is first constructed as a deterministic model in which the uncertainty of energy consumption and travel time of electric buses is neglected. The methodology of robust optimization (RO) is then adopted to address the uncertainty of energy consumption and travel time. The affinely adjustable robust counterpart (AARC) of the deterministic model is developed, and its equivalent tractable mathematical programming is derived. Both the deterministic model and the robust model are demonstrated with a real-world bus system. The results of our study demonstrate that the proposed deterministic model can effectively determine the allocation of DWPT facilities and the battery sizes of electric buses for a DWPT electric bus system; and the robust model can further provide optimal designs that are robust against the uncertainty of energy consumption and travel time for electric buses.« less

  16. Project Startup: Evaluating the Performance of Electric Buses

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    2016-04-01

    The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is evaluating the in-service performance of fast-charge battery electric buses compared to compressed natural gas (CNG) buses operated by Foothill Transit in West Covina, California. Launched in 2015 in collaboration with the California Air Resources Board, this study aims to improve understanding of the overall use and effectiveness of fast-charge electric buses and associated charging infrastructure in transit operation.

  17. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Feibel, C.E.

    This study uses multiple data collection and research methods including in depth interviews, 271 surveys of shared taxi and minibus operators, participant observation, secondary sources, and the literature on public transport from low, medium, and high-income countries. Extensive use is also made of a survey administered in Istanbul in 1976 to 1935 paratransit operators. Primary findings are that private buses are more efficient than public buses on a cost per passenger-km basis, and that private minibuses are as efficient as public buses. In terms of energy efficiency, minibuses are almost as efficient as public and private buses using actual-occupancy levels.more » Large shared taxis are twice as cost and energy efficient as cars, and small shared taxis 50% more efficient. In terms of investment cost per seat, large shared taxis have the lowest cost followed by smaller shared taxis, minibuses, and buses. Considering actual occupancy levels, minibuses are only slightly less effective in terms of congestion than buses, and large and small shared taxis are twice as effective as cars. It is also shown that minibuses and shared taxis have better service quality than buses because of higher frequencies and speeds, and because they provide a much higher probability of getting a seat than buses. Analysis of regulation and policy suggests that there are many unintended cost of public-transport regulations.« less

  18. Buses involved in fatal accidents factbook 2007

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-03-01

    This document presents aggregate statistics on buses involved in traffic accidents in 2007. The : statistics are derived from the Buses Involved in Fatal Accidents (BIFA) file, compiled by the : University of Michigan Transportation Research Institut...

  19. NREL: News - Hybrid Buses Operate With Lower Emissions, Greater Fuel

    Science.gov Websites

    Evaluation Project to collect fueling, maintenance, performance and emission data from NYCT. While the hybrid buses have greater fuel economy than diesel buses, maintenance costs were significantly higher due in

  20. 26 CFR 48.6427-2 - Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2011-04-01 2011-04-01 false Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6427-2 Section 48.6427-2 Internal... Retailers and Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6427-2 Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor...

  1. 26 CFR 48.6427-2 - Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6427-2 Section 48.6427-2 Internal... Retailers and Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6427-2 Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor...

  2. 26 CFR 48.6427-2 - Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2012-04-01 2012-04-01 false Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6427-2 Section 48.6427-2 Internal... Retailers and Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6427-2 Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor...

  3. 26 CFR 48.6427-2 - Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2013-04-01 2013-04-01 false Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor fuels used in intercity, local, or school buses. 48.6427-2 Section 48.6427-2 Internal... Retailers and Manufacturers Taxes § 48.6427-2 Credits or payments to purchaser of diesel or special motor...

  4. Alternative Fuel News: Official Publication of the Clean Cities Network and the Alternative Fuels Data Center, Vol. 5, No. 3

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Not Available

    2001-11-01

    A quarterly magazine with articles on alternative fuel school buses, the market growth of biodiesel fuel, National AFV Day 2002, model year 2002 alternative fuel passenger cars and light trucks, the Michelin Challenge Bibendum road rally, and advanced technology vehicles at Robins Air Force Base, the Top Ten Clean Cities coalitions for 2000, and AFVs on college campuses.

  5. Technology of Articulated Transit Buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1982-03-01

    Since the first major demonstration of articulated buses in the mid 1970s and the first purchase in late 1978, interest in articulated buses in U.S. transit service has remained strong. This interest has been stimulated by the desire of public transi...

  6. Buses involved in fatal accidents codebook 2008.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2011-03-01

    This report provides documentation for UMTRIs file of Buses Involved in Fatal Accidents (BIFA), 2008, : including distributions of the code values for each variable in the file. The 2008 BIFA file is a census of all : buses involved in a fatal acc...

  7. Buses involved in fatal accidents codebook 2007.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-12-01

    This report provides documentation for UMTRIs file of Buses Involved in Fatal Accidents (BIFA), 2007, : including distributions of the code values for each variable in the file. The 2007 BIFA file is a census of all : buses involved in a fatal acc...

  8. Transit bus life cycle cost and year 2007 emissions estimation.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2007-06-01

    The report presents a study of transit bus life cycle cost (LCC) analysis, and projected transit bus emissions and fuel economy for 2007 : model year buses. It covers four bus types: diesel buses using ultra low sulfur diesel (ULSD), diesel buses usi...

  9. 36 CFR 1192.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... which operates with automated (driverless) individual vehicles or multi-car trains. Service may be on a..., forty- and thirty-foot transit buses, articulated buses, double-deck buses, and electric powered trolley... when occupied. Commuter rail car means a rail passenger car obtained by a commuter authority (as...

  10. 36 CFR 1192.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... which operates with automated (driverless) individual vehicles or multi-car trains. Service may be on a..., forty- and thirty-foot transit buses, articulated buses, double-deck buses, and electric powered trolley... when occupied. Commuter rail car means a rail passenger car obtained by a commuter authority (as...

  11. 36 CFR 1192.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... which operates with automated (driverless) individual vehicles or multi-car trains. Service may be on a..., forty- and thirty-foot transit buses, articulated buses, double-deck buses, and electric powered trolley... when occupied. Commuter rail car means a rail passenger car obtained by a commuter authority (as...

  12. 36 CFR 1192.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... which operates with automated (driverless) individual vehicles or multi-car trains. Service may be on a..., forty- and thirty-foot transit buses, articulated buses, double-deck buses, and electric powered trolley... when occupied. Commuter rail car means a rail passenger car obtained by a commuter authority (as...

  13. 49 CFR 661.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... vehicles such as buses, vans, cars, railcars, locomotives, trolley cars and buses, and ferry boats, as well..., transmission devices, electrical cables or circuitry, or by other devices, which are intended to contribute... products: All individual items identified as rolling stock in § 661.3 (e.g., buses, vans, cars, railcars...

  14. 49 CFR 661.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... vehicles such as buses, vans, cars, railcars, locomotives, trolley cars and buses, and ferry boats, as well..., transmission devices, electrical cables or circuitry, or by other devices, which are intended to contribute... products: All individual items identified as rolling stock in § 661.3 (e.g., buses, vans, cars, railcars...

  15. 49 CFR 661.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... vehicles such as buses, vans, cars, railcars, locomotives, trolley cars and buses, and ferry boats, as well..., transmission devices, electrical cables or circuitry, or by other devices, which are intended to contribute... products: All individual items identified as rolling stock in § 661.3 (e.g., buses, vans, cars, railcars...

  16. 49 CFR 661.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... vehicles such as buses, vans, cars, railcars, locomotives, trolley cars and buses, and ferry boats, as well..., transmission devices, electrical cables or circuitry, or by other devices, which are intended to contribute... products: All individual items identified as rolling stock in § 661.3 (e.g., buses, vans, cars, railcars...

  17. 49 CFR 661.3 - Definitions.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... vehicles such as buses, vans, cars, railcars, locomotives, trolley cars and buses, and ferry boats, as well..., transmission devices, electrical cables or circuitry, or by other devices, which are intended to contribute... products: All individual items identified as rolling stock in § 661.3 (e.g., buses, vans, cars, railcars...

  18. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses : Third Evaluation Report

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2008-07-04

    This report describes operations at Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) for three prototype fuel cell buses and six diesel buses operating from the same location. This is the third evaluation report for this site, and it describes new ...

  19. Promoting Technology and Education: Turbo-Charging the School Buses on the Information Highway. Hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary. United States Senate, One Hundred Seventh Congress, First Session (March 13, 2001).

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Congress of the U.S., Washington, DC. Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

    This Congressional hearing before the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary presents testimony on the Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization Act, or the TEACH Act, introduced by Senator Orin Hatch (Utah) and Senator Patrick Leahy (Vermont). This legislation updates the education and distance learning provisions of the copyright…

  20. 46 CFR 111.30-19 - Buses and wiring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Buses and wiring. 111.30-19 Section 111.30-19 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Switchboards § 111.30-19 Buses and wiring. (a) General. Each bus must meet the requirements of...

  1. 46 CFR 111.30-19 - Buses and wiring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Buses and wiring. 111.30-19 Section 111.30-19 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Switchboards § 111.30-19 Buses and wiring. (a) General. Each bus must meet the requirements of...

  2. 46 CFR 111.30-19 - Buses and wiring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Buses and wiring. 111.30-19 Section 111.30-19 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Switchboards § 111.30-19 Buses and wiring. (a) General. Each bus must meet the requirements of...

  3. 46 CFR 111.30-19 - Buses and wiring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Buses and wiring. 111.30-19 Section 111.30-19 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING ELECTRIC SYSTEMS-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Switchboards § 111.30-19 Buses and wiring. (a) General. Each bus must meet the requirements of...

  4. 49 CFR 393.90 - Buses, standee line or bar.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Buses, standee line or bar. 393.90 Section 393.90 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Miscellaneous Parts and Accessories § 393.90 Buses, standee line or bar. Except...

  5. Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2010

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-11-11

    This past year has been one of transition for the introduction of fuel cell transit buses. The existing generation of fuel cell buses from Van Hool and UTC Power has continued to operate in service at three transit agencies. At the same time, a new g...

  6. A measure for objects clustering in principal component analysis biplot: A case study in inter-city buses maintenance cost data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ginanjar, Irlandia; Pasaribu, Udjianna S.; Indratno, Sapto W.

    2017-03-01

    This article presents the application of the principal component analysis (PCA) biplot for the needs of data mining. This article aims to simplify and objectify the methods for objects clustering in PCA biplot. The novelty of this paper is to get a measure that can be used to objectify the objects clustering in PCA biplot. Orthonormal eigenvectors, which are the coefficients of a principal component model representing an association between principal components and initial variables. The existence of the association is a valid ground to objects clustering based on principal axes value, thus if m principal axes used in the PCA, then the objects can be classified into 2m clusters. The inter-city buses are clustered based on maintenance costs data by using two principal axes PCA biplot. The buses are clustered into four groups. The first group is the buses with high maintenance costs, especially for lube, and brake canvass. The second group is the buses with high maintenance costs, especially for tire, and filter. The third group is the buses with low maintenance costs, especially for lube, and brake canvass. The fourth group is buses with low maintenance costs, especially for tire, and filter.

  7. Evaluating real-world CO2 and NOX emissions for public transit buses using a remote wireless on-board diagnostic (OBD) approach.

    PubMed

    Yang, Liuhanzi; Zhang, Shaojun; Wu, Ye; Chen, Qizheng; Niu, Tianlin; Huang, Xu; Zhang, Shida; Zhang, Liangjun; Zhou, Yu; Hao, Jiming

    2016-11-01

    The challenge to mitigate real-world emissions from vehicles calls for powerful in-use compliance supervision. The remote on-board diagnostic (OBD) approach, with wireless data communications, is one of the promising next-generation monitoring methods. We collected second-by-second profiles of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrogen oxides (NO X ) emissions, driving conditions and engine performance for three conventional diesel and three hybrid diesel buses participating in a remote OBD pilot program in Nanjing, China. Our results showed that the average CO 2 emissions for conventional diesel and hybrid diesel buses were 816 ± 83 g km -1 and 627 ± 54 g km -1 , respectively, under a typical driving pattern. An operating mode binning analysis indicated that CO 2 emissions reduction by series-parallel hybrid technology was largely because of the significant benefits of the technology under the modes of low speed and low power demand. However, significantly higher CO 2 emissions were observed for conventional diesel buses during rush hours, higher than 1200 g km -1 . The OBD data suggested no improvement in NO X emission reduction for hybrid buses compared with conventional buses; both were approximately 12 g km -1 because of poor performance of the selective catalyst reduction (SCR) systems in the real world. Speed-dependent functions for real-world CO 2 and NO X emissions were also constructed. The CO 2 emissions of hybrid buses were much less sensitive to the average speed than conventional buses. If the average speed decreased from 20 km h -1 to 10 km h -1 , the estimated CO 2 emission factor for conventional buses would be increased by 34%. Such a change in speed would increase NO X emissions for conventional and hybrid buses by 38% and 56%, respectively. This paper demonstrates the useful features of the remote OBD system and can inform policy makers how to take advantage of these features in monitoring in-use vehicles. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. 49 CFR 392.63 - Towing or pushing loaded buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Towing or pushing loaded buses. 392.63 Section 392... COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES Prohibited Practices § 392.63 Towing or pushing loaded buses. No disabled bus with... passengers aboard for the purpose of towing or pushing any disabled motor vehicle, except in such...

  9. Evaluation of in-use fuel economy and on-board emissions for hybrid and regular CyRide transit buses.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-10-01

    The objective of this project was to evaluate the in-use fuel economy and emission differences between hybrid-electric and : conventional transit buses for the Ames, Iowa transit authority, CyRide. These CyRide buses were deployed in the fall of : 20...

  10. Cool Science: K-12 Climate Change Art Displayed on Buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, R. F.; Lustick, D. S.; Lohmeier, J.; Thompson, S. R.

    2015-12-01

    Cool science is an art contest where K12 students create placards (7" x 22") to educate the public about climate change. Students are prompted to create their artwork in response to questions such as: What is the evidence for climate change? How does climate change impact your local community? What can you do to reduce the impacts of climate change? In each of three years, 500-600 student entrees have been submitted from more than 12 school districts across Massachusetts. A panel of judges including scientists, artists, rapid transit representatives, and educators chooses elementary, middle, and high school winners. Winners (6), runners-up (6), and honorable mentions (12) and their families and teachers are invited to an annual Cool Science Award Ceremony to be recognized and view winning artwork. All winning artwork is posted on the Cool Science website. The winning artwork (2 per grade band) is converted into placards (11" x 28") and posters (2.5' x 12') that are placed on the inside (placards) and outside (posters) of buses. Posters are displayed for one month. So far, Cool Science was implemented in Lowell, MA where over 5000 public viewers see the posters daily on the sides of Lowell Rapid Transit Authority (LRTA) buses, making approximately 1,000,000 impressions per year. Cool Science acts to increase climate literacy in children as well as the public, and as such promotes intergenerational learning. Using art in conjunction with science learning about climate change appears to be effective at engaging not just traditionally high achieving science students, but also those interested in the creative arts. Hearing winners' stories about how they created their artwork and what this contest meant to them supports the idea that Cool Science attracts a wide diversity of students. Parents discuss climate change with their children. Multiple press releases announcing the winners further promotes the awareness of climate change throughout school districts and their communities. Pre- and post-surveys of LRTA riders suggests that public viewers of winning artwork increase their awareness that climate change is happening, that climate change is human caused, and that they want to learn more. Using student voices (artwork) appears to be an effective way to communicate climate change issues to public audiences.

  11. Interior noise profile of buses in Curitiba

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zannin, Paulo H. T.; Giovanini, Clifton R.; Diniz, Fabiano B.; Ferreira, Jose C.

    2002-11-01

    Evaluating the noise levels to which the bus drivers of Curitiba are exposed to during their working days is the main scope of this study. The city is served by an internationally known public transportation system featuring 1902 buses, which attend 1.9 million people per day. Two measurements have been taken inside each one of the 60 buses surveyed, one close to the driver and another one at the back of the bus. The results have showed that the dose levels the drivers are exposed to were below 50% in 92% out of the buses, but the normalized exposure levels were over 65 dB(A) in all cases. This level is considered as the threshold of comfort according to the Brazilian legislation on occupancy health NR-17--Ergonomics. The surveyed buses have been divided into three categories, according to their characteristics: feeder, rapid, and bi-articulated. A total of 20 buses within each category have been surveyed. Among the different categories, it has been found that the feeders have presented the highest noise levels. (To be presented in Portuguese.)

  12. Indoor Air Pollution in Non Ac Passenger Bus

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    El Husna, Iksiroh; Unzilatirrizqi, Rizal D. Yan El; Karyanto, Yudi; Sunoko, Henna R.

    2018-02-01

    Passenger buses have been one of favorite means of transportation in Indonesia due to its affordability and flexibility. Intensity of human activities during the trip in the buses have a potential of causing indoor air pollution (polusi udara dalam ruang; PUDR). The indoor air pollution has an impact of 1000-time bigger than outdoor air pollution (polusi udara luar ruang; PULR) on lung. This study aimed to find out indoor air pollution rate of non air conditioned buses using an approach to biological agent pollutant source. The study applied an analysis restricted to microorganisms persistence as one of the sources of the indoor air pollution. The media were placed in different parts of the non AC buses. This study revealed that fungs were found in the non AC buses. They became contaminants and developed pathogenic bacteria that caused air pollution.

  13. Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Results: Fifth Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Eudy, Leslie; Post, Matthew; Jeffers, Matthew

    This report presents results of a demonstration of fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) operating in Oakland, California. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) leads the Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) demonstration, which includes 13 advanced-design fuel cell buses and two hydrogen fueling stations. The ZEBA partners are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. NREL has published four previous reports describing operation of these buses. This report presents new and updated results covering data from January 2015 through December 2015.

  14. Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Results. Fourth Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Eudy, Leslie; Post, Matthew

    This report presents results of a demonstration of fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) operating in Oakland, California. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) leads the Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) demonstration, which includes 12 advanced-design fuel cell buses and two hydrogen fueling stations. The FCEBs in service at AC Transit are 40-foot, low-floor buses built by Van Hool with a hybrid electric propulsion system that includes a US Hybrid fuel cell power system and EnerDel lithium-based energy storage system. The buses began revenue service in May 2010.

  15. Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Results: Sixth Report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Eudy, Leslie; Post, Matthew B.; Jeffers, Matthew A.

    This report presents results of a demonstration of fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) operating in Oakland, California. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) leads the Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) demonstration, which includes 13 advanced-design fuel cell buses and two hydrogen fueling stations. The ZEBA partners are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. NREL has published five previous reports describing operation of these buses. This report presents new and updated results covering data from January 2016 through December 2016.

  16. Quantification of Self Pollution from Two Diesel School Buses using Three Independent Methods

    PubMed Central

    Liu, L.-J. Sally; Phuleria, Harish C.; Webber, Whitney; Davey, Mark; Lawson, Douglas R.; Ireson, Robert G.; Zielinska, Barbara; Ondov, John M.; Weaver, Christopher S.; Lapin, Charles A.; Easter, Michael; Hesterberg, Thomas W.; Larson, Timothy

    2010-01-01

    We monitored two Seattle school buses to quantify the buses’ self pollution using the dual tracers (DT), lead vehicle (LV), and chemical mass balance (CMB) methods. Each bus drove along a residential route simulating stops, with windows closed or open. Particulate matter (PM) and its constituents were monitored in the bus and from a LV. We collected source samples from the tailpipe and crankcase emissions using an on-board dilution tunnel. Concentrations of PM1, ultrafine particle counts, elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) were higher on the bus than the LV. The DT method estimated that the tailpipe and the crankcase emissions contributed 1.1 and 6.8 μg/m3 of PM2.5 inside the bus, respectively, with significantly higher crankcase self pollution (SP) when windows were closed. Approximately two-thirds of in-cabin PM2.5 originated from background sources. Using the LV approach, SP estimates from the EC and the active personal DataRAM (pDR) measurements correlated well with the DT estimates for tailpipe and crankcase emissions, respectively, although both measurements need further calibration for accurate quantification. CMB results overestimated SP from the DT method but confirmed crankcase emissions as the major SP source. We confirmed buses’ SP using three independent methods and quantified crankcase emissions as the dominant contributor. PMID:20694046

  17. Alternative Fuels Data Center: North Carolina Airport Advances With Plug-In

    Science.gov Websites

    Electric BusesA> North Carolina Airport Advances With Plug-In Electric Buses to someone by E-mail passengers with plug-in hybrid electric buses. For information about this project, contact Centralina Clean . Provided by Maryland Public Television Related Videos Photo of a car Electric Vehicles Charge up at State

  18. 26 CFR 41.4483-2 - Exemption for certain transit-type buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 16 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 true Exemption for certain transit-type buses. 41... Certain Highway Motor Vehicles § 41.4483-2 Exemption for certain transit-type buses. (a) In general. Use in any taxable period, or part thereof, of any bus of the transit type by any person who is engaged...

  19. 46 CFR 111.30-19 - Buses and wiring.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... control wiring must be— (1) Suitable for installation within in a switchboard enclosure and be rated at 90... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Buses and wiring. 111.30-19 Section 111.30-19 Shipping... REQUIREMENTS Switchboards § 111.30-19 Buses and wiring. (a) General. Each bus must meet the requirements of...

  20. 49 CFR 393.62 - Emergency exits for buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... NECESSARY FOR SAFE OPERATION Glazing and Window Construction § 393.62 Emergency exits for buses. (a) Buses... glazing if such glazing is not contained in a push-out window; or, at least 432 cm2 (67 square inches) of free opening resulting from opening of a push-out type window. No area shall be included in this...

  1. How Busing Burdened Blacks: Critical Race Theory and Busing for Desegregation in Nashville-Davidson County

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Woodward, Jennifer R.

    2011-01-01

    This article uses critical race theory, court opinions, newspapers, and interviews to explain how the burden of busing for desegregation was placed upon Blacks in Nashville, Tennessee and why the agenda of the litigants in the Kelley v. Metropolitan Board of Education cases shifted over time. The deliberate pace of the initial desegregation…

  2. 49 CFR 37.71 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by public entities operating fixed route systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... buses were to be lift-equipped and were to be otherwise accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; (2) Hydraulic, electromechanical, or other lifts for such new buses could not be provided by any qualified lift manufacturer to the manufacturer of such new buses in sufficient time to comply with the...

  3. 49 CFR 37.71 - Purchase or lease of new non-rail vehicles by public entities operating fixed route systems.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... buses were to be lift-equipped and were to be otherwise accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities; (2) Hydraulic, electromechanical, or other lifts for such new buses could not be provided by any qualified lift manufacturer to the manufacturer of such new buses in sufficient time to comply with the...

  4. 49 CFR 579.27 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 500 emergency vehicles annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 5,000 light vehicles, medium-heavy vehicles (other than buses and emergency vehicles), motorcycles or trailers annually, for...

  5. 49 CFR 579.27 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 500 emergency vehicles annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 5,000 light vehicles, medium-heavy vehicles (other than buses and emergency vehicles), motorcycles or trailers annually, for...

  6. 49 CFR 579.27 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 500 emergency vehicles annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 5,000 light vehicles, medium-heavy vehicles (other than buses and emergency vehicles), motorcycles or trailers annually, for...

  7. 49 CFR 579.27 - Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 7 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Reporting requirements for manufacturers of fewer than 100 buses annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 500 emergency vehicles annually, for manufacturers of fewer than 5,000 light vehicles, medium-heavy vehicles (other than buses and emergency vehicles), motorcycles or trailers annually, for...

  8. Particle and gaseous emissions from individual diesel and CNG buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hallquist, Å. M.; Jerksjö, M.; Fallgren, H.; Westerlund, J.; Sjödin, Å.

    2012-10-01

    In this study size-resolved particle and gaseous emissions from 28 individual diesel-fuelled and 7 compressed natural gas (CNG)-fuelled buses, selected from an in-use bus fleet, were characterised for real-world dilution scenarios. The method used was based on using CO2 as a tracer of exhaust gas dilution. The particles were sampled by using an extractive sampling method and analysed with high time resolution instrumentation EEPS (10 Hz) and CO2 with non-dispersive infrared gas analyser (LI-840, LI-COR Inc. 1 Hz). The gaseous constituents (CO, HC and NO) were measured by using a remote sensing device (AccuScan RSD 3000, Environmental System Products Inc.). Nitrogen oxides, NOx, were estimated from NO by using default NO2/NOx ratios from the road vehicle emission model HBEFA 3.1. The buses studied were diesel-fuelled Euro II-V and CNG-fuelled Enhanced Environmental Friendly Vehicles (EEVs) with different after-treatment, including selective catalytic reduction (SCR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and with and without diesel particulate filter (DPF). The primary driving mode applied in this study was accelerating mode. However, regarding the particle emissions also a constant speed mode was analysed. The investigated CNG buses emitted on average higher number of particles but less mass compared to the diesel-fuelled buses. Emission factors for number of particles (EFPN) were EFPN, DPF = 8.0 ± 3.1 × 1014, EFPN, no DPF =2.8 ± 1.6 × 1015 and EFPN, CNG = 7.8 ± 5.7 × 1015 (kg fuel-1). In the accelerating mode size-resolved EFs showed unimodal number size distributions with peak diameters of 70-90 nm and 10 nm for diesel and CNG buses, respectively. For the constant speed mode bimodal average number size distributions were obtained for the diesel buses with peak modes of ~10 nm and ~60 nm. Emission factors for NOx expressed as NO2 equivalents for the diesel buses were on average 27 ± 7 g (kg fuel)-1 and for the CNG buses 41 ± 26 g (kg fuel)-1. An anti-relationship between EFNOx and EFPM was observed especially for buses with no DPF and there was a positive relationship between EFPM and EFCO.

  9. Particle and gaseous emissions from individual diesel and CNG buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hallquist, Å. M.; Jerksjö, M.; Fallgren, H.; Westerlund, J.; Sjödin, Å.

    2013-05-01

    In this study size-resolved particle and gaseous emissions from 28 individual diesel-fuelled and 7 compressed natural gas (CNG)-fuelled buses, selected from an in-use bus fleet, were characterised for real-world dilution scenarios. The method used was based on using CO2 as a tracer of exhaust gas dilution. The particles were sampled by using an extractive sampling method and analysed with high time resolution instrumentation EEPS (10 Hz) and CO2 with a non-dispersive infrared gas analyser (LI-840, LI-COR Inc. 1 Hz). The gaseous constituents (CO, HC and NO) were measured by using a remote sensing device (AccuScan RSD 3000, Environmental System Products Inc.). Nitrogen oxides, NOx, were estimated from NO by using default NO2/NOx ratios from the road vehicle emission model HBEFA3.1. The buses studied were diesel-fuelled Euro III-V and CNG-fuelled Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicles (EEVs) with different after-treatment, including selective catalytic reduction (SCR), exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) and with and without diesel particulate filter (DPF). The primary driving mode applied in this study was accelerating mode. However, regarding the particle emissions also a constant speed mode was analysed. The investigated CNG buses emitted on average a higher number of particles but less mass compared to the diesel-fuelled buses. Emission factors for number of particles (EFPN) were EFPN, DPF = 4.4 ± 3.5 × 1014, EFPN, no DPF = 2.1 ± 1.0 × 1015 and EFPN, CNG = 7.8 ± 5.7 ×1015 kg fuel-1. In the accelerating mode, size-resolved emission factors (EFs) showed unimodal number size distributions with peak diameters of 70-90 nm and 10 nm for diesel and CNG buses, respectively. For the constant speed mode, bimodal average number size distributions were obtained for the diesel buses with peak modes of ~10 nm and ~60 nm. Emission factors for NOx expressed as NO2 equivalents for the diesel buses were on average 27 ± 7 g (kg fuel)-1 and for the CNG buses 41 ± 26 g (kg fuel)-1. An anti-relationship between EFNOx and EFPM was observed especially for buses with no DPF, and there was a positive relationship between EFPM and EFCO.

  10. The GREET Model Expansion for Well-to-Wheels Analysis of Heavy-Duty Vehicles

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Cai, Hao; Burnham, Andrew; Wang, Michael

    2015-05-01

    Heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) account for a significant portion of the U.S. transportation sector’s fuel consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and air pollutant emissions. In our most recent efforts, we expanded the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREETTM) model to include life-cycle analysis of HDVs. In particular, the GREET expansion includes the fuel consumption, GHG emissions, and air pollutant emissions of a variety of conventional (i.e., diesel and/or gasoline) HDV types, including Class 8b combination long-haul freight trucks, Class 8b combination short-haul freight trucks, Class 8b dump trucks, Class 8a refuse trucks, Class 8a transit buses, Classmore » 8a intercity buses, Class 6 school buses, Class 6 single-unit delivery trucks, Class 4 single-unit delivery trucks, and Class 2b heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans. These vehicle types were selected to represent the diversity in the U.S. HDV market, and specific weight classes and body types were chosen on the basis of their fuel consumption using the 2002 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) database. VIUS was also used to estimate the fuel consumption and payload carried for most of the HDV types. In addition, fuel economy projections from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, transit databases, and the literature were examined. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s latest Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator was employed to generate tailpipe air pollutant emissions of diesel and gasoline HDV types.« less

  11. Battery capacity and recharging needs for electric buses in city transit service

    DOE PAGES

    Gao, Zhiming; Lin, Zhenhong; LaClair, Tim J.; ...

    2017-01-27

    Our paper evaluates the energy consumption and battery performance of city transit electric buses operating on real day-to-day routes and standardized bus drive cycles, based on a developed framework tool that links bus electrification feasibility with real-world vehicle performance, city transit bus service reliability, battery sizing and charging infrastructure. The impacts of battery capacity combined with regular and ultrafast charging over different routes have been analyzed in terms of the ability to maintain city transit bus service reliability like conventional buses. These results show that ultrafast charging via frequent short-time boost charging events, for example at a designated bus stopmore » after completing each circuit of an assigned route, can play a significant role in reducing the battery size and can eliminate the need for longer duration charging events that would cause schedule delays. Furthermore, the analysis presented shows that significant benefits can be realized by employing multiple battery configurations and flexible battery swapping practices in electric buses. These flexible design and use options will allow electric buses to service routes of varying city driving patterns and can therefore enable meaningful reductions to the cost of the vehicle and battery while ensuring service that is as reliable as conventional buses.« less

  12. Simultaneous determination of carbonyls and NO2 in exhausts of heavy-duty diesel trucks and transit buses by HPLC following 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine cartridge collection.

    PubMed

    Tang, Shida; Graham, Lisa; Shen, Ling; Zhou, Xianliang; Lanni, Thomas

    2004-11-15

    A method combining 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) cartridge sampling and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis has been used for the measurement of carbonyl and NO2 emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks and transit buses. The reaction of NO2 with DNPH allows for the simultaneous and unambiguous determination of NO2 and carbonyl concentrations in exhaust samples. The potential coelution of the NO2-DNPH derivative with the formaldehyde-DNPH derivative under certain chromatographic conditions was investigated. Successful separation of these two species was achieved allowing for simultaneous determination of carbonyls and NO2 in the exhaust samples collected from heavy-duty diesel (HDD) trucks and diesel, diesel/electric hybrid, diesel equipped with the continuously regenerating technology (CRT) particle traps, and compressed natural gas (CNG) transit buses tested over various drive cycles. Elevated NO2 emissions from CRT-equipped buses were observed. The NO2/NOx volume ratios for HDD trucks and transit buses are discussed. A comparison of the DNPH derivatization with HPLC/UV-visible detection method with a chemiluminescence analyzer method for NO2 measurement is presented for a limited number of diesel/CRT and CNG buses.

  13. Battery capacity and recharging needs for electric buses in city transit service

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gao, Zhiming; Lin, Zhenhong; LaClair, Tim J.

    Our paper evaluates the energy consumption and battery performance of city transit electric buses operating on real day-to-day routes and standardized bus drive cycles, based on a developed framework tool that links bus electrification feasibility with real-world vehicle performance, city transit bus service reliability, battery sizing and charging infrastructure. The impacts of battery capacity combined with regular and ultrafast charging over different routes have been analyzed in terms of the ability to maintain city transit bus service reliability like conventional buses. These results show that ultrafast charging via frequent short-time boost charging events, for example at a designated bus stopmore » after completing each circuit of an assigned route, can play a significant role in reducing the battery size and can eliminate the need for longer duration charging events that would cause schedule delays. Furthermore, the analysis presented shows that significant benefits can be realized by employing multiple battery configurations and flexible battery swapping practices in electric buses. These flexible design and use options will allow electric buses to service routes of varying city driving patterns and can therefore enable meaningful reductions to the cost of the vehicle and battery while ensuring service that is as reliable as conventional buses.« less

  14. Geographies of inequality: child pedestrian injury and walking school buses in Auckland, New Zealand.

    PubMed

    Collins, Damian C A; Kearns, Robin A

    2005-01-01

    In the face of mounting concern at traffic congestion in the vicinity of schools and the associated risks of child pedestrian injury, the 'walking school bus' (WSB) idea has been rapidly adopted within metropolitan Auckland. WSBs involve volunteers guiding children to and from school in an orderly manner following established walking routes. This paper reports on a survey of the 34 Auckland primary schools which had adopted the scheme by November 2002. Despite rates of child pedestrian injury being highest in areas of socio-economic deprivation, our survey found WSB developments highly concentrated in low deprivation neighbourhoods. The inequitable socio-spatial distribution of WSBs in Auckland suggests that the ability to respond to road safety issues is closely correlated with socio-economic privilege. While our respondents identified a number of individual and community health benefits accruing from WSBs, we conclude that the initiative has a limited ability to address public health challenges originating within an inequitable and car-dominated urban political system.

  15. Fuels for urban transit buses: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

    PubMed

    Cohen, Joshua T; Hammitt, James K; Levy, Jonathan I

    2003-04-15

    Public transit agencies have begun to adopt alternative propulsion technologies to reduce urban transit bus emissions associated with conventional diesel (CD) engines. Among the most popular alternatives are emission controlled diesel buses (ECD), defined here to be buses with continuously regenerating diesel particle filters burning low-sulfur diesel fuel, and buses burning compressed natural gas (CNG). This study uses a series of simplifying assumptions to arrive at first-order estimates for the incremental cost-effectiveness (CE) of ECD and CNG relative to CD. The CE ratio numerator reflects acquisition and operating costs. The denominator reflects health losses (mortality and morbidity) due to primary particulate matter (PM), secondary PM, and ozone exposure, measured as quality adjusted life years (QALYs). We find that CNG provides larger health benefits than does ECD (nine vs six QALYs annually per 1000 buses) but that ECD is more cost-effective than CNG (dollar 270 000 per QALY for ECD vs dollar 1.7 million to dollar 2.4 million for CNG). These estimates are subject to much uncertainty. We identify assumptions that contribute most to this uncertainty and propose potential research directions to refine our estimates.

  16. Online Assessment of Voltage Stability in Power Systems with PMUs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chitare, Prasad Bhagwat; Murthy Balijepalli, V. S. K.; Khaparde, S. A.

    2013-05-01

    Abstract: For the assessment of voltage instability which comprises the detection of voltage instability and identification of critical buses, two indices namely, system wide Qtax, and bus-specific qtax, are proposed. The Qtax, based on the sensitivity of the reactive power injections to the loading in the system provides early detection of impending voltage instability. The computed qtax indices identify the critcal buses among the load buses in the system. The identified critical buses provided optimal lacations for the corrective control actions for averting voltage instability. Additionally, for voltage stability monitoring, determining the poing of exhaustion of the reactive reserves in system is also crucial. This is addressed by proposed Q-Monitoring Index (QMI), which is the ratio of the reactive component of the source current to the sink current that flows through the adjacent transmission line. These proposed indices together can provide early indication to impending voltage instability. This has been illustrated on IEEE-39 bus system. The reactive support on identified critical buses results in maximum increase in the loadability of the system.

  17. Alcohol carousel and children's school drawings as part of a community educational strategy.

    PubMed

    Allamani, A; Forni, E; Ammannati, P; Sani, I B; Centurioni, A

    2000-01-01

    Within a community action research program, messages for the community population can be conveyed through already existing channels (newspapers, magazines, TV, radio) or special tools can be created. As part of the Rifredi Health District (16,900 inhabitants), Florence, Italy, Community Alcohol Action Research Project, 5,500 alcohol carousels (translated and adapted from the Stockholm carousel) were distributed during 1996 in the project's area where they were freely available. Two samples, one of a consumers' association (response rate 26%) and the other of school parents, employed a questionnaire. A few local key people underwent a qualitative interview. In all circumstances the carousel proved to be understandable, useful, and able to elicit discussions about alcohol issues. In 1996-97, after a 2-year training program in communication skills and alcohol prevention, 13 teachers in local preschools, elementary schools, and middle schools planned and implemented a health education program on the issues of alcohol and food. One outcome was nine drawings produced by the school children. The drawings were exhibited in some schools and supermarkets, and were hung in city buses.

  18. Food and beverage promotions in Minnesota secondary schools: secular changes, correlates, and associations with adolescents' dietary behaviors.

    PubMed

    Larson, Nicole; Davey, Cynthia S; Coombes, Brandon; Caspi, Caitlin; Kubik, Martha Y; Nanney, Marilyn S

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe promotions for unhealthy and healthy foods and beverages within Minnesota secondary schools from 2008 to 2012, and to examine associations with school-level coordination of environmental improvements and students' dietary behaviors. The Minnesota School Health Profiles and Minnesota Student Survey data were used along with National Center for Education Statistics data to conduct analyses accounting for school-level demographics. There was no significant improvement over time in the proportion of schools that banned advertising for unhealthy products in school buildings, on school grounds, on buses, or in publications. Whereas more than two thirds of schools had implemented strategies focused on the promotion of fruits/vegetables by 2012, only 37% labeled healthful foods with appealing names and just 17% used price incentives to encourage healthy choices. The number of stakeholders representing different roles on school health councils was positively correlated with implementation of healthy food and beverage promotion strategies. Little evidence was found to support an influence of in-school advertising bans or promotions on students' diets. Policy changes are needed to protect students from food and beverage advertising and additional opportunities exist to reduce disparities in the selection of healthy options at school. © 2014, American School Health Association.

  19. Food and beverage promotions in Minnesota secondary schools: secular changes, correlates, and associations with adolescents’ dietary behaviors

    PubMed Central

    Larson, Nicole; Davey, Cynthia S.; Coombes, Brandon; Caspi, Caitlin; Kubik, Martha Y.; Nanney, Marilyn S.

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to describe promotions for unhealthy and healthy foods and beverages within Minnesota secondary schools from 2008 to 2012, and to examine associations with school-level coordination of environmental improvements and students’ dietary behaviors. METHODS The Minnesota School Health Profiles and Minnesota Student Survey data were used along with National Center for Education Statistics data to conduct analyses accounting for school-level demographics. RESULTS There was no significant improvement over time in the proportion of schools that banned advertising for unhealthy products in school buildings, on school grounds, on buses, or in publications. Whereas more than two-thirds of schools had implemented strategies focused on the promotion of fruits/vegetables by 2012, only 37% labeled healthful foods with appealing names and just 17% used price incentives to encourage healthy choices. The number of stakeholders representing different roles on school health councils was positively correlated with implementation of healthy food and beverage promotion strategies. Little evidence was found to support an influence of in-school advertising bans or promotions on students’ diets. CONCLUSIONS Policy changes are needed to protect students from food and beverage advertising and additional opportunities exist to reduce disparities in the selection of healthy options at school. PMID:25388594

  20. Driving When You Have Cataracts

    MedlinePlus

    ... cabs; N shuttle buses or vans; and N public buses, trains and subways. I Also, senior centers, religious and other local service groups often offer transportation services for older adults in your community. Who ...

  1. Optimum bus headway for preemption : a simulation approach

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-01-01

    Preemption techniques are designed to provide preferential treatment for buses at signalized intersections. A preemption strategy, if properly designed, can provide continuous green phases for buses at successive intersections, thereby reducing trave...

  2. 76 FR 46892 - Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-08-03

    ... development and deployment of clean fuel and advanced propulsion technologies for transit buses. To meet... propulsion technologies for transit buses by providing funds for clean fuel vehicles and facilities. To meet...

  3. Cost Effectiveness Analysis of Quasi-In-Motion Wireless Power Transfer for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Transit Buses from Fleet Perspective

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Lijuan; Gonder, Jeff; Brooker, Aaron

    This study evaluated the costs and benefits associated with the use of stationary-wireless-power-transfer-enabled plug-in hybrid electric buses and determined the cost effectiveness relative to conventional buses and hybrid electric buses. A factorial design was performed over a number of different battery sizes, charging power levels, and f bus stop charging stations. The net present costs were calculated for each vehicle design and provided the basis for design evaluation. In all cases, given the assumed economic conditions, the conventional bus achieved the lowest net present cost while the optimal plug-in hybrid electric bus scenario beat out the hybrid electric comparison scenario.more » The parameter sensitivity was also investigated under favorable and unfavorable market penetration assumptions.« less

  4. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in public transportation vehicles (buses): another piece to the epidemiologic puzzle.

    PubMed

    Lutz, Jonathan K; van Balen, Joany; Crawford, John Mac; Wilkins, John R; Lee, Jiyoung; Nava-Hoet, Rocio C; Hoet, Armando E

    2014-12-01

    Little is known about the occurrence and epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in public transportation in the United States. This research sought to determine the background prevalence and phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of MRSA strains circulating on buses from a large, metropolitan transportation agency. Electrostatic wipes were used to collect 237 surface samples from 40 buses randomly selected from July-October 2010. Six samples were collected from each bus immediately postservice and before any cleaning and disinfection. Positive isolates were analyzed for antibiotic resistance, staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis; and potential epidemiologic factors were examined. Of the buses, 68% (27/40) were contaminated with S aureus, and 63% (25/40) were contaminated with MRSA. Seats and seat rails were the surfaces most frequently contaminated, followed by the back door and stanchions. Most (62.9%) of the MRSA isolates were classified as community-associated MRSA clones (SCCmec type IV), and 22.9% were health care-associated MRSA clones (SCCmec type II). Of the MRSA strains, 65% (5/20) were multidrug resistant. MRSA was frequently isolated from commonly touched surfaces in buses serving both hospital and community routes. Phenotypic and genotypic analysis demonstrated that buses may be effective mixing vessels for MRSA strains of both community and health care-associated origin. Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. The Design of a Fault-Tolerant COTS-Based Bus Architecture

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chau, Savio N.; Alkalai, Leon; Burt, John B.; Tai, Ann T.

    1999-01-01

    In this paper, we report our experiences and findings on the design of a fault-tolerant bus architecture comprised of two COTS buses, the IEEE 1394 and the 12C. This fault-tolerant bus is the backbone system bus for the avionics architecture of the X2000 program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. COTS buses are attractive because of the availability of low cost commercial products. However, they are not specifically designed for highly reliable applications such as long-life deep-space missions. The X2000 design team has devised a multi-level fault tolerance approach to compensate for this shortcoming of COTS buses. First, the approach enhances the fault tolerance capabilities of the IEEE 1394 and 12 C buses by adding a layer of fault handling hardware and software. Second, algorithms are developed to enable the IEEE 1394 and the 12 C buses assist each other to isolate and recovery from faults. Third, the set of IEEE 1394 and 12 C buses is duplicated to further enhance system reliability. The X2000 design team has paid special attention to guarantee that all fault tolerance provisions will not cause the bus design to deviate from the commercial standard specifications. Otherwise, the economic attractiveness of using COTS will be diminished. The hardware and software design of the X2000 fault-tolerant bus are being implemented and flight hardware will be delivered to the ST4 and Europa Orbiter missions.

  6. Emission Standards, Public Transit, and Infant Health.

    PubMed

    Ngo, Nicole S

    Transit buses are an integral part of urban life. They reduce externalities generated from private vehicles and increase geographic mobility. However, unlike most private vehicles in the United States, they use diesel fuel and emit higher amounts of toxic pollutants. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set emission standards for transit buses starting in 1988 that have been continually updated, but their public health and economic impacts are unclear due to scarce emissions data. I construct a novel panel dataset for the New York City (NYC) Transit bus fleet between 1990 and 2009 and examine the impact of bus pollution on infant health by using bus vintage as a proxy for emissions. I exploit the variation in vintage as older buses are retired and replaced with newer, lower-emitting buses forced to adhere to stricter emission standards. I then assign maternal exposure to bus vintage at the census block level. Findings suggest that maternal exposure to the oldest, unregulated buses is associated with modest reductions in birth weight and gestational age relative to newer buses that abide by emissions policies. I then conduct a back-of-the-envelope cost-benefit calculation and find net economic benefits of $53.3 million resulting from improved emission standards for the 2009 birth cohort in NYC. Since the treatment in this study clearly maps to federal emissions policies, these results are the first to provide credible evidence that transit bus emission standards had a positive effect on infant health.

  7. Carbon Footprint Reduction in Transportation Activity by Emphasizing the Usage of Public Bus Services Among Adolescents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sukor, Nur Sabahiah Abdul; Khairiyah Basri, Nur; Asmah Hassan, Sitti

    2017-08-01

    Transportation is one of the sectors that contributes to the Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emissions. In terms of carbon footprint, transportation is among the major contributors of high carbon intensity in the urban area. This study was conducted to reduce the carbon footprint contributed by the transportation sector in Penang Island by emphasizing the use of public buses. Secondary school students were the target group for this study. They were asked to report their daily travel behaviour and fuel consumption in a travel journal. The fuel consumption data from the travel journal were used to calculate each individual’s carbon emission level. After the analyses, the value of carbon emissions was revealed to the students. Next, they were encouraged to use public transport in a motivation session and were asked to record their fuel consumption in the travel journal once again. The results showed that there was a significant difference in fuel consumption before and after the motivation session, as the students preferred to use public buses instead of private vehicles after the motivation session. This indicates that the motivation programme had been successful in creating the awareness towards carbon footprint reduction among the adolescents.

  8. Comparative study of fuel cell, battery and hybrid buses for renewable energy constrained areas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stempien, J. P.; Chan, S. H.

    2017-02-01

    Fuel cell- and battery-based public bus technologies are reviewed and compared for application in tropical urban areas. This paper scrutinizes the reported literature on fuel cell bus, fuel cell electric bus, battery electric bus, hybrid electric bus, internal combustion diesel bus and compressed natural gas bus. The comparison includes the capital and operating costs, fuel consumption and fuel cycle emissions. To the best of authors knowledge, this is the first study to holistically compare hydrogen and battery powered buses, which is the original contribution of this paper. Moreover, this is the first study to focus on supplying hydrogen and electricity from fossil resources, while including the associated emissions. The study shows that compressed natural gas and hybrid electric buses appear to be the cheapest options in terms of total cost of ownership, but they are unable to meet the EURO VI emissions' standard requirement. Only fuel cell based buses have the potential to achieve the emissions' standard when the fuel cycle based on fossil energy was considered. Fuel cell electric buses are identified as a technology allowing for the largest CO2 emission reduction, making ∼61% decrease in annual emissions possible.

  9. Measurement and comparison of Bangkok diesel bus emissions and performance using on-board equipment

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Burnette, A.D.; Kishan, S.; Wangwongwatana, S.

    1997-12-31

    An on-board measurement system was assembled and used to compare the emissions and performance of buses in Bangkok, Thailand under actual driving conditions. Three similar buses were compared: one using an engine without special emissions control design, one with an engine meeting Euro 1 standards, and one with an engine meeting Euro 2 standards. As the buses drove their routes, second-by-second data were collected for engine rpm, throttle position, vehicle speed, exhaust concentrations of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitric oxide, and exhaust opacity. Vehicle performance data were calculated using algorithms developed during previous driving studies in Bangkok. Grammore » per liter of fuel used emission factors were developed for gaseous pollutants using combustion calculations and these were translated into gram per kilometer traveled emission factors using the fuel efficiency data for the buses. Smoke data were left in terms of opacity. Test results are designed to be used to compare the cost benefit of upgrading buses with no emissions controls to Euro 1 or Euro 2 technologies. Ongoing tests will help bus companies determine the benefit of incremental improvements to bus engines and other emissions reduction strategies.« less

  10. Interim Evaluation Results from New Flyer/Allison Hybrid Buses at King County Metro: Preprint

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chandler, K.; Eberts, E.; Eudy, L.

    2005-05-01

    This paper prepared for the 2005 American Public Transportation Association Bus & Paratransit Conference discusses NREL/DOE evaluation of hybrid electric articulated transit buses operated by King County Metro.

  11. Digital system bus integrity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Eldredge, Donald; Hitt, Ellis F.

    1987-01-01

    This report summarizes and describes the results of a study of current or emerging multiplex data buses as applicable to digital flight systems, particularly with regard to civil aircraft. Technology for pre-1995 and post-1995 timeframes has been delineated and critiqued relative to the requirements envisioned for those periods. The primary emphasis has been an assured airworthiness of the more prevalent type buses, with attention to attributes such as fault tolerance, environmental susceptibility, and problems under continuing investigation. Additionally, the capacity to certify systems relying on such buses has been addressed.

  12. COMPARATIVE STUDY ON EXHAUST EMISSIONS FROM DIESEL- AND CNG-POWERED URBAN BUSES

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    COROLLER, P; PLASSAT, G

    2003-08-24

    Couple years ago, ADEME engaged programs dedicated to the urban buses exhaust emissions studies. The measures associated with the reduction of atmospheric and noise pollution has particular importance in the sector of urban buses. In many cases, they illustrate the city's environmental image and contribute to reinforcing the attractiveness of public transport. France's fleet in service, presently put at about 14,000 units, consumes about 2 per cent of the total energy of city transport. It causes about 2 per cent of the HC emissions and from 4 to 6 per cent of the NOx emissions and particles. These vehicles typicallymore » have a long life span (about 15 years) and are relatively expensive to buy, about 150.000 euros per unit. Several technical solutions were evaluated to quantify, on a real condition cycle for buses, on one hand pollutants emissions, fuel consumption and on the other hand reliability, cost in real existing fleet. This paper presents main preliminary results on urban buses exhaust emission on two different cases: - existing Diesel buses, with fuel modifications (Diesel with low sulphur content), Diesel with water emulsion and bio-Diesel (30% oil ester in standard Diesel fuel); renovating CNG powered Euro II buses fleet, over representative driving cycles, set up by ADEME and partners. On these cycles, pollutants (regulated and unregulated) were measured as well as fuel consumption, at the beginning of a program and one year after to quantify reliability and increase/decrease of pollutants emissions. At the same time, some after-treatment technologies were tested under real conditions and several vehicles. Information such as fuel consumption, lubricant analysis, problem on the technology were following during a one year program. On the overall level, it is the combination of various action, pollution-reduction and renewal that will make it possible to meet the technological challenge of reducing emissions and fuel consumption by urban bus networks.« less

  13. School bus’s level of service in Malang City

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hariyani, S.

    2017-06-01

    School Bus began operated on the 12th of January 2015. Provision of school buses is expected to reduce not only the use of vehicles by students, but it is also to reduce the number of traffic jams. Malang school bus facilities provided by the Department of Transport in cooperation with the Department of Education to serve students in elementary school, junior and senior high schools. After the service running two years, based on the preliminary observation not all students are interested in using the school bus. The research objective was to measure the school bus’s level service. The method to measure school bus’s level of service was used Importance Performance analysis (IPA). The results showed that through IPA, it can be concluded that school bus’s level of service in Malang City have been able to serve students/customers with the mean of degree suitability (Tki) is 111. Meanwhile it must be observed and get more attention to improve by government, attributes which is lies in the first quadrant or concentrate here (attribute Adequate space, Seating capacity, Availability trash can, Passenger facility down in points, The availability of information boards in each bus stop, Availability public telephone in each bus stop, and Availability CCTV in each bus), in order to increase its performance.

  14. King County Metro Transit Hybrid Articulated Buses: Final Evaluation Results

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Chandler, K.; Walkowicz, K.

    2006-12-01

    Final technical report compares and evaluates new diesel and diesel hybrid-electric articulated buses operated as part of the King County Metro Transit (KC Metro) fleet in Seattle, Washington. The evaluation lasted 12 months.

  15. Wheelchair Lifts on Transit Buses : Summary of U.S. Experience

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1983-01-01

    The overall objective of this project was to develop information and guidance for the transit industry concerning wheelchair lifts on transit buses in the areas of lift procurement, testing and acceptance, training, and maintenance.

  16. A Comparison of Bus Architectures for Safety-Critical Embedded Systems

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Rushby, John; Miner, Paul S. (Technical Monitor)

    2003-01-01

    We describe and compare the architectures of four fault-tolerant, safety-critical buses with a view to deducing principles common to all of them, the main differences in their design choices, and the tradeoffs made. Two of the buses come from an avionics heritage, and two from automobiles, though all four strive for similar levels of reliability and assurance. The avionics buses considered are the Honeywell SAFEbus (the backplane data bus used in the Boeing 777 Airplane Information Management System) and the NASA SPIDER (an architecture being developed as a demonstrator for certification under the new DO-254 guidelines); the automobile buses considered are the TTTech Time-Triggered Architecture (TTA), recently adopted by Audi for automobile applications, and by Honeywell for avionics and aircraft control functions, and FlexRay, which is being developed by a consortium of BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Motorola, and Philips.

  17. [Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction Benefits Analysis for Battery Electric Buses Based on Travel Services].

    PubMed

    Lin, Xiao-dan; Tian, Liang; Lü, Bin; Yang, Jian-xin

    2015-09-01

    Battery Electric Bus (BEB) has become one of prior options of urban buses for its "zero emission" during the driving stage. However, the environmental performance of electric buses is affected by multi-factors from the point of whole life cycle. In practice, carrying capacity of BEB and power generation structures can both implement evident effects on the energy consumption and pollutants emission of BEB. Therefore, take the above factors into consideration, in this article, Life Cycle Assessment is employed to evaluate the energy conservation and emissions reduction benefits of BEB. Results indicate that, travel service is more reasonable as the functional unit, rather than mileage, since the carrying capacity of BEB is 15% lower than the diesel buses. Moreover, compared with diesel buses, the energy conservation and emissions reduction benefits of battery electric buses are all different due to different regional power structures. Specifically, the energy benefits are 7. 84%, 11. 91%, 26. 90%, 11. 15%, 19. 55% and 20. 31% respectively in Huabei, Huadong, Huazhong, Dongbei, Xibei and Nanfang power structure. From the point of comprehensive emissions reduction benefits, there is no benefit in Huabei power structure, as it depends heavily on coal. But in other areas, the comprehensive emissions reduction benefits of BEB are separately 3. 46%, 26. 81%, 1. 17%, 13. 74% and 17. 48% in Huadong, Huazhong, Dongbei, Xibei and Nanfang. Therefore, it suggests that, enlargement of carrying capacity should be taken as the most prior technology innovation direction for BEB, and the grids power structure should be taken into consideration when the development of BEB is in planning.

  18. Accessible Bus Service in Palm Beach County, Florida

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1983-03-01

    The Palm Beach County Transportation Authority introduced accessible fixed-route service on its countywide CoTran bus service in May 1980. CoTran provided 100% (full-fleet) accessible service, using 23 retrofitted buses and 40 new buses, all equipped...

  19. 77 FR 60172 - Clean Fuels Grant Program, Augmented With Discretionary Bus and Bus Facilities Program Funds

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-10-02

    .... Grantees are reminded that the 90% provision for biodiesel buses is not available this year, as the... was highlighted in FTA's January 2012 Apportionment Notice, Section III (C). Biodiesel buses remain...

  20. The application of traffic signal preemption systems for controlling bus headways

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1978-04-01

    This report investigates the application of selective traffic signal preemption : for controlling the headways of local service buses (buses with average time : headways of less than 10 minutes), The preemption is selective in that it is granted : to...

  1. SunLine Transit Agency Hydrogen-Powered Transit Buses : Evaluation Results Update

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2007-10-01

    In early 2007, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published a preliminary evaluation results report (January 2006 through November 2006) on hydrogen- and CNG-fueled buses operating at SunLine Transit Agency (SunLine) in Thousand Palms, C...

  2. Moving the bus safely back into traffic : Phase II.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-09-01

    The difficulty experienced by transit buses in moving back into traffic safely from bus pullout bays has : become a serious problem due to potential hazards between buses merging from the pullout bays and : the surrounding traffic. Previous studies h...

  3. Moving the bus safely back into traffic : phase II.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2010-09-01

    The difficulty experienced by transit buses in moving back into traffic safely from bus pullout bays has : become a serious problem due to potential hazards between buses merging from the pullout bays and : the surrounding traffic. Previous studies h...

  4. Mass transit : use of alternative fuels in transit buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1999-12-14

    Improving air quality in urban settings has been a long-standing national objective. Transit buses powered by diesel engines have been identified as contributors to air pollution in these areas. The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA...

  5. 49 CFR 392.62 - Safe operation, buses.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ... Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY REGULATIONS DRIVING OF COMMERCIAL MOTOR VEHICLES Prohibited Practices § 392.62 Safe operation, buses. No person shall drive a bus and a motor...

  6. Assessing the costs for hybrid versus regular transit buses : [technical brief].

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2012-10-01

    This technical brief summarizes : information about the costs and benefits : that have been attributed to use of : hybrid transit buses as found in the : literature. Results from a demonstration : project that compared fuel economy : and emissions fo...

  7. Materials investigation of thermal triggers used in pressure relief devices on transit buses.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2003-07-01

    This investigation pertains to the composition and general condition of the thermally activated trigger mechanism of Pressure Relief Devices [PRD's], safety devices used on compressed natural gas cylinders commonly used to store fuel on transit buses...

  8. System data communication structures for active-control transport aircraft, volume 1

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hopkins, A. L.; Martin, J. H.; Brock, L. D.; Jansson, D. G.; Serben, S.; Smith, T. B.; Hanley, L. D.

    1981-01-01

    Candidate data communication techniques are identified, including dedicated links, local buses, broadcast buses, multiplex buses, and mesh networks. The design methodology for mesh networks is then discussed, including network topology and node architecture. Several concepts of power distribution are reviewed, including current limiting and mesh networks for power. The technology issues of packaging, transmission media, and lightning are addressed, and, finally, the analysis tools developed to aid in the communication design process are described. There are special tools to analyze the reliability and connectivity of networks and more general reliability analysis tools for all types of systems.

  9. Physical characterization of fine particulate matter inside the public transit buses fueled by biodiesel in Toledo, Ohio.

    PubMed

    Shandilya, Kaushik K; Kumar, Ashok

    2011-06-15

    This study presents the physical characteristics of fine particulate matter (PM) collected inside the urban-public transit buses in Toledo, OH. These buses run on 20% biodiesel blended with ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) (B20). For risk analysis, it is crucial to know the modality of the size distribution and the shape factor of PM collected inside the bus. The number-size distribution, microstructure, and aspect ratio of fine PM filter samples collected in the urban-public transit buses were measured for three years (2007-2009), using an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX). Only the reproducible results from repeated experiments on ESEM and size distribution obtained by the GRIMM dust monitor were used in this study. The size distribution was found bi-modal in the winter and fall months and was primarily uni-modal during spring and summer. The aspect ratio for different filter samples collected inside the bus range from 2.4 to 3.6 in average value, with standard deviation ranging from 0.9 to 7.4. The square-shaped and oblong-shaped particles represent the single inhalable particle's morphology characteristics in the air of the Toledo transit buses. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Charting color from the eye of the beholder

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Landa, Edward; Fairchild, Mark

    2005-01-01

    Everyone knows the particular shade of yellow that adorns all school buses across the United States. But how do we define exactly what shade this is, and reproduce the same color from coast to coast? Much of the standardization of colors stems from the century-old work of Alfred Munsell, who created one of the first colorimetry systems defined by how people see color: lightness, hue, and chroma (how much the apparent hue differs from neutral grey). Munsell's color charts have been customized for different fields, and are still in use in areas as diverse as beer brewing and soil science.

  11. Proceedings of the Annual Military Librarians’ Workshop (31st): Information Management and Intelligence Held in Washington, D.C. on 20-23 October 1987

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-10-23

    Engineering Laboratory Naval Postgraduate School Library, Code LO8A Dudley Knox Library Port Hueneme, CA 93043-5003 Monterey, CA 93943-5000 Cecilia J . Thorn...Pforzhetmer 23 "A Brief History of Military Deane J , Allen 38 Intelligence" "Popular Culture and the Cultural Dr. Hugo A. Keesing 73 Literacy Controversy...2200 Banjo Dancing * Arena Stage Old Vat Room ( J Buses will be provided at 1730 and 1930 from the hotel to Arena Stage and return to the hotel after the

  12. Understanding parents' concerns about their children with autism taking public school transportation in Los Angeles County.

    PubMed

    Angell, Amber M; Solomon, Olga

    2018-05-01

    There are a number of recent US news media reports of children and youth with autism becoming lost, injured, or even dying while taking public school transportation, yet research on this problem is scarce. This ethnographic study examines the experiences of 14 parents whose children with autism take public school transportation in Los Angeles County. We present two case studies of children with autism being "lost" while in transit from school to home on the bus to (1) describe how the situation was experienced, responded to, and managed by the parents; (2) consider three interrelated themes that emerged from interviews with 14 parents, related to children's safety, independence, and participation, across multiple contexts and analytic levels; and (3) discuss the findings in relation to US news media reports of incidents involving children with autism on school buses to identify specific weaknesses in school transportation infrastructure, particularly in the context of privatization, that create conditions in which children with autism can "fall through the cracks" in potentially life-threatening ways. We argue that there is a critical need to address transportation accessibility for individuals on the autism spectrum to ensure their safety and support their independence and community participation.

  13. School interventions after the Joplin tornado.

    PubMed

    Kanter, Robert K; Abramson, David

    2014-04-01

    To qualitatively describe interventions by schools to meet children's needs after the May 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado. Qualitative exploratory study conducted six months after the tornado. Key informant interviews with school staff (teachers, psychologists, guidance counselor, nurse, principal), public health official, and physicians. After the tornado, school staff immediately worked to contact every enrolled child to provide assistance and coordinate recovery services. Despite severe damage to half of the city's schools, the decision was made to reopen schools at the earliest possible time to provide a safe, reassuring environment and additional services. An expanded summer school session emphasized child safety and emotional wellbeing. The 2011-2012 school year began on time, less than three months after the disaster, using temporary facilities. Displaced children were bused to their usual schools regardless of their new temporary residence locations. In just-in-time training sessions, teachers developed strategies to support students and staff experiencing anxiety or depression. Certified counselors conducted school-based, small-group counseling for students. Selective referrals were made to community mental health providers for children with greatest needs. Evidence from Joplin adds to a small body of empirical experience demonstrating the important contribution of schools to postdisaster community recovery. Despite timely and proactive services, many families and children struggled after the tornado. Improvements in the effectiveness of postdisaster interventions at schools will follow from future scientific evidence on optimal approaches.

  14. Detroit Commuter Hydrogen Project

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Brooks, Jerry; Prebo, Brendan

    2010-07-31

    This project was undertaken to demonstrate the viability of using hydrogen as a fuel in an internal combustion engine vehicle for use as a part of a mass transit system. The advantages of hydrogen as a fuel include renew-ability, minimal environmental impact on air quality and the environment, and potential to reduce dependence on foreign energy sources for the transportation sector. Recognizing the potential for the hydrogen fuel concept, the Southeast Michigan Congress of Governments (SEMCOG) determined to consider it in the study of a proposed regional mass transit rail system for southeast Michigan. SEMCOG wanted to evaluate the feasibilitymore » of using hydrogen fueled internal combustion engine (H2ICE) vehicles in shuttle buses to connect the Detroit Metro Airport to a proposed, nearby rail station. Shuttle buses are in current use on the airport for passenger parking and inter-terminal transport. This duty cycle is well suited to the application of hydrogen fuel at this time because of the ability to re-fuel vehicles at a single nearby facility, overcoming the challenge of restricted fuel availability in the undeveloped hydrogen fuel infrastructure. A cooperative agreement between SEMCOG and the DOE was initiated and two H2ICE buses were placed in regular passenger service on March 29, 2009 and operated for six months in regular passenger service. The buses were developed and built by the Ford Motor Company. Wayne County Airport Authority provided the location for the demonstration with the airport transportation contractor, Metro Cars Inc. operating the buses. The buses were built on Ford E450 chassis and incorporated a modified a 6.8L V-10 engine with specially designed supercharger, fuel rails and injectors among other sophisticated control systems. Up to 30 kg of on-board gaseous hydrogen were stored in a modular six tank, 350 bar (5000 psi) system to provide a 150 mile driving range. The bus chassis and body were configured to carry nine passengers with luggage. By collecting fuel use data for the two H2ICE buses, with both written driver logs and onboard telemetry devices, and for two conventional propane-gasoline powered buses in the same service, comparisons of operating efficiency and maintenance requirements were completed. Public opinion about the concept of hydrogen fuel was sampled with a rider survey throughout the demonstration. The demonstration was very effective in adding to the understanding of the application of hydrogen as a transportation fuel. The two 9 passenger H2ICE buses accumulated nearly 50,000 miles and carried 14,285 passengers. Data indicated the H2ICE bus fuel economy to be 9.4 miles/ gallon of gasoline equivalent (m/GGE) compared to the 10 passenger propane-gasoline bus average of 9.8 m/GGE over 32,400 miles. The 23- passenger bus averaged 7.4 m/GGE over 40,700 miles. Rider feedback from 1050 on-board survey cards was overwhelmingly positive with 99.6% indicating they would ride again on a hydrogen powered vehicle. Minimal maintenance was required for theses buses during the demonstration project, but a longer duration demonstration would be required to more adequately assess this aspect of the concept.« less

  15. Operational Assessment of Paralympics Transit Systems : Low-Floor Buses, Lift-Equipped Buses, and Signage

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1997-02-01

    From August 15-25, Atlanta hosted the paralympics, a world-class athletic competition for athletes with disabilities. To support the Paralympics, a specialized transit service was planned and deployed to service the travel needs of athletes, trainers...

  16. Hickam Air Force Base Fuel Cell Vehicles : Early Implementation Experience

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2008-07-01

    This report describes operations at Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) for three prototype fuel cell buses and six diesel buses operating from the same location. This is the third evaluation report for this site, and it describes new ...

  17. Tri-wheeled scooters transported on buses and vans : assessment of securement restraint issues

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2005-10-01

    Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, all "common wheelchairs and mobility aids", including tri-wheeled scooters, must be accommodated on buses and vans used in public transit service. Several transit systems have recently expresse...

  18. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) Fuel Cell Transit Buses : Evaluation Results Update

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2007-10-01

    In early 2007, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) published a preliminary evaluation results report1 (April through November 2006) on hydrogen fuel cell and diesel buses operating at Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) in ...

  19. National Fuel Cell Bus Program : Accelerated Testing Report, AC Transit

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-01-01

    This is an evaluation of hydrogen fuel cell transit buses operating at AC Transit in revenue service since March 20, 2006 compared to similar diesel buses operating from the same depot. This evaluation report includes results from November 2007 throu...

  20. Standardization of availability, location and use of safety equipment on urban transit buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-03-01

    This document represents the conclusion of a project undertaken to identify guidelines which will correct the problems encountered by rescue forces while attempting to gain entry to, shut down, and evacuate urban transit buses involved in an emergenc...

  1. Real-world operation conditions and on-road emissions of Beijing diesel buses measured by using portable emission measurement system and electric low-pressure impactor.

    PubMed

    Liu, Zhihua; Ge, Yunshan; Johnson, Kent C; Shah, Asad Naeem; Tan, Jianwei; Wang, Chu; Yu, Linxiao

    2011-03-15

    On-road measurement is an effective method to investigate real-world emissions generated from vehicles and estimate the difference between engine certification cycles and real-world operating conditions. This study presents the results of on-road measurements collected from urban buses which propelled by diesel engine in Beijing city. Two widely used Euro III emission level buses and two Euro IV emission level buses were chosen to perform on-road emission measurements using portable emission measurement system (PEMS) for gaseous pollutant and Electric Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI) for particulate matter (PM) number emissions. The results indicate that considerable discrepancies of engine operating conditions between real-world driving cycles and engine certification cycles have been observed. Under real-world operating conditions, carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrocarbon (HC) emissions can easily meet their respective regulations limits, while brake specification nitrogen oxide (bsNO(x)) emissions present a significant deviation from its corresponding limit. Compared with standard limits, the real-world bsNO(x) emission of the two Euro III emission level buses approximately increased by 60% and 120% respectively, and bsNO(x) of two Euro IV buses nearly twice standard limits because Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system not active under low exhaust temperature. Particle mass were estimated via particle size distribution with the assumption that particle density and diameter is liner. The results demonstrate that nanometer size particulate matter make significant contribution to total particle number but play a minor role to total particle mass. It is suggested that specific certified cycle should be developed to regulate bus engines emissions on the test bench or use PEMS to control the bus emissions under real-world operating conditions. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Thermographic inspection and quality assurance of energy conservation procedures for electric buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fennell, Henri C.

    1998-03-01

    Electric buses are one of the solutions for improving air quality in our cities. Many states are adopting 'no new diesel bus' policies, thus increasing the pressure to develop alternative vehicles. The fledgling electric vehicle technology suffers from acceptance problems by major transit authorities due primarily to limited travel range from each battery charge. Utilizing electric buses in the Northeast has the added problem of maintaining an adequate cabin temperature without the availability of heat from a diesel motor. Heating the passenger cabin with an electric heater which draws from the batteries' stored energy significantly reduces the already modest range of these vehicles; therefore, energy conservation measures play an important role in allowing electric vehicles to provide practical transit services. IR thermography, in conjunction with air leakage pressurization diagnostics, has proven to be an excellent tool for developing energy-efficient bus designs as well as a valuable in-service performance testing method. This paper is based on tests performed on several Advanced Vehicle Systems, Inc. electric buses during research performed under Northeast Alternative Vehicle Consortium and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grants. The work demonstrates the thermographic methods used and the real- world increased performance of retrofitted and newly designed buses resulting from this initial Portland Transit retrofit project and in a follow-up project to develop a cold weather specification for a new generation of electric buses. Early diagnostic and new-technology follow-up thermographic performance testing was paralleled by energy modeling of early baseline and re-designed vehicles. Modeling and performance data are included. As a result of this research, thermography, air-leakage/pressurization testing, and fog analysis techniques are now being used regularly in research and development and quality assurance procedures by electric bus manufacturers.

  3. Assessing factors causing severe injuries in crashes of high-deck buses in long-distance driving on freeways.

    PubMed

    Chu, Hsing-Chung

    2014-01-01

    High-deck buses that have a higher center of gravity traveling at an excessive speed have a higher likelihood of causing serious and fatal accidents when drivers lose control of the vehicle. In addition, drivers who suffer from fatigue in long-distance driving increase the likelihood of serious accident. This paper examines the effects of risk factors contributing to severe crashes associated with high-deck buses used for long-distance driving on freeways. An ordered logit and latent class models are used to examine significant factors on the severity of injuries in crashes related to high-deck buses. Driver fatigue, drivers or passengers not wearing a seat belt, reckless driving, drunk driving, crashes occurred between midnight and dawn, and crashes occurred at interchange ramps were found to significantly affect the severity of injuries in crashes involving high-deck buses. Safety policies to prevent severe injuries in crashes involving high deck buses used for long-distance runs on freeways include: (1) restricting drivers from exceeding the limit of daily driving hours and mandating sufficient rest breaks; (2) installing an automatic sleep-warning device in the vehicle; (3) drivers with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome or sleep disorders should be tested and treated before they are allowed to perform long hours of driving tasks; (4) educating the public or even amending the seatbelt legislation to require all passengers to wear a seat belt and thus reduce the chance of ejection from a high-deck bus and prevent serious injuries in a crash while traveling at a higher speed on freeways. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Understanding Perceptions of School Administrators Related to School Breakfast in a Low School Breakfast Participation State.

    PubMed

    Askelson, Natoshia M; Golembiewski, Elizabeth H; Bobst, Ann; Delger, Patti J; Scheidel, Carrie A

    2017-06-01

    The National School Breakfast Program (SBP) is a federally funded program that allows states to offer nutritious breakfast to K-12 students. However, rates of SBP participation are low in some rural states, and the reasons are not well understood. The purpose of the study was to explore administrators' perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs related to the SBP, and factors they identify as barriers or facilitators to increased participation. Data were collected from a cross-sectional, online survey of K-12 school administrators (N = 152) in a rural, midsized Midwestern state fielded over an academic year. Descriptive statistics were calculated and open-ended questions were coded and analyzed for relevant themes. Administrators identified busing schedules, time constraints, and a lack of flexibility within the school schedule to accommodate breakfast as primary structural barriers to SBP participation. Administrators described family-centered norms as reasons for low participation in rural areas. Administrators are at varying stages of readiness to work on improving participation. Low SBP participation can be explained in part by a convergence of factors related to access, community norms, and structural barriers. Results may be used to inform ways in which administrators at the state, district, and school level can work to increase participation. © 2017, American School Health Association.

  5. Computer Simulations and Literature Survey of Continuously Variable Transmissions for Use in Buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1981-12-01

    Numerous studies have been conducted on the concept of flywheel energy storage for buses. Flywheel systems require a continuously variable transmission (CVT) of some type to transmit power between the flywheel and the drive wheels. However, a CVT can...

  6. Life Cycle Assessment of Diesel and Electric Public Transportation Buses

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Clean Air Act identifies diesel powered motor vehicles, including transit buses, as significant sources of several criteria pollutants which contribute to ground level ozone formation or smog. The effects of air pollution in urban areas are often more significant due to con...

  7. Oregon bus riders blast into orbit; Satellite technology to help keep Portland buses on schedule

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1994-06-22

    Fairchild Space & Defense Corporation (Fairchild) : announced today that it was awarded a first of its kind $5 million contract by the public transit agency : serving Portland Oregon to equip 740 buses and paratransit vehicles with sophisticated sate...

  8. White Attitudes toward Busing: Segregation and the Life Cycle.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Edari, Ronald S.

    1979-01-01

    Factors involved in the determination of White attitudes toward busing are discussed. The term White flight is considered a euphemism for the process in which the responsibility for housing discrimination is shifted from the structure of the capitalist system to White community residents. (RLV)

  9. Buses retrofitting with diesel particle filters: Real-world fuel economy and roadworthiness test considerations.

    PubMed

    Fleischman, Rafael; Amiel, Ran; Czerwinski, Jan; Mayer, Andreas; Tartakovsky, Leonid

    2018-05-01

    Retrofitting older vehicles with diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a cost-effective measure to quickly and efficiently reduce particulate matter emissions. This study experimentally analyzes real-world performance of buses retrofitted with CRT DPFs. 18 in-use Euro III technology urban and intercity buses were investigated for a period of 12months. The influence of the DPF and of the vehicle natural aging on buses fuel economy are analyzed and discussed. While the effect of natural deterioration is about 1.2%-1.3%, DPF contribution to fuel economy penalty is found to be 0.6% to 1.8%, depending on the bus type. DPF filtration efficiency is analyzed throughout the study and found to be in average 96% in the size range of 23-560nm. Four different load and non-load engine operating modes are investigated on their appropriateness for roadworthiness tests. High idle is found to be the most suitable regime for PN diagnostics considering particle number filtration efficiency. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  10. Ultrafine particle emissions by in-use diesel buses of various generations at low-load regimes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tartakovsky, L.; Baibikov, V.; Comte, P.; Czerwinski, J.; Mayer, A.; Veinblat, M.; Zimmerli, Y.

    2015-04-01

    Ultrafine particles (UFP) are major contributors to air pollution due to their easy gas-like penetration into the human organism, causing adverse health effects. This study analyzes UFP emissions by buses of different technologies (from Euro II till Euro V EEV - Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle) at low-load regimes. Additionally, the emission-reduction potential of retrofitting with a diesel particle filter (DPF) is demonstrated. A comparison of the measured, engine-out, particle number concentrations (PNC) for buses of different technological generations shows that no substantial reduction of engine-out emissions at low-load operating modes is observed for newer bus generations. Retrofitting the in-use urban and interurban buses of Euro II till Euro IV technologies by the VERT-certified DPF confirmed its high efficiency in reduction of UFP emissions. Particle-count filtration efficiency values of the retrofit DPF were found to be extremely high - greater than 99.8%, similar to that of the OEM filter in the Euro V bus.

  11. King County Metro Battery Electric Bus Demonstration: Preliminary Project Results

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    The U.S. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funds a variety of research projects that support the commercialization of zero-emission bus technology. To evaluate projects funded through these programs, FTA has enlisted the help of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to conduct third-party evaluations of the technologies deployed under the FTA programs. NREL works with the selected agencies to evaluate the performance of the zero-emission buses compared to baseline conventional buses in similar service. The evaluation effort will advance the knowledge base of zero-emission technologies in transit bus applications and provide 'lessons learned' to aid other fleets in incrementally introducing nextmore » generation zero-emission buses into their operations. This report provides preliminary performance evaluation results from a demonstration of three zero-emission battery electric buses at King County Metro in King County, Washington. NREL developed this preliminary results report to quickly disseminate evaluation results to stakeholders. Detailed evaluation results will be published in future reports.« less

  12. Developing a discrete event simulation model for university student shuttle buses

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zulkepli, Jafri; Khalid, Ruzelan; Nawawi, Mohd Kamal Mohd; Hamid, Muhammad Hafizan

    2017-11-01

    Providing shuttle buses for university students to attend their classes is crucial, especially when their number is large and the distances between their classes and residential halls are far. These factors, in addition to the non-optimal current bus services, typically require the students to wait longer which eventually opens a space for them to complain. To considerably reduce the waiting time, providing the optimal number of buses to transport them from location to location and the effective route schedules to fulfil the students' demand at relevant time ranges are thus important. The optimal bus number and schedules are to be determined and tested using a flexible decision platform. This paper thus models the current services of student shuttle buses in a university using a Discrete Event Simulation approach. The model can flexibly simulate whatever changes configured to the current system and report its effects to the performance measures. How the model was conceptualized and formulated for future system configurations are the main interest of this paper.

  13. The challenge to NOx emission control for heavy-duty diesel vehicles in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Y.; Zhang, S. J.; Li, M. L.; Ge, Y. S.; Shu, J. W.; Zhou, Y.; Xu, Y. Y.; Hu, J. N.; Liu, H.; Fu, L. X.; He, K. B.; Hao, J. M.

    2012-07-01

    China's new "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" set a target for total NOx emission reduction of 10% for the period of 2011-2015. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs) have been considered a major contributor to NOx emissions in China. Beijing initiated a comprehensive vehicle test program in 2008. This program included a sub-task for measuring on-road emission profiles of hundreds of HDDVs using portable emission measurement systems (PEMS). The major finding is that neither the on-road distance-specific (g km -1) nor brake-specific (g kW h-1) NOx emission factors for diesel buses and heavy-duty diesel trucks improved in most cases as emission standards became more stringent. For example, the average NOx emission factors for Euro II, Euro III and Euro IV buses are 11.3±3.3 g km-1, 12.5± 1.3 g km-1, and 11.8±2.0 g km-1, respectively. No statistically significant difference in NOx emission factors was observed between Euro II and III buses. Even for Euro IV buses equipped with SCR systems, the NOx emission factors are similar to Euro III buses. The data regarding real-time engine performance of Euro IV buses suggest the engine certification cycles did not reflect their real-world operating conditions. These new on-road test results indicate that previous estimates of total NOx emissions for HDDV fleet may be significantly underestimated. The new estimate in total NOx emissions for the Beijing HDDV fleet in 2009 is 37.0 Gg, an increase of 45% compared to the previous study. Further, we estimate that the total NOx emissions for the national HDDV fleet in 2009 are approximately 4.0 Tg, higher by 1.0 Tg (equivalent to 18% of total NOx emissions for vehicle fleet in 2009) than that estimated in the official report. This would also result in 4% increase in estimation of national anthropogenic NOx emissions. More effective control measures (such as promotion of CNG buses and a new in-use compliance testing program) are urged to secure the goal of total NOxmitigation for the HDDV fleet in the future.

  14. The challenge to NOx emission control for heavy-duty diesel vehicles in China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Y.; Zhang, S. J.; Li, M. L.; Ge, Y. S.; Shu, J. W.; Zhou, Y.; Xu, Y. Y.; Hu, J. N.; Liu, H.; Fu, L. X.; He, K. B.; Hao, J. M.

    2012-10-01

    China's new "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" set a target for total NOx emission reduction of 10% for the period of 2011-2015. Heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs) have been considered a major contributor to NOx emissions in China. Beijing initiated a comprehensive vehicle test program in 2008. This program included a sub-task for measuring on-road emission profiles of hundreds of HDDVs using portable emission measurement systems (PEMS). The major finding is that neither the on-road distance-specific (g km-1) nor brake-specific (g kWh-1) NOx emission factors for diesel buses and heavy-duty diesel trucks improved in most cases as emission standards became more stringent. For example, the average NOx emission factors for Euro II, Euro III and Euro IV buses are 11.3 ± 3.3 g km-1, 12.5 ± 1.3 g km-1, and 11.8 ± 2.0 g km-1, respectively. No statistically significant difference in NOx emission factors was observed between Euro II and III buses. Even for Euro IV buses equipped with SCR systems, the NOx emission factors are similar to Euro III buses. The data regarding real-time engine performance of Euro IV buses suggest the engine certification cycles did not reflect their real-world operating conditions. These new on-road test results indicate that previous estimates of total NOx emissions for HDDV fleet may be significantly underestimated. The new estimate in total NOx emissions for the Beijing HDDV fleet in 2009 is 37.0 Gg, an increase of 45% compared to the previous study. Further, we estimate that the total NOx emissions for the national HDDV fleet in 2009 are approximately 4.0 Tg, higher by 1.0 Tg (equivalent to 18% of total NOx emissions for vehicle fleet in 2009) than that estimated in the official report. This would also result in 4% increase in estimation of national anthropogenic NOx emissions. More effective control measures (such as promotion of CNG buses and a new in-use compliance testing program) are urged to secure the goal of total NOx mitigation for the HDDV fleet in the future.

  15. Characterization and speciation of fine particulate matter inside the public transport buses running on bio-diesel.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-09-01

    Air pollution with respect to particulate matter was investigated in Toledo, Ohio, USA, a : city of approximately 300,000, in 2009. Two study buses were selected to reflect typical : exposure conditions of passengers while traveling in the bus. Monit...

  16. Design Guidelines for Bus Transit Systems Using Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) as an Alternative Fuel.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1996-09-01

    The use of alternative fuels to power transit buses is steadily increasing. Several fuels, including Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and Methanol/Ethanol, are already being used in buses. At present, there do not exist co...

  17. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District Fuel Cell Transit Buses : Evaluation Results

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2006-11-23

    This report provides evaluation results for prototype fuel cell transit buses operating at Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in San Jose, California. San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) in San Carlos, California, is a partner...

  18. Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and San Mateo County Transit District Fuel Cell Transit Buses : Preliminary Evaluation Results

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2006-03-23

    This report provides preliminary results from an evaluation of prototype fuel cell transit buses operating at Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in San Jose, California. San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans) in San Carlos, Calif...

  19. Special Issue Busing. NCRIEEO Newsletter, Volume 3, Number 2, May 1972.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gordon, Edmund W., Ed.

    Contents of this issue of the NCRIEEO Newsletter include the following articles: (1) "Editor's commentary: background to the issue," by Edmund Gordon, which puts busing into perspective as an important educational resource--like physical facilities, instructional materials, and teachers--to be used to achieve educational and social…

  20. 49 CFR 661.12 - Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and associated equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-10-01

    ..., other rolling stock and associated equipment. 661.12 Section 661.12 Transportation Other Regulations... associated equipment. If buses or other rolling stock (including train control, communication, and traction power equipment) are being procured, the appropriate certificate as set forth below shall be completed...

  1. Crashworthiness of Restraints for Physically Disabled Children in Buses.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Seeger, Barry R.; Caudrey, David J.

    1983-01-01

    Seven design principles identified from research as crashworthy for transporting disabled persons in buses are listed, and survey results of transportation of 161 disabled children in Australia are discussed relative to the design principles. Findings are discussed and recommendations made to correct deviations, such as absence of lapbelts. (MC)

  2. 77 FR 24362 - Airworthiness Directives; Bombardier, Inc. Airplanes

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-24

    ... was prompted by reports of the air driven generator (ADG) failing to power essential buses during... essential buses which, in the event of an emergency, could prevent continued safe flight. DATES: This AD... prevent continued safe flight. This [TCCA] directive mandates the replacement of the ADG GCU. You may...

  3. Crash problem definition and safety benefits methodology for stability control for single-unit medium and heavy trucks and large-platform buses

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2009-10-01

    This report presents the findings of a comprehensive engineering analysis of electronic stability control (ESC) and roll stability control (RSC) systems for single-unit medium and heavy trucks and large-platform buses. This report details the applica...

  4. Recommendations for yield-to-bus traffic control devices and bus pullout bays design characteristics : [research summary].

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2013-04-01

    Bus pullout bays are being installed increasingly : on Floridas roads as a safety factor and so that : stopped buses do not impede traffic. In Florida, : state law requires car drivers to yield to buses : when a bus needs to reenter the roadway af...

  5. Parental Factors in Children’s Active Transport to School

    PubMed Central

    Henne, Heather M.; Tandon, Pooja S.; Frank, Larry D.; Saelens, Brian E.

    2014-01-01

    Objective Identify non-distance factors related to children’s active transport (AT) to school, including parental, home, and environment characteristics. Understanding the factors related to children’s AT to school, beyond distance to school, could inform interventions to increase AT and children’s overall physical activity. Study Design Participants were in the Neighborhood Impact on Kids Study, a longitudinal, observational cohort study of children aged 6 - 11 and their parents in King County, WA and San Diego County, CA between 2007-2009. Parents reported frequency and mode of child transport to school, perceived neighborhood, home and family environments, parental travel behaviors, and sociodemographics. Methods Children living less than a 20 minute walk to school were in this analysis. Children classified as active transporters (walked/bicycled to or from school at least once per week) were compared with those not using AT as often. Results Children using AT were older and had parents who reported themselves using active transport. Having a family rule that restricts the child to stay within sight of the parent or home and more parent working hours was related to lower odds of a child using AT. Conclusions Children’s AT to school is associated with parental AT to work and other locations. Interventions should be considered that enable whole family AT, ameliorate safety concerns and decrease the need for parental supervision, such as walking school buses. PMID:24999161

  6. Commuting to school and to work among high school students in Santa Catarina state, Brazil: a comparative analysis between 2001 and 2011.

    PubMed

    Silva, Kelly Samara; Lopes, Adair da Silva; Hardman, Carla Menêses; Cabral, Luciana Gatto Azevedo; da Silva, Shana Ginar; Nahas, Markus Vinicius

    2014-11-01

    Commuting reflects an important opportunity for youth to engage in physical activity. This study aimed to compare modes of commuting to school and to work and to identify sociodemographic factors associated with various modes of transportation. Epidemiologic study with a repeated cross-sectional design. Participants included high school students (15-19 years of age) from Santa Catarina state, Brazil, in 2001 (n = 5028) and 2011 (n = 6529). A questionnaire containing information on the type of transport used to commute to school and to work was administered. Walking/bicycling and the use of the bus to commute to school and to work remained stable after a decade; however, the use of car/motorcycle to school (6.4% versus 12.6%) and to work (10.2% versus 19.7%) increased significantly. In both cases, females more frequently used buses, whereas males commuted to work by car/bus. Students from rural areas more commonly commuted to school by car/motorcycle, whereas those from urban areas traveled to work more by bus. There was a greater use of cars/motorcycles by young people from higher-income families. The use of cars/motorcycles to commute to school/work has almost doubled in the last decade. Sex, residential area and income were associated with passive commuting.

  7. 78 FR 719 - California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; Urban Buses; Request for Waiver of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-01-04

    .... Collectively, the five rulemakings elevated the stringency of exhaust emission standards and test procedures... Act for the emission standards and related test procedures contained in its urban bus regulations, as... Standards; Urban Buses; Request for Waiver of Preemption; Opportunity for Public Hearing and Comment AGENCY...

  8. Busing in Boston: Political Issues. Comparing Political Experiences, Experimental Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gillespie, Judith A.; Lazarus, Stuart

    Unit two to the second-semester "Comparing Political Experiences" course focuses on a specific controversial political issue: court-ordered busing in Boston. A documentary approach represents the core of instruction in this 12th-grade unit. This approach avoids lengthy narratives of a theoretical approach and yet is more in-depth than…

  9. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Arkansas Launches Natural Gas-Powered Buses

    Science.gov Websites

    and Refueling StationA> Arkansas Launches Natural Gas-Powered Buses and Refueling Station to a great opportunity for [Rock Region METRO] to continue to meet the needs of our customers with the Cities Coalition (ACCC). Before RRM's board of directors would approve the CNG transition project, they

  10. 49 CFR 661.12 - Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and associated equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-10-01

    ... AMERICA REQUIREMENTS § 661.12 Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and.... Certificate of Compliance with Buy America Rolling Stock Requirements The bidder or offeror hereby certifies... CFR 661.11. Date Signature Company Name Title Certificate of Non-Compliance with Buy America Rolling...

  11. 49 CFR 661.12 - Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and associated equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-10-01

    ... AMERICA REQUIREMENTS § 661.12 Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and.... Certificate of Compliance with Buy America Rolling Stock Requirements The bidder or offeror hereby certifies... CFR 661.11. Date Signature Company Name Title Certificate of Non-Compliance with Buy America Rolling...

  12. 49 CFR 661.12 - Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and associated equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-10-01

    ... AMERICA REQUIREMENTS § 661.12 Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and.... Certificate of Compliance with Buy America Rolling Stock Requirements The bidder or offeror hereby certifies... CFR 661.11. Date Signature Company Name Title Certificate of Non-Compliance with Buy America Rolling...

  13. 49 CFR 661.12 - Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and associated equipment.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-10-01

    ... AMERICA REQUIREMENTS § 661.12 Certification requirement for procurement of buses, other rolling stock and.... Certificate of Compliance with Buy America Rolling Stock Requirements The bidder or offeror hereby certifies... CFR 661.11. Date Signature Company Name Title Certificate of Non-Compliance with Buy America Rolling...

  14. COMPARISON OF PARALLEL AND SERIES HYBRID POWERTRAINS FOR TRANSIT BUS APPLICATION

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gao, Zhiming; Daw, C Stuart; Smith, David E

    2016-01-01

    The fuel economy and emissions of both conventional and hybrid buses equipped with emissions aftertreatment were evaluated via computational simulation for six representative city bus drive cycles. Both series and parallel configurations for the hybrid case were studied. The simulation results indicate that series hybrid buses have the greatest overall advantage in fuel economy. The series and parallel hybrid buses were predicted to produce similar CO and HC tailpipe emissions but were also predicted to have reduced NOx tailpipe emissions compared to the conventional bus in higher speed cycles. For the New York bus cycle (NYBC), which has the lowestmore » average speed among the cycles evaluated, the series bus tailpipe emissions were somewhat higher than they were for the conventional bus, while the parallel hybrid bus had significantly lower tailpipe emissions. All three bus powertrains were found to require periodic active DPF regeneration to maintain PM control. Plug-in operation of series hybrid buses appears to offer significant fuel economy benefits and is easily employed due to the relatively large battery capacity that is typical of the series hybrid configuration.« less

  15. Variability of particle number emissions from diesel and hybrid diesel-electric buses in real driving conditions.

    PubMed

    Sonntag, Darrell B; Gao, H Oliver; Holmén, Britt A

    2008-08-01

    A linear mixed model was developed to quantify the variability of particle number emissions from transit buses tested in real-world driving conditions. Two conventional diesel buses and two hybrid diesel-electric buses were tested throughout 2004 under different aftertreatments, fuels, drivers, and bus routes. The mixed model controlled the confounding influence of factors inherent to on-board testing. Statistical tests showed that particle number emissions varied significantly according to the after treatment, bus route, driver, bus type, and daily temperature, with only minor variability attributable to differences between fuel types. The daily setup and operation of the sampling equipment (electrical low pressure impactor) and mini-dilution system contributed to 30-84% of the total random variability of particle measurements among tests with diesel oxidation catalysts. By controlling for the sampling day variability, the model better defined the differences in particle emissions among bus routes. In contrast, the low particle number emissions measured with diesel particle filters (decreased by over 99%) did not vary according to operating conditions or bus type but did vary substantially with ambient temperature.

  16. Performance evaluation of Platform Data ManagementSystem under various degrees of protocol implementation

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Arozullah, Mohammed

    1991-01-01

    The Platform Data Management System (DMS) collects Housekeeping (H/K), Payload (P/L) Engineering, and Payload Science data from various subsystems and payloads on the platform for transmission to the ground through the downlink via TDRSS. The DMS also distributes command data received from the ground to various subsystems and payloads. In addition, DMS distributes timing and safemode data. The function of collection and distribution of various types of data is performed by the Command and Data Handling (C&DH) subsystem of DMS. The C&DH subsystem uses for this purpose a number of data buses namely, Housekeeping, Payload Engineering, Payload Science, and Time and Safemode buses. Out of these buses, the H/K, P/L Engineering, and P/L Science buses are planned to be implemented by using MIL-STD 1553 bus. Most of the period covered was spent in developing a queue theoretic model of the 1553 Bus as used in the DMS. The aim is to use this model to test the performance and suitability of the 1553 Bus to the DMS under a number of alternative design scenarios.

  17. Influence of diesel fuel sulfur on nanoparticle emissions from city buses.

    PubMed

    Ristovski, Z D; Jayaratne, E R; Lim, M; Ayoko, G A; Morawska, L

    2006-02-15

    Particle emissions from twelve buses, operating alternately on low sulfur (LS; 500 ppm) and ultralow sulfur (ULS; 50 ppm) diesel fuel, were monitored. The buses were 1-19 years old and had no after-treatment devices fitted. Measurements were carried out at four steady-state operational modes on a chassis dynamometer using a mini dilution tunnel (PM mass measurement) and a Dekati ejector diluter as a secondary diluter (SMPS particle number). The mean particle number emission rate (s(-1)) of the buses, in the size range 8-400 nm, using ULS diesel was 31% to 59% lower than the rate using LS diesel in all four modes. The fractional reduction was highest in the newest buses and decreased with mileage upto about 500,000 km, after which no further decrease was apparent. However, the mean total suspended particle (TSP) mass emission rate did not show a systematic difference between the two fuel types. When the fuel was changed from LS to ULS diesel, the reduction in particle number was mainly in the nanoparticle size range. Over all operational modes, 58% of the particles were smaller than 50 nm with LS fuel as opposed to just 45% with ULS fuel, suggesting that sulfur in diesel fuel was playing a major role in the formation of nanoparticles. The greatest influence of the fuel sulfur content was observed at the highest engine load, where 74% of the particles were smaller than 50 nm with LS diesel compared to 43% with ULS diesel.

  18. Health effects caused by primary fine particulate matter (PM2.5) emitted from buses in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland.

    PubMed

    Tainio, Marko; Tuomisto, Jouni T; Hänninen, Otto; Aarnio, Päivi; Koistinen, Kimmo J; Jantunen, Matti J; Pekkanen, Juha

    2005-02-01

    Fine particle (PM(2.5)) emissions from traffic have been associated with premature mortality. The current work compares PM(2.5)-induced mortality in alternative public bus transportation strategies as being considered by the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council, Finland. The current bus fleet and transportation volume is compared to four alternative hypothetical bus fleet strategies for the year 2020: (1) the current bus fleet for 2020 traffic volume, (2) modern diesel buses without particle traps, (3) diesel buses with particle traps, and (4) buses using natural gas engines. The average population PM(2.5) exposure level attributable to the bus emissions was determined for the 1996-1997 situation using PM(2.5) exposure measurements including elemental composition from the EXPOLIS-Helsinki study and similar element-based source apportionment of ambient PM(2.5) concentrations observed in the ULTRA study. Average population exposure to particles originating from the bus traffic in the year 2020 is assumed to be proportional to the bus emissions in each strategy. Associated mortality was calculated using dose-response relationships from two large cohort studies on PM(2.5) mortality from the United States. Estimated number of deaths per year (90% confidence intervals in parenthesis) associated with primary PM(2.5) emissions from buses in Helsinki Metropolitan Area in 2020 were 18 (0-55), 9 (0-27), 4 (0-14), and 3 (0-8) for the strategies 1-4, respectively. The relative differences in the associated mortalities for the alternative strategies are substantial, but the number of deaths in the lowest alternative, the gas buses, is only marginally lower than what would be achieved by diesel engines equipped with particle trap technology. The dose-response relationship and the emission factors were identified as the main sources of uncertainty in the model.

  19. Real-world emissions and fuel consumption of diesel buses and trucks in Macao: From on-road measurement to policy implications

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wu, Xiaomeng; Zhang, Shaojun; Wu, Ye; Li, Zhenhua; Zhou, Yu; Fu, Lixin; Hao, Jiming

    2015-11-01

    A total of 13 diesel buses and 12 diesel trucks in Macao were tested using portable emission measurement systems (PEMS) including a SEMTECH-DS for gaseous emissions and a SEMTECH-PPMD for PM2.5. The average emission rates of gaseous pollutants and CO2 are developed with the operating mode defined by the instantaneous vehicle specific power (VSP) and vehicle speed. Both distance-based and fuel mass-based emission factors for gaseous pollutants (e.g., CO, THC and NOX) are further estimated under typical driving conditions. The average distance-based NOX emission of heavy-duty buses (HDBs) is higher than 13 g km-1. Considering the unfavorable conditions for selective reductions catalyst (SCR) systems, such as low-speed driving conditions, more effective technology options (e.g., dedicated natural gas buses and electric buses) should be considered by policy makers in Macao. We identified strong effects of the vehicle size, engine displacement and driving conditions on real-world CO2 emission factors and fuel consumption for diesel vehicles. Therefore, detailed profiles regarding vehicle specifications can reduce the uncertainty in their fleet-average on-road fuel consumption. In addition, strong correlations between relative emission factors and driving conditions indicated by the average speed of generated micro-trips are identified based on a micro-trip method. For example, distance-based emission factors of HDBs will increase by 39% for CO, 29% for THC, 43% for NOX and 26% for CO2 when the average speed decreases from 30 km h-1 to 20 km h-1. The mitigation of on-road emissions from diesel buses and trucks by improving traffic conditions through effective traffic and economic management measures is therefore required. This study demonstrates the important role of PEMS in understanding vehicle emissions and mitigation strategies from science to policy perspectives.

  20. Alternative Fuels Data Center: Fisher Coachworks Develops Plug-In Electric

    Science.gov Websites

    vehicle charging stations. Rental Cars Go Electric in Florida Feb. 15, 2014 Renzenberger Inc Saves Money Kansas City Save Money Nov. 12, 2011 Metropolitan Utilities District Fuels Vehicles With Natural Gas Oct Electric Buses Aug. 21, 2010 Hybrid Electric Shuttle Buses Offer Free Rides in Maryland June 18, 2010 Texas

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