School Buses News and Trends

Follow industry trends to keep your school buses operating efficiently
By Denise Brown If you are a school transportation director or school bus fleet owner, you know how important it is to keep up with school buses news and trends. Whether you have one school bus for sale or a fleet of used school buses for sale, keeping up with price trends is an important part of your job.

But it’s not the only trends you need to track. You also have to keep your fleet of school buses on the road daily. The yellow school bus has to arrive at its destination punctually. And you have to keep your cargo safe. This takes a lot of effort to coordinate. Staying on top of school buses news and trends can help you find ways to make your job easier and the ride safer for children.

As you study school buses and what’s happening within the school bus industry, you begin to notice a number of themes develop. Here are some common issues:

1. Ways to sell used school buses to make the most profit.

2. Getting the most out of the school district’s energy dollars.

3. Keeping school buses maintenance costs low.

4. Ways to manage student discipline effectively.

Read articles about school buses

Find out how fleet services and school districts are handling some of the above issues. You are sure to find ways you can adapt the information to your situation, whether you have a fleet of two buses or 6,000.
Try:  You can find current articles from the American School Bus Council on its website. They also have a subscription email service to keep you informed of news and trends among school bus vendors. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation offers a number of articles and publications on school bus safety.

Subscribe to magazines that cover the latest in school buses

While some subscriptions have an annual fee, others are free. Magazines are a good way to get in-depth information about school bus trends and news. You can often find information in them about used school buses for sale so you can track price trends as well.
Try:  Bobit Business Media offers an online magazine, School Bus Fleet, to help you follow school buses news and trends. STN Media offers information about current issues for school bus drivers. It also offers links to websites that offer new school buses for sale, as well as used school buses.

Find out about current issues that affect school buses on blogs and vlogs

Whether you read about school buses on blogs or watch the information on vlogs, you are sure to find a number of interesting topics that pertain to your job. Many of these online resources feature writers who have first hand experience as school bus drivers or transportation directors.
Try:  The National Organization for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) offers a periodical webcast of current information about school buses. You can find information about environmental factors that may be affecting the yellow school bus that takes your children to school on TheDailyGreen.com blog.

• Explore different types of fuels for your school buses. Depending on the state you live in, you may have some restrictions. Many school districts are looking at clean burning, renewable fuels such as biodiesel.