Seating Capacity

SEATING CAPACITY on SCHOOL BUSES

The Number of Persons That Can Safely Sit on a School Bus Seat

Federal regulations do not specify the number of persons that can sit on a school bus seat. The school bus manufacturers determine the maximum seating capacity of a school bus. The manufacturers use this number, which is based on sitting three small elementary school age persons per typical 39 inch school bus seat, in the calculations for determining the gross vehicle weight rating and the number of emergency exits. School transportation providers generally determine the number of persons that they can safely fit into a school bus seat. Generally they fit three smaller elementary school age persons or two adult high school age persons into a typical 39 inch school bus seat.

NHTSA recommends that all passengers be seated entirely within the confines of the school bus seats while the bus is in motion. Federal motor vehicle safety standard No. 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection" requires that the interior of large buses provide occupant protection so that children are protected without the need to buckle-up. Occupant crash protection is provided by a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs. Persons not sitting or sitting partially outside of the school bus seats will not be afforded the occupant protection provided by the school bus seats.

.....(5/9/03)
Subject:Standing when overcrowded

I drive in Virginia and at NO time are children allowed to stand up on a moving school bus.
If there are not enough seats they are to wait for another bus to come pick them up.
I have been driving in VA for 4 years.

Angie Taylor bus 202

Subject: school bus over crowding...(12/30/01)

I am a first time reader of your page. I am appalled at the way many districts transport their students. I am a firm believer in saving money and making each student mile count.This does not mean that I believe in over crowding on school buses.
I am a transportation director for a school district that listens to parents, students, teachers and yes even drivers. I leave the decision up to my drivers if they are over crowded. We have several buses that are currently being watched for capacity. I have informed each driver to keep a daily count of their students and report to me each day. Many routes stay the same year to year and some may change drastically. When the time comes that a route gets over crowded we have three options. We use a larger bus, we split the route, or use a different bus route to pick up the over flow.
It does not take a genius to figure out when you are getting close to being over crowded and it should not take a genius to figure out an alternate plan for the safety of the students.
My suggestion to drivers is to keep a daily log of students and give a copy to your transportation supervisor.This will at least show your concern if any thing tragic should happen.

Thank you for your page and concern.

Darrell Dennison
Director of Transportation
Cortez Colorado

Subject:Seating...(11/26/00)

Hi, I am a bus driver in North Ga.
I have a 72 passenger bus. I drive elementary route first then I drive my middle and high school together. I have approximately 85+ elementary students. As you can see, that is more than the max for my bus.
I have commented several times on my bus being overcrowded. I have been told that I have to seat four to a seat and I will only be considered overcrowded when I have students standing.
During safety meeting, they preach student safety in our heads. As a bus driver and a parent, I am not happy about this situation and wonder what exactly can be done to fix this problem.

Sjenkins008@aol.com

I would say that you need to be certain that you report ALL overcrowding to your dispatcher as soon as you see it happening.
If anyone is ever hurt on the bus you are driving, because of overcrowding, and you haven't reported it, there is a good possibility that YOU could be blamed.

Protect yourself.

Frank, Bus #150

I have been driving Schoolbus in Massachusetts for 14+ years.
Seating capacity has been a problem for all of them. I know that the listed seating is 13" seats. I also know that the way school districts set up routes there is planned overcrowding. contractors will tell their drivers that the capacity is 77 students, or 71, or 83, it all depends on the size of the bus, it becomes the drivers responsibility to know when to stop loading students. I have and will continue to call dispatch when I feel my bus is full. There are students who cannot physically sit three to a seat, I will not overload my bus and drive it in an unsafe manner. I have had to go back and make a second trip, or other buses that are not so full have gone to get the overflow. Drivers should stay together, the school districts will catch on soon enough.

Subject: School bus crowding-Connecticut

Do you know what legislation is currently being considered regarding secondary school bus capacity. I am a parent advocate in my community and have found crowding in the schools in our system. I have attached a presentation I made to our local school board. If anyone has any information they would like to share on this issue, please let me know.

Petra Jenkinson

.........................................................................................................
To: The Berlin Board of Education
From: Petra Jenkinson
Subject: School Bus Capacity for McGee Middle School

My son Patrick, an eighth grader at McGee Middle School, brought to my attention a situation that may compromise the safety of our Middle School Students.
He told me the buses were extremely crowded and required the students sit three to a seat. On August 31, on the trip home from McGee Middle School, some of the sixth grade girls were asked to squeeze together to get four students to a seat (a physical impossibility). This information was verified, independently, by two other students on this bus.
When researching the situation, I found that in the buses in our neighborhood, 63 students were assigned to be transported in buses that had a maximum capacity of 72 students. While this may not seem excessive as a “paper number,” the size of middle school students is much larger than that of elementary school students. These capacity sizes were designed for elementary students. From information I received I understand that legislation is currently attempting to update school bus capacity based on elementary school, middle school and high school. This would address the need to give greater seat size to students that are growing into adulthood.

To research this matter, I went to New Britain Transportation Company and took measurements of the bus seat and aisle. The bus seats are 38” by 16”. The aisles are 12” wide. There are twelve seats on each side of the bus (totaling twenty four). I also determined that the bus capacity of middle school students assigned to seats (in my area) means that there are 2.7 students to a seat throughout the entire bus.

Unless all the students are extremely small sixth graders, three students will not fit their rear ends onto a bus seat. It is physically impossible. The overflow ends up in the aisle. These students are hanging, on each side, 2” to 8” into an aisle that is 12” wide. This obstructs the ability of students getting on or off to do so without hitting students on either side of the aisles. The students also all have backpacks and many have instruments and other things they carry to and from school.

The net result is that too many students are crowded into too small an area for comfort. This means that their tempers get frayed and there have been many disciplinary incidents on the busses. My son’s bus driver has pulled the bus over at least eight times since the beginning of the school year to deal with behavioral issues, most of which are aggravated by the crowding issue.

In addition, what would happen if the bus driver has to slam on his brakes? No students have seat belts. Those students who are hanging in the aisles would go flying down the main aisle of the bus. The chances of injury would be much greater in a bus where over two thirds of the seats have large students hanging out three to a seat, where they are not stable enough to stay there upon impact. Needless to say, this represents a significant liability issue. Injuries on a bus that is crowded would be considerably more severe than if a bus had a comfortable number of students on it (for the middle school that would be two to a seat). Presently, on field trips, McGee teachers and personnel order busses to accommodate two students to a seat.

Next year, the largest class in our school’s history, the existing fifth grade, will need to be transported to McGee Middle School. It is imperative that the school bus crowding issues be dealt with, including the possible need too purchase one or more busses, to handle this school bus safety issue.

Subject: Seating capacity...(10/7/00)

Hi My name is Michelle, and I am a parent, not a school bus driver, I can't believe some of the things I read!
I drive my oldest son to school in the morning because his bus is so overcrowded I worry about his safety and the safety of the other children on the bus.
They sit 3 or 4 to a seat and It is hot on the bus. These are High school age kids on this bus and I just can't believe that the school system and the transportation department allow this to go on.
When you call all you hear is they are short handed and are working on the problem.
I don't only blame the school system but also the community.
They are continually building houses and don't have enough schools to put these children in so it is not only the buses that are over crowded but, also the school systems.
I am only one voice and I do hope others speak up because this is a dangerous situation for our children to be in .

Thank you

Michelle, Algonquin IL.

Subject: Seating capacity...(8/23/00)

Frank, I read with interest Mr. Jim Kuhlman's comments.(See next letter. Frank)
I thought that maybe, just maybe, his experience as a school bus design engineer might shed some light
on the subject, but I was wrong.
After reading his letter, I did something unusual. I asked my daughter and two daughters in law if I could measure their bottoms.
Well, we all got a big laugh out of it, but they agreed. My daughter weighs 120 lbs,
daughter in law #1 weighs 108 lbs and daughter in law #2 weighs 115 lbs.
Obviously none of these young ladies are in any way overweight.
Their respective bottoms measured 17 inches, 16 inches and 17 inches across the backside.
Math is not my strong point, but that adds up to a total of 50 inches.
Now, how in the world could these young ladies fit 50 inches of bottoms on a 39 inch seat????
If the brains that make the big bucks are designing a 39 inch seat and saying that three students
could sit on it, maybe someone will share my discovery with them.
By the way, these young ladies were unencumbered with book bags, lunch bags or band instruments
when we conducted our little experiment.
There is simply no way that three high school and most middle school children can safely sit three to a seat
on a school bus.
The compartmentalization concept is destroyed because of the children that hang out into the aisles.
I wonder if these manufacturer's children ride school buses?

Debbie Moore

Subject: school bus seating capacity...(9/26/99)

Greetings Frank! You have a nice looking web page.

I have some thoughts (having been previously employed as a school bus design engineer) about school bus seating capacity.
There are two complications that affect bus capacity.

First, axle weight (front and rear) and gross vehicle weight (fully fueled with 150 lb driver) is calculated early in the design stage. Typically 120 lbs per student is used. (A typical 39" seat can hold 3 students.) If the calculated axle weights and gross vehicle weights are less than maximum allowed by the chassis manufacturer, the bus is ok for production. An overload (this affects warranty issues and state axle ratings) requires the buyer to rearrange the seating and/or seat spacing. Now, what is the passenger load for a particular bus? As one might imagine, thats a tough number to calculate without individual passenger weights and passenger positions. Will your bus be overloaded? There are times that an axle rating or gross vehicle weight may be exceeded. Standees would bring your bus closer to its designed maximum if not exceeding that limit. It is my guess that school buses rarely cross the scales. There may be some liability in case of an accident or injuries.

The second complication is 'compartmentalization'.
NHTSA feels that children who are compartmentalized in the bus are protected just as well as those who use seat belts.
There have been lots of arguments about that!!

Anyhow, to meet FMVSS 222 in a school bus, all the students must be seated within the width of their seat. So, if you have standees, you are in violation of FMVSS 222 because your passengers are not protected in case of an accident.
FMVSS requirements are designed for manufacturers.
I suppose NHTSA is the agency who would investigate a complaint.

Thank you
Jim Kuhlman

Have you ever driven a school route, where students were forced to stand on the bus, because of not enough seats?
Does your school district allow standing while the bus is moving?
Do you know of any school district that allows standing on the bus?
...(8/19/99)... I recently heard that state laws in New York and Virginia allow standing on school buses.
Does anyone have any confirmation of this, one way or the other?

... New York recently (May,2000??) passed a law that sort of makes "standees" illegal. The law has several "ifs", "ands" and "buts" in it but at least its a start.

Subject: Bus Capacity...(8/20/00)

Dear Frank,

I have been a bus driver for 14yrs on Long Island, NY. K - 6.
I am a 19 A examiner/SBDI and Dispatcher.
I feel that you are 100% correct in what you say. I don't believe in over crowding a bus. On a 66p I believe there should not be more than 50 children. Between the size of the children, the back packs and most of all the behavior of the children, it creates an unsafe situation for the driver.
We have now started to put Bus Attendants on all of our vehicles.
Our superintend thinks that our buses should transport to their capacity. I feel that it is an unsafe situation.
The first thing districts always say is the Safety of the Children, but they have no clue of safety, especial when it has to do with money. Their first concern is the GREEN not the YELLOW.
My district, as far as safety goes is only what is mandated by law. They don't go that extra mile. It was never allowed to have standees on buses until it was convenient for the district, thank God, NY has that law.
It is very frustrating to sit at a board meeting and have the president of the board complain of sour milk rather than the safety of the children being transported to drink that milk.

L.A from New York

Subject: bus capacity...(9/19/99)

Hi,
Yes in Virginia students can stand on an over filled bus, but only during the first few days of school.

William S Shorter
driver in Campbell Co. Va.
Bus No. 67
driving for 9 years

Subject: Seating Capacity...(9/12/99)

Here in Minnesota the CDL Manual states not to go above capacity.
It also states that you have to adjust capacity according to size of students.
You obviously can't get three high school students in one seat. Bottom line no students are allowed to stand or sit on the floor in a school bus.
The problem is from the dispatchers. If a driver calls in and has an over crowding problem the dispatchers response is "if you have a 71 passenger bus then you need to get 71 students seated on the bus." This implies overcrowding and new drivers will do what their told because they don't have the experience to say no.
Dispatchers are not there and shouldn't dispense incorrect information.
Some drivers aren't aware that they are ultimately responsible for what happens on their bus and need the strength to follow the state rules regardless of what the "boss" says.

Mr. Dale
Bus 6249

Subject: over crowding?...(8/19/99

I was reading all the drivers comments about over crowding on school buses.
I do believe being married to a police officer for 28 years that capacity limits are laws!
I had a situation where a principal at a school tried to make me drive 79 elementary students home on my 77 capacity bus because they all fit.
My CDL and school bus permit was not worth the violation.
He then instructed me that he would ride along to keep the students in their seats. I laughed and explained then I would then be 3 overloaded.
My transportation supervisor instructed me to leave students at the school and then return to pick up the overload.
I was lucky my supervisor was on my side.
I have asked my husband to define who would be resposible in our state,(Illinois) he stated, "the driver, not the district, or private contractor"!!
The same enforcement goes for truck driver who load their trucks over the limit!
I guess we need to think of common sense and who will be held accountable when the life of a child is at risk?
Insubordination here I come the day my boss would threaten my job over the life of a child. It's bad enough if anything comes to pass when abiding by the law.
Capacity is CAPACITY there should be no exceptions!!!!

Buscc81

Hi Buscc81;
"The same enforcement goes for truck driver who load their trucks over the limit!"

Your comment about truckers makes me wonder if Police Officers actually DO check school buses for overcrowding, the same as they check trucks for being overloaded?
I know of numerous "Truck Weight Stations" but so far I haven't seen anything about "Overcrowded School Bus Stations".

Frank

Subject: standing on the bus...(8/9/99

Hey Frank, I have to admit, I'm new to your web-site but you've done a wonderful job. I've read all the letters about bus capacity.
This Wed. I will be starting my 5th year driving for Bartow County Schools in Cartersville Georgia. I drive a 72 passenger bus. On my "A" route I pick up K-12, I then take the elem. to school and go back and pick up 6-12.

This year is the FIRST time we have had a drivers handbook. (yes....it's about time) . In this handbook it reads....

"If an overload occurs where students must stand, the driver must instruct them to hold firmly to the seat. All stops, starts and other driving maneuvers should be made as slowly and gradually as possible."

In the past when complaints have been made about overcrowding the response we get is....."if you don't have 86 students (on a 72 passenger bus) then there is nothing we can or will do about it."
I'd like to know what legal re-course we have in this matter. God forbid something should happen, but if it does...then what? It's going to come back to the driver and why they were transporting so many kids. If anyone has an answer to this PLEASE let me know.

Terri Bevins Bus #122
Cartersville, Ga.

Subject: Seating capacity...(8/6/99

Well, I must say that I am shocked at other states lack of safety concerns for the children riding on buses. In NJ it is absolutely illegal to have anyone stand or to even have one extra person and the bus driver has the right to refuse to drive, because ultimately, the driver will be the one held liable.
When I worked for a private company, a school hired a 54 passenger bus for a trip. When they loaded, they tried to get 55 on. I radioed the company and they sent another 54 passenger bus which the school was forced to pay for, (North Jersey does not have room for buses larger than 54 passengers). Unfortunately, no mini buses were available.

Even now, working for a school district, I drive a 32 passenger special needs bus for 3,4, & 5 year olds, and they all are required by law to ride in a car seat until age 5, regardless of size. Hopefully, some of these uncaring states will do something to improve the safety. But, ultimately we know the story all too well. Nothing will get done until lives are lost and the driver will get the blame.

Brian A. Tricoli
Hawthorne, NJ
Bus # 17

Subject: Seat belts...(8/6/99)

How can any school district allow students to stand while the bus is moving? It is not only UNSAFE but against the law. We are not transporting farm workers we are transporting children. Be smart, Be safe.

Robert Thomas

Subject: seating...(8/2/99)

I am going on 11 yrs driving a school bus, and I hear what you are saying from first yr. drivers. Now I have read all your letters, we are from Massachusetts and the problem is the same.

So now that all the drivers know of the problem, and we continue to complain about it to one another, how can we fix it?
I say no matter the age, 5 or 15, there should only be two students to a seat.
What can we all do to get the law changed for ALL STATES?

(Canada too, they have the same problem. Frank.)

We would have to go to the Federal Government to make the change.
Next how do we get there and how can we be heard? We need pictures to show the dangers of overcrowding. We need letters from drivers swamping the Federal Transportation offices to let them know we want it changed to make it safe for all students to ride the bus. If they had to take an overcrowded bus they would change the numbers in a snap.
Maybe we should all start a campaign and start swamping them with e-mails and snail mail. Then each State would have to comply with the new law, and ALL STUDENTS can ride the bus safely and in comfort.

Sharon, Bus #1
Massachusetts
(- : BLAZE : -)

Subject: Re: bus capacity...(8/1/99)

My name is Debbie Moore. I am a school bus driver of 12 years, 7 on a large (65-72 passenger) bus and almost 5 years on a special needs bus.
I have three children that are now out of school, however all three rode school buses.
My two oldest grandchildren are now in first grade and ride buses daily. The only time that I have been upset with their bus driver is when I knew that the bus was overcrowded. I am well aware of the structural safety of a school bus, but when I saw a bus loaded with elementary children that had four sitting on numerous seats, I became very upset. Having been put in that position myself, I knew that the children that were sitting halfway in the aisle had absolutely no protection from the compartmentalization design of the school bus in case of a rear or frontal collision.
I rode behind the bus one afternoon and realized that the aisle was almost completely blocked with these children and their bags, etc. It would have been very difficult to evacuate that bus in an emergency. I also knew (from personal experience again) that it was not the driver's fault that the bus was overcrowded.
Sure enough, after my daughter in law talked to the driver, we found out that there was not enough drivers to split this route and it would remain overcrowded until another driver could be hired. When I talked to the Transportation Department in that county, I suggested a double back route to ease the overcrowding.
The driver would pick up and take half the children home, then return for the other half. That worked fine, except now the driver was going to have to be compensated for the extra time which went over like a ton of rocks.

Almost every restuarant that I go in has a maximum capacity posted supposedly for fire restrictions. Each time I go into a restuarant, I look at those figures and look around the room.
How can our government put capacity restrictions on a restuarant, yet pack our children on an approx. 8' by 40' school bus like sardines? And expect one person to safely drive that vehicle, maintain order, see to it that no one is harassed and so on.
You are right, it is all money. The systems want to buy as few buses as possible and pay the drivers as little as possible.
Safety and equity are not as important as budgets.
Until the school systems, parents, teachers, legislators and general public understand how important a safe, pleasant school bus ride is to the child's school day, we will continue to have problems. A child that gets on a bus that has a driver waiting with a smile, a bus that has plenty of sitting space, and a clean bus, will get off that bus at school in a much better frame of mind to learn.
If they have to struggle to find a place to sit, struggle to stay in the seat, get hot and sweaty from so much body heat, has a not so friendly driver and a dirty bus reflects that attitude at school. Not to mention that they may be harassed or picked on by other students. The child's day truly does begin with the school bus.

I have to touch on this area also while I'm at it. My belief is that content, well trained, well paid employees give much better performance. In our job, performance is safety.
By paying bus drivers minimal training, substandard pay, lousy retirement, bad equipment, our school systems are endangering the lives of our children every day.
In Georgia, we lose many of our veteran drivers because our retirement is so bad.
We absolutely have to increase training, pay, retirement, better equipment, more administrative support for the driver and so on, if we plan on recruiting and retaining dedicated professionals as school bus drivers.

I'll get off my soapbox now. Feel free to quote me at any time. I spread these sentiments to anyone that will listen.

Regards,
Debbie Moore

!!! DEBBIE MOORE for PRESIDENT !!!
I'll vote for you, and I'll bet every other bus driver that reads this will too.
You have said it the way it needed to be said.
Frank, Bus #150

Subject: RE: Seating capacity on school buses...(7/29/99)

In Pennsylvania, the seating capacity is limited according to the inspection sticker affixed on the bus by the Pennsylvania state police.
Passengers are not permitted to stand.
School bus drivers are required to establish and use seating charts for both morning and evening runs. Unfortunately, the state police inspect the buses and certify that they are 72 passenger vehicles. That means that each student gets about 12-13 inches of space. Although this may be sufficient space to put 3 elementary students in a seat, it is not sufficient space for a secondary student - regardless if there are bookbags or winter coats.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania reimburses public school districts for the transportation of the districts students, however if the bus is not filled to "capacity" the district is not reimbursed.
There is a strange communication problem within the Commonwealth Government wherein the State Police certify that a bus can hold 72 passengers - reimbursement will not occur unless capacity is reached - but they want us to only seat 48 secondary students on the buses.
What this means is that the House and Senate in Pennsylvania want us to do what is felt is correct and limit secondary students to 48 per bus, but they have not ammended their reimbursement policy. Therefore, school districts in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania must either do what is safe, break the law and "eat" the loss of funds (which most cannot afford to do) or continue the practice of 72 passengers per bus, regardless of the student's age or size.
We may have friends here in Pennsylvania, but they don't seem to be on speaking terms!

KM in PA

Some of the things I learn from these pages are absolutely unbelievable. How long has this practice been going on?

It sure sounds like a "slimey" way to save money at the expense of the students (who aren't voters).

Frank, Bus #150

Subject: bus capacity...(7/24/99)

There are no regulations or laws in Georgia or nationwide that provides guidelines for school bus capacity.

The manufactor's recommended seating capacity is maximum capacity plus 20 per cent. Which means that a 72 passenger school bus can transport 72 children plus and additional 20 per cent or 14 students for a grand total of 86 passengers.
Georgia uses this recommendation as policy (not law) for the buses.
It is impossible to transport that many children safely.

The standard regular bus seat is 39 inches wide. Many of our students are adult size. We have been asking for several years that our state legislators look at this to no avail. We would like to see a law passed that prohibits this practice. There should be no more than two students per seat in the middle/upper grades per seat and no more than 3 elementary students and absolutely no standees. Standees are not prohibited as of now. Most districts in GA have policy that prohibits standees, but there is no law to that effect. We do have handrails coming up the steps, but no poles. And no requirement to drive slower than usual if overloaded. Over crowding is dangerous in that it could slow down emergency evacuations. It also causes discipline problems which is a safety hazard. The drivers difficult job becomes doubly so when you have so many children on the bus till you can't even get to the back of the bus if needed. Plus the distraction from the road is enormous. Not to mention that in case of an accident, the children that are outside of the compartmentalization setup no longer have the protection of the seat in front of them. Those are the children that are most likely going to get hurt.

At the NEA RA (Representative Assembly) in Orlando this month (July,'99), I authored and managed to get an amendment to NEA's Legislative program asking NEA to support Federal legislation limiting the number of children on a bus to two per seat regardless of what the manufactor may say.

I hope you post this on your web site. I feel that this issue is much more vital to the safety of our children on buses than seat belts. But that is another story. (seatbelts)!

Debbie Moore

Subject: School Bus Seating Capacity...(1/31/99)

At our bus company we have been told that K-5 grades must sit 3 to a seat. 6-8 grades is 2 1/2 to a seat. I guess that means 3 in one seat but the seat across the aisle seats 2. And 9-12 grades sit 2 to a seat however recently on my 78 passenger bus I have had 77 High School students riding, even to our standards that is way over capacity, but due to our driver shortage we are unable to add another route to that area of the school district.

Brendan #182 Anoka, MN

Answer: School Bus Seating Capacity...(1/31/99)

This may be breaking the law. More importantly it is definitely unsafe.
In our department safety comes first, even if we have to leave some students on the ground and go back and get them later.
Personally I would rather explain to the parents why their student is late to school than explain why there injured or even dead.
Does the school board know of this over load? If not than I recommend that they be notified quickly.

Chuck, #866

More answer:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that all passengers be seated entirely within the confines of the school bus seats while the bus is in motion...(See 12/5/98 below)
If your transportation Dept./school board is not following these recommendations I would suggest they are deliberately putting students at risk.
The excuse that they can't hire enough bus drivers is getting a little old and tired.
We all know that there are plenty of people who would drive school buses if the job had the same pay and benefits given drivers with our qualifications in every other business.
If your school board insists on unsafe busing conditions try pointing this out to the parents in your community. Write letters to the newspapers, talk to the city council and your elected politicians.

Frank, Bus#150

Question:Subject: School Bus Capacity...12/4/98

I'd like information on the research and decisions on the capacity of school buses.
Who decided that 3 kids could sit in a seat? Was it by age or weight? Was it with summer clothing or winter? Did they have Backpacks?
When even K & Grade 1 & 2 Kids sit on My Bus wearing Winter clothing they "hang over" the edge. I think this should be re-examined.
What do you think?

Jim D.
Bus 15
Keewatin Transportation
Keewatin, Ontario
Canada

Another Question from Canada on Bus capacity

Hi Frank. I have a question in regards to the amount of students allowed on your buses.
I drive a 72 passenger high school bus and 72 kids don't fit without some parts of their bodies hanging out of seats.
Our board had decided that the policy from before, of only two per seat, ( gr 9-OAC) was not the cheaper way anymore and have said we may transport 72 on a 72 passenger.
I feel this is not safe and some kids were standing in aisle just to fit on. I have different information from Ministry, Board, and my company.
Do you have any laws down there pertaining to this?

WONDERING IN ONTARIO...... Marion Sanders

The Number of Persons That Can Safely Sit on a School Bus Seat...12/5/98

U.S.Federal regulations do not specify the number of persons that can sit on a school bus seat.
The school bus manufacturers determine the maximum seating capacity of a school bus.
The manufacturers use this number, which is based on sitting three small elementary school age persons per typical 39 inch school bus seat, in the calculations for determining the gross vehicle weight rating and the number of emergency exits.
School transportation providers generally determine the number of persons that they can safely fit into a school bus seat.
Generally they fit three smaller elementary school age persons or two adult high school age persons into a typical 39 inch school bus seat.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that all passengers be seated entirely within the confines of the school bus seats while the bus is in motion.
Federal motor vehicle safety standard No. 222, "School Bus Passenger Seating and Crash Protection"
requires that the interior of large buses provide occupant protection so that children are protected without the need to buckle-up.
Occupant crash protection is provided by a protective envelope consisting of strong, closely-spaced seats that have energy-absorbing seat backs.
Persons not sitting or sitting partially outside of the school bus seats will not be afforded the occupant protection provided by the school bus seats.

Answer... the capacity of a school bus.....(12/27/98)
Here it is based on the manufacturer (bluebird of happiness in my case) recommendation as well as the age and weight of the student.
My limit is 66, at one time we could go over 10% of that but NO longer. It is now a state law we cannot do that.
I have 64 darlings on my first run, which is K-8 grade......it gets crowded to say the least......and its difficult keeping those book bags out of the aisles.

Leslie Strain
Buslady283@aol.com
Bus #283
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (which is 50 miles north on New Orleans)
"My Bluebird of Happiness"

Send your Comments to: Frank - Bus #150

Last Updated 12/30/01