Today, FMCSA Administrator Anne Ferro and NHTSA Deputy Administrator Ron Medford joined representatives of the American School Bus Council (ASBC) at a “Love the Bus” event at Sunderland Elementary School in Maryland held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. Eastern.
This year, the national event on Feb. 21 culminated with elementary age students giving handmade valentines to their school bus drivers and pasting “lips” on their bus to show their appreciation for this bus driver. In addition to the national event, schools and communities from Virginia to Utah will also hold Love the Bus events.
Last year, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood joined members of the ASBC as well as Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) at a similar event at an elementary school in Takoma Park, Md., to push the positive effects of the American yellow school bus.
School districts and private school bus companies nationwide are encouraged by the ASBC (which consists of NAPT, NASDPTS, NSTA, Blue Bird, IC Bus and Thomas Built Buses) to hold local celebrations of the yellow school bus that recognize the role of nearly 500,000 school bus drivers nationwide. ASBC is providing a Love the Bus toolkit on its website.
ASBC touts the school bus as not only the safest mode of transporting students to school (NHTSA says school buses are eight times safer for students than other modes) so they can get an education but also as a major convenience for parents. According to ASBC data, one yellow school bus can remove the need of 36 cars on the road during the normal morning and afternoon school commute and can save thousands of dollars on fuel spent by parents or others as well as reduce traffic congestion and vehicle pollution around school sites.
