Are Minnesota River Valley school buses making the grade? By JESSICA BIES A review of recent school bus inspection records show that buses serving the St. Peter, Cleveland and Le Sueur-Henderson school districts are making the grade. But parents should be concerned about the number of Tri-City United school buses taken out of service following an annual inspection by Minnesota State Patrol, says the state’s head of student transportation and safety. Records show 14 vehicles owned by Palmer Bus Service of Montgomery-Lonsdale were taken out of service following annual inspections on Oct. 15 and 16. Though several of the buses have already been repaired and Palmer Bus officials say the others will be replaced, Minnesota State Patrol Pupil Transportation Safety Director Lieutenant Brian Reu said the number itself raises red flags. “That’s more than we would expect to see,” Reu said. “There are certainly other carriers in the same boat, but when they have that many they do draw extra attention to themselves.” Not all buses used John Stivers, manger of the Montgomery-Lonsdale Bus Service, said only three of the vehicles that failed the inspection are used for daily route service. The buses were cited for the condition of their bodies, and state patrol records indicate they had ‘hazardous protuberances’ or ‘sharp edges’ caused by rust. Some of the remaining buses stored at the Montgomery-Lonsdale garage come from other Palmer Bus service areas and are very rarely used, Stivers said. Stivers said he chose to put those buses through inspection this year to get the state patrol’s opinion of their condition before replacing them. Several of them will now be retired, he said. Many of the buses that failed inspection are used as backups or spares, Stivers said. Every school bus in Minnesota is required to be inspected annually by the Minnesota State Patrol. School districts or bus service providers are given two to three months notice of the inspection so they can prepare their fleet, Reu said. High rate of failure According to state patrol records, the number of buses that failed inspection in Montgomery-Lonsdale is high compared to other local bus service providers. In St. Peter, where busing is provided by Saints Bus Service or 4.0 School Services, none of 39 buses inspected in 2013 failed inspection, according to state patrol records. The same bus service provides transportation for the Le Sueur-Henderson School District. Though LS-H Bus Service records are not yet available for 2013, only one out of 21 vehicles did not immediately pass inspection in 2012. In Cleveland, 13 of the 14 buses immediately passed inspection in 2013, according to state records. The prior year, all 14 passed on the first go-around. Reu said not only was the number of failed inspections in Montgomery-Lonsdale high, this is the second year the Montgomery-Lonsdale garage has performed poorly. In 2012, nine out of 46 buses failed inspection. Of 10 buses used by Palmer Bus Service of Le Center, all passed inspection. In 2011, two out of 27 failed, but 11 out of 24 buses then operating out of Le Center did not pass inspection, show state patrol records. Palmer Bus Service also provided bus services for the Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton School District. In 2012, five out of 15 buses did not pass inspection, records show. Deemed unsafe To ‘score’ the buses, state patrol inspectors use a point system. Each bus starts with 100 points and points are subtracted for each defect found. Any vehicle losing 25 or more points is immediately taken out of service, and “deemed unsafe for the transportation of school children” as per the Minnesota State Patrol. School buses that fail inspection can not be used to transport students until all the identified problems are fixed. Reu said some violations can be worth 25 points. Those violations would be considered ‘critical’ and automatically put a bus out of service. All 14 vehicles taken out of service in Montgomery-Lonsdale were cited with critical violations, records show. Four were cited with two critical violations, losing more than 50 points altogether. Reu said some of the violations the buses were cited for could pose immediate danger to their passengers. For instance, one bus was cited for having an inoperable eight-lamp system. Reu said those are the red lights that flash when a bus is pulled over to let students on or off. “If you don’t have the red lights flashing when kids are loading or unloading, that could be potentially tragic,” Reu said. Leaking brake fluid is also very concerning, Reu said. Not only was one of the Montomery-Lonsdale buses cited for leaking brake fluid, state patrol records show it also failed inspection in April after points were deducted for the same violation. Palmers Bus’ Stivers said the initial problem was corrected, but that one of the brake lines had become loose in between the two inspections. Because of the large amount of serious violations, Reu said the bus service will be the subject of surprise and random inspections throughout the coming year. “They did worse last year than this year, but last year wasn’t so hot either so they probably have seen more inspections already,” Reu said. An aging fleet Other violations the bus service were cited for did not result in as many lost points but do point to aging buses, Reu said. Cross member issues are an example. Bus services all over the state have been cited for similar violations and they are not uncommon among older fleets, Reu said. “We are seeing a lot more older buses out there, but if [bus services] are maintaining them well, it shouldn’t mean they’re unsafe,” Reu said. The state of Minnesota does not mandate that school buses be retired by a certain age, though vans or passenger cars used to transport students can only be used for 12 years, Reu said. The National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services recommends school buses be retired after eight to 15 years, depending on the type. Reach reporter Jessica Bies at 507-931-8568 or follow her on Twitter @sphjessicabies
Posted on: Thu, 07 Nov 2013 20:46:30 +0000
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