Belpre City Schools
Like many school districts, Belpre City Schools lack the funding to purchase new buses.
"We have an aging bus fleet, but we purchase used buses instead of new," said Harry Fleming, Belpre superintendent.
He noted that the district receives very little state funding for transportation and permanent improvement money is in short supply, so purchasing a new vehicle is out of the question.
"But three or four years ago we bought two used buses for the same price as a new one," Fleming added.
Fleming noted the district's buses have been retrofitted to use "clean," biodiesel fuel.
Although a majority of Belpre area students live in or near town where the terrain is relatively flat, Fleming said buses still have to negotiate some hills to pick up students who live outside the city.
"The buses encounter some steep hills which can be a problem on snowy days," he said.
At a glance:
Number of buses: 13 (two for handicapped students, two spares).
Average age: 9 years.
Highest odometer reading: 382,000.
Miles per day: 447.
Number of accidents in the last year: zero.
Last time buses were added: 2005.
Fort Frye Local Schools
In October, the Fort Frye Local School District added two new buses to its fleet. The district's transportation coordinator, Jessica Lauric, said that already, at least one of those buses has more than 10,000 miles on it.
"We cover 136 square miles, so we have quite a few buses that run a lot of miles a day," she said.
The district includes Beverly-Center, Lowell and Salem-Liberty elementaries, as well as Fort Frye High School. Lauric said the distance the buses must travel proves to be quite a challenge.
"If you drive straight from Dalzell to the high school, you're looking at a 40- to 45-minute drive," she said. "It's a challenge to get the students home without them riding a bus for a long period of time - that's something we're trying to correct."
Lauric said about a year ago, the district purchased a software program which provides the GPS coordinates of the students' homes to help address the problem, but it hasn't been implemented yet.
"Also, if you're changing routes, it helps give an approximate time of what the change would do," she said. "You could do a scenario or run-through without going out there."
At a glance:
Number of buses: 15.
Average age: 7 years.
Average mileage: between 50,000 and 100,000.
Miles to cover: 136 square miles.
Number of accidents in the last year: zero.
Last time buses were added: October 2009 (two buses added).
Frontier Local Schools
Bus routes can be a bit challenging in the Frontier Local school district, especially once Old Man Winter gets involved.
"We have a lot of township roads that are hilly and they're not paved," said district transportation coordinator Gary Bookman. "Right now, that just means a lot of dust, but in the winter it's mud and snow."
Having experienced bus drivers in the district can make a big difference, he said.
"We have several longtime drivers," he said. "One lady has been here more than 30 years, and there are others who have been here 10 years or more. It's a benefit because once they get their regular routes they know where all the bad spots are."
The district also has plenty of years of experience when it comes to most of their buses.
The oldest is from 1986, while two 2010 buses were purchased in February. Five buses are from the 1980s.
One has 314,000 miles on it, all the spare buses have more than 200,000 miles, and regular-route buses range between 140,000 to 180,000 in mileage, Bookman said.
"We keep them going as long as we can because we don't get a lot of state money for them," he said.
At a glance:
Number of buses: 22 (for 13 regular routes).
Model years of buses: 1986 to 2010.
Mileage: As high as 314,000; spare buses are all over 200,000, regular route buses range from 140,000 to 180,000 miles
Miles covered: 150 square miles; buses cover about 1,200 miles a day
Accidents in last year: Not available.
Last time buses were added: February.
Marietta City Schools
Two new school buses are expected to arrive this year in the Marietta City Schools district, where the average age of buses is around 10 years.
The school system has 30 buses total, including spare buses and handicap-accessible buses, and 18 daily routes.
The buses traveled a total of 331,434 miles in the 2009-10 school year, including regular routes and sports, band, choir and field trips.
Only seven district buses have fewer than 100,000 miles on them and most have more than 200,000.
The newest bus, a 2010 model, has been driven for 26,081 miles, while the oldest, a 1986 model, has 259,799 miles on it. A 1991 school bus has 310,405 miles on it, the highest mileage in the district.
At a glance:
Number of buses: 30.
Average age: 9.7 years.
Average Mileage: 164,381.
Miles covered each year: 284,068.
Accidents in last year: Not available.
Last time buses were added: 2009-2010 school year (one 2010 bus).
Warren Local Schools
The biggest challenge to bus drivers in the Warren Local Schools District is the sheer geographic size of the district.
Thirty-one full-time bus drivers must cover 196 square miles, with an average route running about 85 to 90 miles a day, said Lisa Spence, transportation supervisor for the district.
"We have students who live in Stockport, and the time constraints there (are) a challenge," Spence said. "We try to keep them under an hour-and-a-half."
Spence also said the terrain of the roads, many of which are rural, is also a challenge to drivers. When bad weather hits those roads, she said, administrators would rather be, as the old adage goes, safe than sorry.
So while some roads in one part of the district may seem safe to drive on, there might be roads 45 minutes away that aren't - and that can lead to school cancellations.
"Last year was the worst year we had (for school cancellations) in a number of years," she said. "We just had spotty storms last year. For instance, the Warren Elementary area was hit hard twice with ice, but maybe in Little Hocking they didn't have anything."
On those mornings, when school closure might be in question, Spence and Superintendent Tom Gibbs hit the roads as early as 3 a.m. to cover as many roads as possible. Feedback then comes in from mechanics and the district's maintenance supervisor, she said.
"We're constantly monitoring the weather and watching the stations to figure out what's happening," she said.
At a glance:
Number of buses: 31 full-time, 8 spares.
Age: Full-time buses range from 1 to 10 years; spares are retired after 14 years.
Mileage on buses: Up to 200,000 miles.
Miles to cover: Buses average about 85-90 miles a day; there are 196 square miles in the district
Number of accidents last year: 1.
Last time buses were added: 2009; four new buses are due in the middle of September.
Wolf Creek Local
The main challenge for the Wolf Creek Local school district's nine regular school buses is the district itself.
"We're a very rural school district," Superintendent Bob Caldwell said. "The beauty of that is privacy; the negative is you're on the bus for a long time."
Students who live far out in the district may spend up to an hour on a bus one way, Caldwell said. And while the buses make a lot of stops, they aren't always very close together.
"You might go a mile in between pickups," Caldwell said.
The district has nine buses on regular routes, plus four spares. The regular-duty buses range in age from a 2009 model to 12 years old, Caldwell said.
The buses are in good shape mechanically, Caldwell said, and the district has a good stable of drivers. However, they could use some substitute drivers, he said.
The district has little trouble filling openings for regular drivers, but substitutes are harder to find since they are needed for odd hours on short notice, Caldwell said.
At a glance:
Number of buses: 13 (including four spares).
Age: newest, 2009 model; oldest on a regular route, 12 years.
Average mileage: between 50,000 and 100,000.
Average miles per for regular buses: 562 miles.
Number of accidents in the last year: 1.
Last time buses were added: 2009.
