Tuesday, March 8, 2005
Driving the windy, bumpy west Sonoma County roads can be difficult in a sporty two-seater.
But try it from behind the wheel of a 25-year-old school bus and you will likely pay a physical price, said Gail King, bus driver and transportation coordinator for the Monte Rio Union School District.
"We call them body beaters because they beat you up," she said. "A year and a half ago, when I was driving the 1980 van, it was almost like I was outdoors."
Older school buses pose a danger to students and spew toxins into the environment, according to Assemblywoman Patty Berg, D-Eureka. She has introduced legislation that would expand an existing statewide program to replace older rigs.
"It uses existing funds to help rural school districts replace inefficient, dangerous and polluting old buses," she said. "We can get the benefit without adding a penny in additional costs."
If passed, AB1107 would expand an existing law that allows school districts with fewer than 2,500 students to apply for funds to replace buses built before 1977. The new law would allow small districts to tap that same $4.5 million fund to replace buses built before 1987.
That means Monte Rio, with its 110 students - half of whom ride the bus to school - would be eligible to replace two of its five vehicles, King said.
Almost 40 percent of California's school bus fleet was manufactured before 1987, according to the School Transportation Coalition, a Sacramento-based lobbying group.
If passed, the law would remove about 45 older buses from rural roads, Berg said.
The West County Transportation Agency, which provides bus service for 12 school districts in west Sonoma County, would not benefit from the rules change. However, agency Executive Director Mike Rea vouched for the law's efficacy.
Using the current law and a number of state clean air grants, the agency has replaced nearly its entire fleet of 110 vehicles, he said.
"It's made a difference for us," he said.
Maintaining older buses is vastly more expensive than servicing new vehicles, Rea said. But some smaller districts do not have the funds to buy buses, which typically cost $100,000 or more. Buses for rural routes may need special brakes or suspension systems, adding to their cost and putting them out of the reach of smaller districts, he said.
But interim Monte Rio superintendent Sam Pullaro said the district should get at least one of its ailing buses off the road.
"If this becomes available to us, we would certainly make applications," he said.
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