School Bus Fleet

FACT 2013

A management & maintenance magazine for school transportation fleets

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glossary that a vehicle can accommodate individuals with disabilities. ITP: Individualized Transportation Plan; a plan established to transport a student with a defned disability. L Lap belt: A Type 1 belt assembly meeting the requirements of FMVSS No. 209 and intended to limit movement of the pelvis. Lap-shoulder belt: A Type 2 belt assembly meeting the requirements of FMVSS No. 209 and intended to limit the movement of the pelvis and upper torso. Lap tray: An accessory for a wheelchair or other mobile seating device, to offer support and convenience for the occupant. LATCH system: Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children system. Incorporates standardized hardware in vehicle seats, including the lower anchorages and the upper tether anchorage. It is designed to allow installation of CSRS without using the vehicle's seat belt system. All CSRS sold in the U.S. after 2002 are required to be LATCH compatible. Late bus: A bus scheduled to leave school at a time subsequent to the end of the school day, usually to provide transportation for students involved in after-school activities. Layover time: Time built into a trip schedule between arrival and departure. LEA: Local Education Agency. LED: Light-emitting diode; an electronic semiconductor device that emits light when an electric current passes through it. LEDs are commonly used in lamps and digital displays. Left: Left position is determined from the normal driving position as seated in the driver's seat looking in the direction of forward travel. Liability insurance: Protection against the claims of others for injury or property damage; also known as casualty insurance. Life cycle procurement: A procurement contract based on both the initial capital cost and the cost of operation over the life of a vehicle, intended to identify the most cost-effective time to replace an asset. Lift: (See power lift.) Live time: The time when students are in the bus, beginning when the frst passenger boards and ending when the last passenger leaves. LNG: Liquefed natural gas. Load: To pick up students at a designated bus stop or at school. Load factor: The ratio of passengers actually carried to the vehicle's passenger capacity. Loading zone: Any area where students are boarding or leaving a school bus. Low-bid procurement: Competitive procedure in which the lowest bidder is awarded the contract. (See also performance-based procurement.) Low-floor vehicle: A bus in which the foor and entrance are closer to the ground, for easier access by students with disabilities or pre-schoolers. 20 SCHOOL BUS FLEET LPG: Liquefed petroleum gas; also known as propane. LRE: Least Restrictive Environment; a concept embodied in IDEA that requires that children with disabilities be integrated as fully as possible into situations and settings with their nondisabled peers. M Mainstreaming: (See inclusion.) Medically fragile: Refers to students who require specialized technological health care procedures for life support and/or health support. MFSAB: (See Multifunction School Activity Bus under bus.) Minibus: A small school bus, usually a Type A1 or A2 or Type B1 or B2. Minivan: An MPV designed to carry seven to 10 passengers. Mirrors: The system of mirrors required to be installed on school buses in accordance with FMVSS No. 111 and applicable state laws. Crossview: Convex mirrors mounted on the front of the school bus and designed for student detection during loading and unloading, also known as System B mirrors and including elliptical, quadri-spherical, banana, or standard convex mirrors. Driving: Flat and convex mirrors mounted on each side of the bus designed for viewing the road along the sides to the rear while driving; also known as rearview, double nickel, west coast, or System A mirrors. Mobility aid: A wheelchair, walker, crutch, cane or other device that is used to support and help convey a person with a physical disability. Mobile seating device: A mobility aid designed to support a person in the seated position. Modesty panel: A panel located in front of a seat or row of seats to preserve the modesty of the passengers, usually supported by a stanchion and cross bar, and not meeting the performance standards of a barrier as defned in FMVSS No. 222. Also, a short panel that extends from the bottom of a barrier to or near to the foor for the purpose of reducing the draft from the entrance door; also known as kick panel. Monitor: A person assigned to assist the driver on a school bus or school vehicle. (See also attendant.) Discipline: A monitor whose primary responsibility is to control behavior of students in the bus. Safety: A monitor whose primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of students getting on and off the bus and to check the loading zone before the driver pulls out. Motor carrier or carrier: The registered owner, lessee, licensee or bailee of any vehicle who operates or directs the operations of any such vehicle on either a for-hire or a not-for-hire basis. MPV: Multipurpose Passenger Vehicle; any vehicle with a seating capacity of 10 or fewer, including the driver, that is built on a truck chassis, or with special features for occasional offroad use. MVR: Motor Vehicle Record of the driver; also known as driving history. N NAPT: National Association for Pupil Transportation; a membership organization comprising individuals and organizations representing all facets of school transportation. NASDPTS: National Association of State Directors of Pupil Transportation Services; a membership organization comprising primarily state offcials responsible for student transportation. National School Bus Yellow: The color defned in the publication National School Bus Color Standard SBMTC-008. NDR: National Driver Registry. Neutral safety switch: A device that prevents the bus from starting unless the transmission is in neutral gear or the clutch is depressed. NGV: Natural gas vehicle. NSTSP: National School Transportation Specifcations and Procedures; a publication of the National Congress on School Transportation. NHTSA: National Highway Traffc Safety Administration; an agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation. NOx: Oxides of nitrogen; a regulated diesel emission which is a collective term for gaseous emissions composed of nitrogen and oxygen. Non-conforming van: A vehicle smaller than a bus, designed to carry seven to 10 passengers and used to transport students, that does not meet FMVSS for school buses. NPRM: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking; a notice published in the Federal Register by a federal agency of a proposed change in regulation. NSTA: National School Transportation Association; a membership organization comprising primarily school transportation contractor companies. NTSB: National Transportation Safety Board; an independent federal agency authorized by Congress to investigate accidents and to issue safety recommendations. O Occupant: A person who occupies space inside a school bus; refers to both passenger and driver. OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer. On-board monitoring system: Computerized tracking of driver and vehicle performance, including speed, fuel consumption, etc. (See also EOBR.) Operating costs: All costs associated with running a transportation system that are distinct from capital costs. Operator: The carrier responsible for running the transportation system, regardless of ownership of the vehicle. OSEP: Offce of Special Education Programs; an agency of the U.S. Department of Education. OSERS: Offce of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; an agency of the U.S. Department of Education. OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration; an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor. OTETA: The Omnibus Transportation Employees Testing Act of 1991, requiring drivers holding CDLs to participate in a drug and alcohol testing program. Out of service: The removal of a school bus from passenger service due to a defective condition. Overall vehicle width: The nominal design dimension of the widest part of the vehicle, exclusive of signal lamps, marker lamps, outside rearview mirrors, fexible fender extensions and mud faps, determined with the doors and windows closed and the wheels in the straight-ahead position. Overhang: The distance from the center of the rear axle to the rearmost end of the body or from the center of the front axle to the forward edge of the front bumper. P PA system: A public address system that allows the driver of a bus to communicate with persons inside and/or outside the bus through a speaker installed on the inside and/ or outside of the bus; also known as external loudspeaker. Parallel restraint system: A system in which the occupant restraint lap belt anchors directly to the foor track or plates, and that is independent of the wheelchair/mobility aid securement system. Paratransit: Public transit service that is more fexible than a fxed-route system, commonly providing special service for elderly and disabled passengers. Part B: Refers to the section of IDEA (20 USC 1400 et. seq.) applicable to special education and related services for children with disabilities and to the implementing regulations at 34 CFR 300. Part HC: Refers to the section of IDEA related to early intervention services for infants and toddlers and to the implementing regulations at 34 CFR 303. Formerly referred to as Part H. Particulate trap: A device on diesel buses to clean the exhaust of particulate matter. (See also DPF.) Passenger: A person who rides in a school bus but does not operate it. (See also occupant.) Passenger compartment: Space within the school bus interior measured from a point 30 inches ahead of the forward-most passenger seating reference point (SRP) rearward to the inside surface of the rear end of the bus at the center of the rear emergency exit. Passenger Endorsement: A designation (P) on a CDL that indicates the driver is qualifed to drive a commercial passenger vehicle. Must accompany an S endorsement. Passenger miles: The total number of miles traveled by the aggregate number of passengers on a vehicle. (Example: Two students traveling 4 miles would equal 8 passenger miles and fve students traveling 3 miles

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