The%20Activities%20of%20the%20American%20School%20Bus%20Council

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The Activities of the American School Bus Council

• Summer, 2009

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American School Bus Council

• Associations
• National Association for Pupil Transportation
  (NAPT)
• National Association of State Directors of Pupil
  Transportation Services (NASDPTS)
• National School Transportation Association (NSTA)

• Manufacturers
• Blue Bird Corp.
• IC Corp.
• Thomas Built Buses
• Partners
• Collins Industries
• STN
• School Bus Fleet
• Bus Parts Warehouse
• Unity school Bus Parts
• 24/7 Security

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Challenges We Face

• School buses taken for granted
• By parents, administrators, legislators, the
  public
• Others assume it will always be there
• Parents lack information, motivation to change
  behavior
• No federal commitment to school transportation
• Many unfunded mandates
• No direct, regular funding
• Competing priorities threaten funding
• Industry often must play defense
• Accidents, while rare, can take center stage in
  media
• Interest groups attack school buses on health,
  safety, environment

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Challenges We Face

• Media, others control the message

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Our Purpose, Our Goals

• Our Purpose
• Transporting as many children as possible in the
  safety of school buses
• Inform parents and legislators about the
  advantages of dedicated school transportation
• Our Goals
• Increased awareness
• Increased ridership
• Securing federal funding

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Our Mission
Our Mission The mission of the American School
Bus Council is to educate parents, school
officials and lawmakers about the essential role
the yellow school bus plays in the safety,
health, security and readiness of Americas
schoolchildren. Council members advocate for
increased school transportation funding and
advances industry standards on safety, security,
environment, energy and access to education that
are above and beyond state and federal law.
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Overall Research Findings

• Parents Have Mixed Feelings About School Bus
  Transportation
• Positive associations exist that can be leveraged
  by the American School Bus Council and message
  platforms can be created to help mitigate the
  negative
• Parents Cite Convenience and Social Development
  Opportunities as Advantages of the School Bus
• The school bus alleviates pressure placed on
  parents they do not need to take time out of
  their schedule to transport their children to
  school
• Parents also recognize the psychological and
  emotional benefits of socializing with other
  children

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Overall Research Findings

• Parents Say Riding the School Bus Promotes
  Independence for Younger Children While
  Constraining Older Children
• Younger students embrace the chance to talk with
  friends and enjoy time away from parents and
  parents seem open to this experience
• But, older children looking for more freedom and
  flexibility dislike the bus and dismiss it as not
  cool
• According to Parents, Both Parents and Children
  Share Common Complaints
• Long bus routes with frequent stops, consistent
  lateness and lack of flexibility make parents and
  children consider other transportation options
• Negative environment consisting of bullying and
  other bad behaviors are also causes for concern

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NC Study Corroborates ASBC Findings
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NC Study Corroborates ASBC Findings
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Overall Research Findings

• Parents Generally Trust School Bus
  Transportation, but Not the Bus Driver
• Parents are anxious about the bus drivers
  qualifications and history because they have
  limited information and contact
• Trust can be built by increasing communication
  and information-sharing with parents
• Top of Mind, Safety is Not Viewed as a Key
  Advantage
• Although parents acknowledge the safety of the
  vehicle itself, they do not readily consider the
  whole experience of riding the school bus to be
  safe
• Concerns about the bus driver affect perceptions
  of overall safety, as do the behavioral issues
  children encounter on the bus

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NC Study Corroborates ASBC Findings
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NC Data Only 11 lack of confidence
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August 2008 Research Key Findings

• In August 2008, the American School Bus Council
  conducted an internet survey of parents who have
  children 5-18 living at home.
• This was a follow-up to a benchmark survey
  conducted in December 2006
• The 2008 survey included 304 respondents with a
  /-5.62 margin of error.

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Key finding from August 2008 compared to the
initial 2006

• Overall, parents are now hearing less about the
  yellow school bus in the news
• Among those who say theyve heard something,
  accidents and crashes are most often mentioned
• Key measures have stayed steady since the
  benchmark
• Trust in school bus transportation
• Belief that the yellow school bus is a safe mode
  of transportation for children to be delivered
  to-and-from school
• Ridership intention Among parents of school bus
  riders the belief that the school bus is a safe
  mode of transportation has increased
  significantly since the benchmark
• Perhaps because fewer are hearing about the
  yellow school bus in the news

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The school bus is still considered an important
part of the nations education system

• The majority of parents say the school bus is a
  very important part of the education system
• When forced to choose, parents agree the school
  bus is the only reliable form of transportation
  for many students
• Without it, the ability of these students to
  receive a good education would be impacted

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Parents remain somewhat conflicted about school
buses

• Concern about children riding in a school bus has
  decreased since the benchmark
• Parents are now more concerned about other
  children (disorderly conduct, bullying, etc) on
  the bus than safety issues
• Parents continue to believe a personal vehicle,
  such as a family or parents car is still the
  safest way for their children to get to-and-from
  school possibly because they have more control
  over the transportation of their own children

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Attributes that highlight a direct benefit to
parents continue to be strengths to leverage to
drive trust

• Are a great convenience for parents to get
  children to or from school
• Helps parents save on transportation and gas
  costs
• Maintain reliable schedules
• Are an essential part of the education system
• Are worth investing tax dollars in

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Message statements for ridership retention

• Helping parents save money on transportation
  costs while also being a safe mode of
  transportation are most likely to drive ridership
• School buses facilitate the reduction of traffic
  congestion and carbon monoxide emissions were
  also likely to drive ridership intention
• Less successful message statements did not
  provide a benefit directly to parents
• Ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and
  emissions-reduction technology

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The short message statements successfully moved
key behaviors

• Trust in school bus transportation increased
  across the board as a result of the short message
  statements
• Parents saying they strongly agree that the
  yellow school bus is a safe mode of
  transportation increased
• The likelihood of parents having their children
  ride the school bus increased slightly among
  non-riders and remained steady among riders
• Likely because the parents of riders are already
  well aware of the benefits of public school
  transportation and they have their children ride
  the yellow school bus regardless

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The rising cost of gas and fuel is having an
impact on parents

• Parents strongly agree that school buses can help
  them save on transportation costs as fuel costs
  rise
• When forced to choose, in order to save money on
  the rising cost of gas, the majority of parents
  agree it is more beneficial for their children to
  ride the school bus
• Furthermore, over half of all parents strongly
  disagree with cutting bus stops or routes and
  even more so are opposed to cutting bus service
  if school district policy makers are not able to
  cover the rising cost of fuel
• Overwhelmingly, all parents and sub-audiences
  would rather school boards develop alternatives
  to cutting routes or stops in order to reduce the
  impact of high fuels

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Phase 1 Awareness

• Build and communicate the brand
• Communicate as a single, unified voice for the
  industry
• Recruit third-party allies to tell our story
• Develop industry guidelines

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Phase 2 Education

• Develop communication toolkits for districts,
  state officials and third-party allies
• Template, customizable media materials
• Industry standards and guidelines
• How-to guide for events and advocacy
• Events

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Messaging

• School bus transportation is, by far, the safest,
  healthiest, most secure way to transport children
  to and from school each day
• The school bus industry is dedicated to the
  professionalism of its employees, high
  construction standards and technological
  advancements
• School buses are school readiness vehicles,
  providing the access to education every child
  deserves and ensuring they arrive at school safe
  and ready to learn
• School buses are valuable investments in the
  future of our children

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Phase 3 Advocacy

• Parents
• Advocate for government funding
• Write a letter to their Member of Congress
• Legislators
• School bus allies ask fellow Members for support
  in Congress
• Bring the school bus to the Hill through events
• School districts
• Advocate for funding
• Using communications tool kit to ask parents to
  get involved

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Phase 4 Actions and Outcomes

• Parents
• Put their children on the school bus
• Legislators
• Recognize school bus as safest form of
  transportation
• Provide funding for safety, accessibility,
  readiness, security
• Fund grants for new technologies, security,
  environment, safety
• School districts
• Recognize school bus as essential part of
  education
• Fund at appropriate levels that maintain quality,
  safety accessibility
• Help educate students and parents about role
  school bus plays in safety and readiness

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Web Site

• Interactive information
• Educational resource
• Advocacy tools
• Press room
• Industry links

www.AmericanSchoolBusCouncil.org
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American School Bus Council Encourages More
Students to Go Green and Ride Yellow

• School Bus Transportation Eliminates the Need for
  17.3 Million Cars
• 2.3 Billion Gallons of Fuel and 8 Billion in
  Fuel Costs
• By reducing the number of cars on the road, the
  school bus transportation system is providing an
  estimated annual national savings of 2.3 billion
  gallons of fuel and 8 billion in gas costs.

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American School Bus Council Encourages More
Students to Go Green and Ride Yellow

• April 9 Earth Day
• School Bus Transportation Eliminates the Need for
  17.3 Million Cars, 2.3 Billion Gallons of Fuel
  and 8 Billion in Fuel Costs

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ASBC Estimates National Fuel Savings

• 36 Avg cars needed to transport students
  currently riding 1 school bus
• 17.3 million Total number of private vehicles
  needed to transport students currently riding on
  all school buses.
• 822 million gallons per year Total fuel used by
  school bus fleet
• 3.4 billion per year Total cost of fuel used by
  the U.S. school bus fleet
• 131 per year Cost of fuel per child transported
  by school bus
• 3.1 billion gallons per year Total fuel for cars
  replaced by buses
• 11.4 billion per year Cost of fuel for cars
  replaced by school buses
• 62.4 billion Total annual car mileage saved by
  students school buses
• 346.6 million Total daily car mge saved -
  students riding school buses

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National Fuel Data
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National Fuel Savings
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Federal Funding

• Diesel Emissions Reduction
• Security

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Correlation to Education / Learning

• Students riding the bus learn better (?)
• Students who ride the bus get to school !!

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Your Role

• You are our messengers and ambassadors of the
  industry
• The Council will provide the tools and training
  necessary to allow you to be more effective in
  communicating to your constituencies
• You will have the ability to localize what the
  Council is doing at the federal level

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Childrens Book
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Coloring Pages
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School Bus Industry Encourages Parents and
Children to Love the Bus

• Raise awareness and appreciation for the hundreds
  of thousands of school bus drivers
• who safely transport school children to and from
  school each day
• 480,000 buses
• the largest and safest transportation system in
  the country.
• www.LoveTheBus.com
• interactive valentines to give to their bus
  driver on Valentines Day
• educators toolkit
• Local Events
• Letter to the Editor (template)
• Press release, (template)

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School Bus Industry Encourages Parents and
Children to Love the Bus

• Raise awareness and appreciation for the hundreds
  of thousands of school bus drivers
• who safely transport school children to and from
  school each day
• 480,000 buses
• the largest and safest transportation system in
  the country.
• www.LoveTheBus.com
• interactive valentines to give to their bus
  driver on Valentines Day
• educators toolkit
• Local Events
• Letter to the Editor (template)
• Press release, (template)

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LOVE THE BUS

• An Activity of the ASBC
• Celebrate Valentines Day
• Appreciate Drivers
• Generate Positive Publicity

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Love The Bus Food
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LOVE THE BUS Media
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Love the Bus Food
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Love the Bus Cards
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Love the Bus Food
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LOVE THE BUS!
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PARENTS AND DRIVERS

• Parents want to know their drivers name.
• Builds confidence in the system
• Look for ways to build a positive image.

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