Another one rides the bus.....
Earlier today, someone on one of the Facebooks groups I'm on mentioned old school buses. And it reminded me of my bus riding experience.
My school district -- Sweet Home Central, based in Amherst, NY -- had a rather sizeable fleet of buses used to transport its students to 6 elementary schools, 1 junior high school, and 1 high school. Many of the buses in service at the time I went to elementary school were built by Carpenter Body and had an International Harvester chassis with manual transmission. I think there were around 60 buses in the fleet in the early 1970s. Their fleet numbers ranged from around 21 to 96.
In addition to the buses in active service, the fleet also included a few older buses that were used as replacement or substitute buses when an originally designated bus would be out of service and in the shop for repairs. The average lifespan of a school bus is 10 years. After that time, a bus would be retired from regular service and used as a replacement bus, or used for spare parts. The buses the district purchased in the 1950s and 1960s were built by the Superior Coach Co. and were also built on an International Harvester chassis, and were used as substitute buses in the late 1960s. I remember when one of these buses (fleet number 15) picked me up for kindergarten, instead of my usual bus (fleet number 34?). The front of the bus looked rather scary.
Boy, did I hate the sound the transmission gears would make when the driver would shift gears and inadvertently grind them. I was the kid who had his hands over his ears so that I wouldn't hear that sound.
In 1975, the district bought 5 buses built by Ward, and were the first ones in the fleet to have automatic transmission. Their fleet numbers were 101 through 105. I rode bus #105 in 7th grade. And in 8th grade, we tried to tip the bus over when rounding a curve by moving to one side. We got the axle to scrape the pavement; thankfully, we didn't manage to tip it over.
In following years, they went back to buying Carpenter Body buses. (Must have been a low-bid contract the year they bought the Ward buses.) I don't remember riding any of the newer buses in high school. Since graduating from high school in 1981, all of the buses in the fleet have been replaced. I think the fleet numbers are in the 300s now. (Unlike the school district I live in now, Sweet Home does not recycle its fleet numbers. That may be a state-wide convention vs. a district-wide convention.)
The neighboring school district was the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District. Their fleet numbers were slightly higher than Sweet Home's; either they had more buses, or they started their fleet earlier than Sweet Home. And their buses included "UFSD" as part of their district name, or "Union Free School District #1". What did that mean? Did it mean that their teachers could not belong to a teacher's union, such as the NEA or AFT? No. From a webpage detailing the types of school districts in New York State, a union free school district is a district resulting from a "union" of multiple common school districts, "free" from the restrictions that previously barred them from operating high schools. Union free school districts are governed by a board of education composed of between three and nine members.
I'm amazed I still remember these details from over 40 years ago. I had a keen eye for detail back then, and I still do.
My school district -- Sweet Home Central, based in Amherst, NY -- had a rather sizeable fleet of buses used to transport its students to 6 elementary schools, 1 junior high school, and 1 high school. Many of the buses in service at the time I went to elementary school were built by Carpenter Body and had an International Harvester chassis with manual transmission. I think there were around 60 buses in the fleet in the early 1970s. Their fleet numbers ranged from around 21 to 96.
In addition to the buses in active service, the fleet also included a few older buses that were used as replacement or substitute buses when an originally designated bus would be out of service and in the shop for repairs. The average lifespan of a school bus is 10 years. After that time, a bus would be retired from regular service and used as a replacement bus, or used for spare parts. The buses the district purchased in the 1950s and 1960s were built by the Superior Coach Co. and were also built on an International Harvester chassis, and were used as substitute buses in the late 1960s. I remember when one of these buses (fleet number 15) picked me up for kindergarten, instead of my usual bus (fleet number 34?). The front of the bus looked rather scary.
Boy, did I hate the sound the transmission gears would make when the driver would shift gears and inadvertently grind them. I was the kid who had his hands over his ears so that I wouldn't hear that sound.
In 1975, the district bought 5 buses built by Ward, and were the first ones in the fleet to have automatic transmission. Their fleet numbers were 101 through 105. I rode bus #105 in 7th grade. And in 8th grade, we tried to tip the bus over when rounding a curve by moving to one side. We got the axle to scrape the pavement; thankfully, we didn't manage to tip it over.
In following years, they went back to buying Carpenter Body buses. (Must have been a low-bid contract the year they bought the Ward buses.) I don't remember riding any of the newer buses in high school. Since graduating from high school in 1981, all of the buses in the fleet have been replaced. I think the fleet numbers are in the 300s now. (Unlike the school district I live in now, Sweet Home does not recycle its fleet numbers. That may be a state-wide convention vs. a district-wide convention.)
The neighboring school district was the Kenmore-Tonawanda School District. Their fleet numbers were slightly higher than Sweet Home's; either they had more buses, or they started their fleet earlier than Sweet Home. And their buses included "UFSD" as part of their district name, or "Union Free School District #1". What did that mean? Did it mean that their teachers could not belong to a teacher's union, such as the NEA or AFT? No. From a webpage detailing the types of school districts in New York State, a union free school district is a district resulting from a "union" of multiple common school districts, "free" from the restrictions that previously barred them from operating high schools. Union free school districts are governed by a board of education composed of between three and nine members.
I'm amazed I still remember these details from over 40 years ago. I had a keen eye for detail back then, and I still do.