Editor, The Spotlight:
The yellow school bus is an icon in our society. It speaks of safety and security and a solid and wholesome education for our children. That safety and security do not come easily but require the dedication and hard work of many professionals in the school transportation community.
As a Transportation Supervisor and a member of the New York Association for Pupil Transportation, I am proud of the record of school bus safety we have attained for our children and for our taxpayers. Our mechanics work hard every day to inspect and maintain our yellow school buses to the very highest standards. Our drivers are trained and prepared to transport our children through all kinds of traffic and weather and to respond to their needs as they drive them to school. Our routers and dispatchers strive to find the fastest, safest and most efficient ways to get our children from school to home. And our trainers ensure that our team is ready to do their job with excellence and efficiency.
We are also proud to say that in recent years we have taken many steps to make our operations even more efficient and continue to this day to identify ways to conserve precious resources that are provided by our taxpayers. This includes reviewing and adjusting our bus routes on a constant basis and eliminating idling of buses that wastes fuel and incorporating preventive maintenance efforts that will save our district in the long term.
During School Bus Safety Week, we encourage our district residents to learn more about the valuable work that we do for the children. We understand that “our future is riding with us!” and are eager to tell the amazing story of how 2.3 million children in New York State are transported safely to and from school each and every day!
Alfred Karam
Director of Transportation, N.Y.C.D.T.
Bethlehem Central School District
