Hello, school bus geeks! Here's the morning routine on this well-weathered CE with air brakes and 6-speed Allison automatic transmission, in its last year of service here in northern New Jersey. Everything pretty much works properly on the bus, with the speedometer being a notable exception - the video starts with a clip of a GPS speedometer on my phone vs. the bus's speedometer, to head off any comments of "you're speeding!"
It's obvious who my employer is, and almost as obvious where the bus yard is. Please do not comment with these items.
0:00 Speedometer comparison
0:12 Walking to bus
0:30 Pre-trip: preparation
0:55 Pre-trip: engine start, interior
2:37 Pre-trip: air brakes
4:27 Pre-trip: exterior
8:17 Deadheading to first pickup
24:47 Child check after last dropoff
25:20 Deadheading back to base
42:04 Verify child check alarm (weekly)
During the pre-trip, I discovered that the wristwatch I use for the air brake leak test stopped working.
FAQs
Why do you keep walking to the back of the bus?
- There is a child check alarm which arms itself one the bus is powered up for 5 minutes, or once you activate the red loading lights. This is disarmed via that button. To disable the anti-theft system as well, you have to go back to the front, cycle the key, and press it again.
Why is your yard such a mess?!
- We are not allowed to pave it due to local environmental issues, something to do with marshland. We get it re-graded every year or so, but the craters develop pretty quickly when there is rain or snow.