FamousNYLover Posted September 23, 2012 Share #1 Posted September 23, 2012 It might be crazy question. Is it true school buses are not allowed on long-distance field trip, so schools has to rent/borrow charter/tour buses? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ MC Posted September 23, 2012 Share #2 Posted September 23, 2012 It might be crazy question. Is it true school buses are not allowed on long-distance field trip, so schools has to rent/borrow charter/tour buses? I remember in fourth grade we used tour buses (Vanhools) to go St. Augustine. We never used any school buses for that. Then the time we went to Disney World during the seventh grade we used tour buses as well. Not sure if this applies everywhere else, but it does happen in my neck of the woods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GojiMet86 Posted September 23, 2012 Share #3 Posted September 23, 2012 When my junior high school had trips to Baltimore, Washington, and Buffalo, we always took coaches, not the school buses. We used them to go to like the zoo, and for stuff like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoSpectacular Posted September 23, 2012 Share #4 Posted September 23, 2012 It might be crazy question. Is it true school buses are not allowed on long-distance field trip, so schools has to rent/borrow charter/tour buses? It's most likely very true. On my my school field trips to Colonial Philadelphia and Connecticut we used coach buses as the primary mode of transport. All other school trips within the city (with the exception of a select few) were on the cheese buses Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbo19 Posted September 24, 2012 Share #5 Posted September 24, 2012 We never used cheese buses. We had a charter do the 15 trips or so trips that I took, many being somewhat local. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtattrain Posted September 24, 2012 Share #6 Posted September 24, 2012 I think so... that's why my old school used Academy and Coach USA buses and my new school (in Korea) uses two coach buses (but part of the school bus fleet) for long distance travels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dabo46 Posted September 24, 2012 Share #7 Posted September 24, 2012 There is no regulation, federal or state, that limits the use of yellow school buses. It is a simple decision by the school to use more comfortable and better riding coaches rather than school buses for lengthy trips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theaveragejoe Posted September 25, 2012 Share #8 Posted September 25, 2012 There is no regulation, federal or state, that limits the use of yellow school buses. It is a simple decision by the school to use more comfortable and better riding coaches rather than school buses for lengthy trips. This is true as went I was younger and worked at Canada's Wonderland amusement park, there use to be school buses from NY state there for the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilbluefoxie Posted September 25, 2012 Share #9 Posted September 25, 2012 I've been on field trips to New York City on a school bus when I was in high school. Out of state stuff we had a coach bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailBus63 Posted September 25, 2012 Share #10 Posted September 25, 2012 I once chaperoned a 5th-grade class trip to the state capital in Albany on a school bus - 150 miles each way. It was torture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoSpectacular Posted September 25, 2012 Share #11 Posted September 25, 2012 I once chaperoned a 5th-grade class trip to the state capital in Albany on a school bus - 150 miles each way. It was torture. If you were moving slow I can relate... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User Posted September 25, 2012 Share #12 Posted September 25, 2012 The way I believe it is for NYC DOE public schools is that since Atlantic Express is the primary operator and the contract with them is very specific, yellow buses are allowed for trips within the city. If you have a trip going out of New York City, other buses are required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailBus63 Posted September 25, 2012 Share #13 Posted September 25, 2012 Our school district uses school buses for athletic,marching band and general field trips. Due to budget cuts, these are pretty much limited these days to trips to other schools that are located within an hours drive from the Syracuse area. Any use of coach buses for longer trips must be paid for through fundraising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amtrak7 Posted September 26, 2012 Share #14 Posted September 26, 2012 Jon: the rules are now very restrictive in our district: -School buses are not allowed for trips beyond NYC/eastern LI. For most trips the driver is paid to sit around all day while the students are at their destination, so the (internal) price goes up FAST, limiting the number of trips per year. -Coach buses are very limited in approval and rarely used. -Overnight trips are no-exceptions prohibited unless associated with competitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burrstone Posted October 8, 2012 Share #15 Posted October 8, 2012 I doubt there are any clear regulations except that a school bus doing an trip across State lines would have to have a DOT # on it, some carriers like Atlantic Express already have the DOT #'s on the bus so they comply. Also some school bus drivers (especially those employed by districts) don't have to carr a DOT card (requiring a physical by a doctor every two years) these drivers in NY have an A3 restriction and are only allowed to drive students to and school and school functions and are not allowed to drive out of NY with the A3 restriction. Even all these drivers don't carry a DOT card (by getting a physical every year) but they are required to pass a similar yearly physical which is very close to the DOT physical but from what I've been told it's easier to pass the 19a physical compared to the DOT physical. Again I do know that Atlantic Express requires all drivers to carry a DOT card so they would comply again in that situation. School buses are also spec'd different from state to state if a NY spec'd bus entered another state would it have to meet that states requires or NY's requirements because it's carrying NY school children? I have no idea... Think about comfort, no restroom on board, a rougher ride, maybe no AC if it's hot. It could also be a liability issue, are these buses insured for a trip to DC? For interstate travel? The school/company might not want to put that many miles on a school bus either.... For most trips the driver is paid to sit around all day while the students are at their destination, so the (internal) price goes up FAST, limiting the number of trips per year. I've driven everything from school buses, coaches, and shuttles for regular companies and I can tell you a driver is paid to sit around no matter what bus they are driving. It's not my time to waste and sit around and not get paid. I wouldn't want to travel on a bus where the driver is not paid to sit because only the people who cannot get a job anywhere else would be the only drivers left there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfs NJT459 Posted October 27, 2012 Share #16 Posted October 27, 2012 My old high school has long distance trips... Depends on what the major events are that a group is part of... Virginia Beach, Myrtle Beach, Boston... And they charter MCI coaches from different companies... I remember one trip where there was I think 5 or 6 from the same company (NOT Academy) going to Virginia Beach... Music trip, choir and band Out of all my school field trips to NY, one of them was in a regular school bus, rest were MCIs... And my latest trip was on an Academy MCI J4500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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