A Interesting Journey: LCS welcomes 30 new buses to fleet | Regional Information

Limestone County Educational facilities additional 30 new buses to its fleet this week. Every bus has state-of-the-artwork safety attributes like additional cameras and LED exterior lights, as effectively as a extra seen name on the aspect, courtesy of a fortunate error that still left yellow letters on a black background alternatively of black letters on a yellow background.
Limestone County Colleges is just a couple of weeks absent from getting an air-conditioned bus experience accessible at the commence and close of each university day for all of its bus riders, according to officials.
LCS Director of Transportation Rusty Bates said the 30 new buses, each individual with condition-of-the-artwork security features and air conditioning, arrived around spring split. The university system sent 31 motorists — 1 for every bus and yet another to generate the taxi bus that took them there — to choose them up, and their arrival to Limestone County signifies every route bus in the LCS fleet will have air conditioning.
“That is a significant offer,” Bates stated Monday, introducing there are drivers who have expended 20 or 30 years with LCS and in no way gotten to delight in driving a university bus with air conditioning right before.
The buses also occur with upgraded security actions, from LED lights along the buses’ exteriors to 5 protection cameras, more handrails and padded seats through the interior. Passersby may possibly also recognize that, compared with older designs, “Limestone County Faculties” seems as yellow-orange letters on a black background, in its place of the usual black letters on a yellow-orange track record.
Bates claimed that certain alter was an accident to begin with, but it made the technique name more visible and is now a thing they hope to keep on undertaking in the long run. He claimed other techniques have also taken an fascination in the seem, so the improve could stop up getting a trendsetter.
“It was an incident that triggered us to do it and we like it now,” Bates claimed. “It kind of sets us apart.”
The new buses will exchange 30 of the oldest in the fleet, leaving the 30 outdated ones now pending board acceptance for sale on GovDeals, an on the net auction website. When sold, they could end up everywhere in the world.
“Some will continue to be close to below. Some will be transformed to travel trailers,” he mentioned, “… and some will grow to be general public transit in other international locations. Some people use them for storage all around their homes.”
Meanwhile, the new buses are aiding to lessen maintenance charges at LCS, which Bates claimed has been cut in half since they commenced renewing their fleet 3 years in the past. He expects it to fall by an additional 50 percent likely into the future fiscal yr, when the LCS renewal program calls for an additional 10 new buses to be obtained.
“Three years ago, I approached the board about performing a comprehensive buying software, and the program consisted of having us to total funding and acquiring us to thoroughly air-conditioned bus fleets inside a few decades,” Bates mentioned. “We are in Yr 2. … That’s a major a deal to us. We are psyched about that.”
Commencing upcoming calendar year, the faculty process is established to order 10 to 12 new buses a calendar year, in accordance to Bates. They are also hoping to fill a number of extra open up bus driver positions. Bates explained there are currently four openings. Individuals fascinated in making use of can take a look at the Train in Alabama site at bit.ly/TeachInAL to check out all openings and for a lot more information and facts about getting to be an LCS bus driver.