Every new school year starts with lots of new things. New school supplies. New school clothes. New teachers. New students. For Duncanville ISD, this year will begin with several new school buses, 15 to be exact. Students throughout the district will start the first day of school, August 13th, riding to their campus protected and comfortable.
Transportation Director, Brad Hamrick checking out new buses.
“They come with air conditioning, seatbelts on every seat, it seats up to 77 passengers. It’s powered by a Cummins diesel engine,” explains Transportation Director Brad Hamrick.
Most buses are the latest model, “All but one bus will be less than 10 years.” Most district buses before the big purchase were older models. “We had buses that were more than 16 years old.” The purchasing of the buses was part of the bond package passed by voters in 2023. $7,438,000, was allotted for Transportation, and among that amount was funds for new busses to replace older models. After the board approved the purchase, buses were ordered. Every campus will have a new bus on a route.
The buses are some of the latest models and are geared up with the latest technology for student safety. There is an all-new digital video system with six cameras, three have wide-angle lenses. Bus drivers will be able to view students in their seats and between the seats. Not only will bus drivers have a better view, but cameras will be recording daily. Four cameras are placed down the aisle, one at the door.
The footage will be used to verify bus incidents and behavior and footage recorded will be viewed by a select few. “Only Campus administrators, Director of Transpiration, and Student Management will view camera footage afterward,” says Brad Hamrick.
GPS is also on buses and a PA system so bus drivers can talk to students without yelling and being drowned out by noise. Drivers can get scholars’ attention through loudspeakers.
The pop-out stop sign on the side of the new buses will be lit with LED lights. This will help surrounding drivers to see buses and boarding students and give them pause. “Out on routes in the dark, it makes [Students] a lot more visible,” says Hamrick. “It’s a huge issue folks not seeing the bus and not stopping when we’re loading.”
For the 2024-2025 School year, for any D’Ville student to be able to ride a district bus to school, students must be registered by their parents through the Edulog app. A parent may also track their student through this app. To learn more read here.