Quote:
Originally Posted by Thymeclock
Actually, anything to do with school buses is ultimately a political issue.
For those of you who might be too young to realize it, back in the late '60s the powers of authority decided that racial integration needed to be achieved through mandatory school busing. It was considered of such magnitude and high priority that school buses were given legal exemption from pollution controls.
Now it strikes me as odd that today, decades later, politically (environmentally?) correct parents put their kids on school buses that obviously reek of exhaust fumes, and no one notices - or cares. If you've ever had to ride in one (or even drive following one) you'd wonder how the kids stand it. But they only are the 'smallest pawns in the game of life', and they can't complain, can they?
The sacrosanct yellow school bus is the American version of a 'sacred cow' on wheels. And a big source of (legally permissible) air pollution.
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I remember back in high school when one of my classes was actually located off campus and therefore had to be accessed by bus. There's only one other student at that campus who signed up for that class and they still used a big bus. (Why not one of the smaller ones?) Probably got something like 3MPG or less.
But now, in college, a lot of the buses are hybrids. Don't know too much about the details except the distinctive "hybrid squeal" is clearly audible when accelerating or regenerating. And there will often be a bump during braking when the regen switches off...