THE USE OF SCHOOL BUSES FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN ENERGY EMERGENCIES

This study examines the extent to which school buses could be used in Pennsylvania to provide public transportation during an energy emergency. Four scenarios of possible public transportation uses of school buses were examined and evaluated against five criteria. Since several of the criteria require site-specific analysis, four case study locations in Pennsylvania, ranging from rural Comeron County with fewer than 7,000 residents to the Harrisburg area with more than 400,000 residents, were selected for detailed evaluation. The four school bus use scenarios ranged from total use of the fleet by suspending school to using school buses during off-peak hours for general public transportation and for senior citizens. The five criteria used to evaluate the four scenarios were legal feasibility, technical feasibility, institutional feasibility, practical effectiveness, and cost. Legal barriers, so often cited as the major barrier to the use of school buses, were not serious obstacles in the case study areas. The opportunities for using school buses to supplement transit capacity in an energy emergency, however, appear to be limited. Nevertheless, in some situations, especially a prolonged, severe fuel shortage (six months or more), when other options such as ridesharing and the use of reserve transit fleets cannot meet travel needs, school buses could be used effectively. (Author)

• Corporate Authors:

  Pennsylvania State University, University Park

  Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Transportation Research Building
  University Park, PA  United States  16802

  Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

  Office of Research and Special Studies, P.O. Box 2926
  Harrisburg, PA  United States  17120

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Miller, J H
• Publication Date: 1985-1

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 81 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Contingency planning; Energy resources; Feasibility analysis; Fuels; Public transit; School buses; Supply; Utilization
• Uncontrolled Terms: Energy crisis
• Old TRIS Terms: Fuel shortage
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Research; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I91: Vehicle Design and Safety;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00395914
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-PA-84-017 Final Rpt.
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Oct 31 1989 12:00AM