New school bus ready to roll

By Stuart Hedstrom

Staff Writer 

DOVER-FOXCROFT — With classes resuming later in the month, a new school bus will be part of the fleet for Rowell’s Garage which transports many of the students in RSU 68 and Foxcroft Academy.

Last spring a 2016 Saf T Liner with tinted windows, upgraded tires, four-camera surveillance system and under-bus storage was purchased. “We buy through W.C. Cressey & Son in Kennebunk. They have been phenomenal with service both before and after the purchase,” Rowell’s Garage Transportation Director Jenny Chase said, with the vehicle produced by Thomas Built Buses of High Point, N.C.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

NEW BUS FOR A NEW SCHOOL YEAR — The newest addition to the Rowell’s Garage fleet is a 2016 Saf T Liner, with tinted windows and a four-camera surveillance system. School will be starting across the region later in the month and drivers need to be aware of buses transporting students to and from school.

“It drives like a dream” and gets great fuel mileage she said, having taken the new bus on a summer field trip.

Chase said the tinted windows on the bus are a new feature compared to older models, as is the four-camera surveillance system. She explained that the seats on the bus are four inches higher, to meet safety regulations and reduce the chance of collapsing in the event of a crash.

“That is why we have the camera system because you can’t see over the seats,” Chase said. She said the system includes audio so bus drivers will be able to see and hear what is going on behind them. She said this system can assist them in keeping track of who has gotten off and on, such as in the event that a stop was missed.

Chase said kindergarten orientation is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 24 and the new school bus will on display for students and families to take a look at prior to their first day of school.

She said that the bus seating assignments are divided by grade level with elementary pupils in the front, middle-schoolers behind them and the Foxcroft Academy students in the rear. “It is reassuring to new families that come in,” Chase said.

All of the Rowell’s Garage bus drivers aim to be considerate to other vehicles on the road, pulling over to let traffic go by on the main roads when they can safely do so.

Other vehicle drivers are required by law to stop for school buses when the vehicle’s red lights are flashing. Passing a stopped school bus with red lights flashing is illegal, even in parking lots and on school grounds, with students getting off and on and often crossing the road.

Chase said on West Main and East Main streets in Dover-Foxcroft there are a number of “cluster stops” where “the kids go in every direction” so here and elsewhere drivers need to be vigilant in paying attention to the school bus and the lights. Before a bus comes to a stop its yellow lights will flash,  indicating drivers should slow down in anticipation of also coming to a full stop.

Rowell’s Garage is seeking more bus drivers, and those interested in learning more can contact 564-3434. Chase said there is always a need for spare drivers to fill in if needed and transport students on field trips and to extra curricular activities.