Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The roughly 80 buses and vans that will be used to transport Bristol Township School District students will be house at the Benjamin Franklin School on Mill Creek Road, Superintendent Dr. Samuel Lee said on Monday, adding that the arrangement is only temporary.
In June, buses for new district transportation contractor Student Transportation of America (STA) began to sit in the parking lot at the school. Lee said at that time that the district was looking for a cost-effective location to store the buses.
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The district’s former bus contractor, First Student, used a leased bus depot on Green Lane, but Lee said “excessive rent” has hampered efforts to utilize that location.
STA is expected to begin work to fence in part of the Franklin parking lot to provide security for the dozens of buses and vans that will fill it in the coming weeks.
Lee said the school district has agreed to waived $24,000 in host fees for July, August and September in order for STA to build the security fence at the Franklin school. Under the terms of the contract, STA pays $96,000 in yearly host fees to the district.
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Because the STA will be using new, propane-fueled buses, Lee told LevittownNow.com that STA expects maintenance to be minimal.
A vacant bus garage at the former Delhaas High School on Verterans Highway will be used as a maintenance bay for STA buses. Lee said the bus contractor operates a large repair facility in Collegeville, which the company eventually hopes to replicate in Bristol Township.
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The school district may use the current Clara Barton Elementary School site as a bus depot in the future, Lee said. However, that plan all depends on whether a proposal to close all the current elementary schools and open three new ones moves forward.
Offices for STA staff in Bristol Township will be set up inside the Franklin school, which currently serves at the district administration building.
In winter, the district opted not to re-sign with First Student after the two sides could not come agreeable financial terms, officials said previously.
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Early in the 2012-2013 school year, the district was marred with complaints from parents about a change in bus routes. The then-transportation director took much of the criticism and left her job only months in for a new opportunity.
Related:
- Search for Bus Depot Continues in Bristol Twp.
- New Buses Purchased for Bristol Township Schools
- No Bus Driver Rehiring Guarantee in Bristol Township
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