The American School Bus Council, after seeing no mention of school buses in the U.S. Department of Transportation's recently released five-year strategic plan, sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week that details the benefits of the yellow bus and how they fit in with the plan's goals.

With the recent push the ASBC and its members have made on the political landscape of the nation's capitol, many might think that governmental eyes were finally beginning to open to the need of federally funding school bus travel. But, even after the Council was able to collect signatures from 49 congressman and seven senators on separate letters supporting the federally-funded public education and awareness campaign, the industry saw no mention of school buses in the recently-released DOT strategic plan.

"We are distressed that as the nation's largest public transportation fleet, dwarfing all others combined, does not even warrant a mention in the proposed five year strategic plan," read the letter, which was sent to Secretary Ray LaHood on June 3.

The ASBC response letter then breaks down four of the plan's current goals and how the industry could make a significant contribution to meeting each one. By increasing ridership, the ASBC states that this will take more young drivers off the road, which, in turn, could lead to a decrease in transportation-related fatalities. Increased ridership would also decrease congestion on the roadways, which would help meet the DOT goal of bringing about "lasting and equitable economic benefits" by reducing the number of lost hours due to traffic and the amount of fuel wasted.

"We feel that the letter to Secretary LaHood received significant recognition, but felt that the ASBC Response to the DOT strategic plan was appropriate," commented NASDPTS Executive Director Bob Riley.