After recently gathering input from a pool of 300 parents with children between the ages of five and 18, the American School Bus Council (ASBC) is ready to reach out to the industry, reintroduce themselves and collaborate on getting the message of the yellow bus out to everyone who will listen.

“This is a coalition, and the most effective coalitions have the broadest base of support,” said NAPT’s Mike Martin, co-director of ASBC along with NASDPTS Executive Director Bob Riley and Danielle Abe, NSTA’s director of operations and marketing.

On Sept. 4, the ASBC held its first-ever webinar to convey a better understanding of what the council is all about. After an explanation of why it’s there, what it’s doing and what its goals are, the industry partnership program was unveiled to attendees.

“As word started to get out to the industry about the council, a lot of other companies that are involved with the industry started approaching members of the council and asked how they could help or participate. The industry partnership program is a way for them to help the council in achieving its goals,” said IC Bus’ Keith Kladder.

The program consists of four levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. As one can image, the size of the donation increases as the metals become more precious. The platinum level costs at least $10,000 a year for three years, and affords one benefit above the other levels — an invitation to an annual ASBC strategic planning session where industry members can offer their input on the council’s agenda.

The council also has plans to create partnerships outside of the school bus industry in an effort to market all the good things about the school transportation industry.

“We are focusing primarily on industries that are kid-oriented retailers like office product suppliers, computer manufacturers, food suppliers, anything that might have an interest in the safety, health and well-being of kids,” added Martin.

The growth could also lead to a more visible position at the federal level. Ultimately, one of the missions of the ASBC is to impress upon policy makers that school buses are a form of mass transit and deserve the same financial and political support.

“We are about the only form of mass transit in America that does not receive some sort of federal financial support, and we receive very little federal political support right now,” said Martin. “The irony of the circumstance is that we’re the largest system of mass transit. The ultimate goal is to make sure that federal level policy makers recognize this discrepancy and do something to address it.”

One way the council has been able to gain a better understanding of opinions from outside the industry is through the use of surveys. In August, the market research and consulting firm Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates and the ASBC asked parents — some whose children ride the bus and some who don’t — a number of questions, in some instances, 72 to be exact.

The results gave the ASBC a new outlook on the yellow bus’ role in both the educational system and the nation as a whole. Since the initial benchmark survey performed by the ASBC over a year ago, the survey showed parents continue to trust school bus transportation and believe that it is a safe mode of transportation. But, the little they hear about school buses in the media usually concerns some type of accident.

A majority of the parents who responded said the school bus is a very important part of education, and without it, students’ ability to receive a proper education would be impacted. The survey results also showed that parents strongly agree that school buses help them save on fuel costs and understand the benefits to highlighting the idea that school buses help to reduce traffic congestion, therefore lowering harmful emissions. The exact numbers from the survey were unavailable, as ASBC intends to use the information internally to focus its agenda.