Putnam Bus Fleet Prepared For New School Year

The Putnam Schools’ bus fleet prepared and drivers getting revved up for this week’s start to the new school year.

Transportation Supervisor Ron Chaffin said they inspected all seventy-eight buses in their fleet to ensure their tires, brakes, and fluids are all up to standards. Chaffin said they have also done a deeper mechanical inspection and examined the frame of each bus.

“We have changed out seat covers,” Chaffin said. “We have, I had every driver come in, we’ve walked through each bus with each driver to make sure about cleanliness, make sure they’ve been sanitized, and we’re ready to go.”

Chaffin said most of the bus routes will be the same as they were at the end of last year and will be adjusted as needed once school starts. He said they have already met with all the district’s high schools to coordinate their different bus needs once fall sports begin.

“We’ve pretty much went ahead and planned for Thursdays and Fridays in August and September to make sure that we’re going to have all the routes covered and also be able to cover our trips too,” Chaffin said.

Chaffin said they give bus drivers their route sheets about a week before school starts and many of them will drive the routes with the own cars to get familiar with them.

“We will also, again, get with each driver and make sure that any corrections we need to make, any changes we need to make, we go ahead and get those done during the year,” Chaffin said.

Chaffin said they have sixty-nine CDL-licensed drivers and fifty-six regular routes to start the year off, but there will still be challenges during the fall sports season.

“That’s where it starts getting exciting to be able to go to these away games and have buses planned and have drivers planned on where they’re going to be going,” Chaffin said. “And then on top of that we still have to get the routes covered for our schools, too.”

Chaffin said about ten percent of the fleet is made of substitute buses that are held on standby in case any of their regular buses break down.

“That has gotten better over the last couple years,” Chaffin said. “So I think we’re doing much better with that.”