The first nine of the Cullman County school district’s 51 recently purchased new air-conditioned buses were picked up by drivers on Monday, Sept. 25, ready to offer students a safer, more comfortable ride home from school.

Amy Nation was one of the first in line to pick her new bus Monday morning. Prior to 2021, Nation was working in a medical office. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her sister — who drives a bus for Tuscaloosa County Schools — convinced her to change professions. But Nation doesn’t need decades of experience to be grateful for the climate controls now at her fingertips.

Two of the three years Nation has been a bus driver have broken records for the hottest summers, first in 2021 and again this year — 2022 ranks as the fourth hottest summer to date. In Alabama, Nation said even during the early autumn months of September and October, temperatures on her bus — which she affectionately refers to as B.B. after the initials of her parents — can quickly become uncomfortable.

“You’ve got some days where the temperature can be over 90 degrees. It’s just hot, even the air coming in through the windows feels hot and some drivers can have between 30 and 50 kids onboard,” Nation said.

Her route doesn’t involve quite that many students, but is one of the district’s longer routes clocking in at roughly two hours of total drive time for Nation. She said her passengers have been as, or even more, excited than Nation for their maiden voyage.

“My kids have just been so excited. They have asked me every day this year ‘Miss Amy, when are we getting our new bus? When are we getting air conditioning?’ Well, I’m taking it today and this afternoon will be their first trip on it,” she said.

In total, the 51 new buses cost the district $6.4 million and will replace more than half of the existing fleet. Roughly $500,000 of that cost comes from the addition of air-conditioning. Superintendent Shane Barnette said the district typically replaces buses on a 10-year rotation and while the large number of buses needing to be replaced this year was originally intimidating, careful planning allowed school board officials to turn the purchase into an opportunity.

“Knowing that we had a larger-than-usual purchase on the horizon really had me worried about five years ago. Over the last few years we have worked hard to have our school system in a position that we could make this purchase without putting us in a bind. We were also able to add several additional safety features above what the standard school bus comes with, as well as the AC,” Barnette said.

Air ride suspension systems will reduce the amount of vibration which previously caused the buses’ mirror arms to become loosened, and an additional folding stop sign, located toward the back of the bus, will allow the bus to be more visible at close proximities. An internal/external speaker system will allow for drivers to more effectively communicate with students both onboard and outside of the bus, and an onboard collision detection system will self-activate the vehicle’s braking system when it detects the potential of a crash.

The buses also feature additional strobe lighting and lighted destination signs — on the front and rear of the bus — increasing visibility and helping drivers easily identify the vehicle during early morning hours.

“I have actually had folks tell me they passed a school bus in the morning and just blew right past them because they thought it was a garbage truck,” Jeff Harper, county schools transportation director, said.

Harper said even the air-conditioning will add to the overall safety of the vehicle by being able to defog windows on rainy days. He also suggested it will lower disciplinary rates by providing a more quiet, calmer ride with students not having to raise their voices to be heard over the noise caused from open windows.

“You are going to have less disciplinary problems on this bus today than you did on your old bus last week,” Harper told Nation during a walk through of her new bus.

Even with such an extensive list of features, Nation said one of the things she is most excited for is a simple one.

“I mean everybody loves getting a new car. Now I get to have that new bus smell,” she said.