I was very excited to read in our local paper today that kids will have new school buses this year…YEAH!!! I was pretty alarmed when I read an article a few months ago about the condition of our island buses. The pictures were very upsetting and as a parent, I was very angry.  I’m just glad it was brought to the attention of the media.
New buses to be rolled out for Island students 
STAFF
Transcontinental Media
Unlike the past school year, Island students will no longer be rumpling to school in old, corroded buses.
The province purchased 60 shiny, new yellow school buses between May and August for just under $5 million.
All of those buses will be ready to role when the new school year begins early next month, says Education Minister Gerard Greenan.
The major modernization of the school bus fleet was prompted by the discovery last spring of rampant corrosion in the older buses.
The problem was found in one bus during a routine inspection. Rust that started in the vehicle’s wheel well had made it all the way through to the passenger compartment.
Another 20 buses were taken apart to see if this was a trend and 16 of the 20 turned out to have serious corrosion underneath as well. The deterioration of these buses, considered a major safety risk in the event of a collision, prompted the Transportation Department to inspect the entire fleet.
The province had 104 school buses in the fleet that were built before 1994 but P.E.I.’s school boards pulled all of their 320 buses off the roads to check them for rust, leaving parents across the Island scrambling to make alternate travel plans to get their children to school.
Greenan said all of the school buses on regular runs are less than 13 years old, which is the standard in most parts of the country. Some of the 35 spare buses, though, are older than 12 years.
