As I was coming home today I was seeing the shuttles for the Joint Services Open House and seeing a bunch of school buses with no A/C in this weather isn't a real comfortable thing. I remember being on a non air conditioned school bus in warm weather and it's not a pleasant thing. They basically replaced A/C transit buses with non A/C school buses. Granted there were some OTCs running the shuttles and a few school buses with A/C but most of the school buses had no A/C. That and the school buses I remember didn't have any leg room either.
I'm all for the little guys getting some business opportunities, but this is insane. These Mom and Pop companies clearly cannot handle an operation such as this (and others). I attended the JSOH last year and the shuttle operation was a circus at best. I had ridden MCI in both directions and I have to say that they were in terrible shape. One of them had so-so A/C and we all know that I well-maintained OTR coach usually has ice-cold A/C. The return bus had better A/C, but the transmission wasn't doing well at all. Also, the driver of the first bus had to rev the engine when the bus stopped. One of them also looked as if it was painted with house paint,
Sad, sad, sad.
I had the opposite last year: I had school buses (both from Harford County) with AC that was freezer cold. Still is proof that the 2008 FTA changes did more harm than good on most fronts.