The Ann Arbor Public Schools received a perfect score during its annual bus fleet inspection, which was completed this morning.
Michigan State Police are charged with inspecting the 131 school buses in the fleet. All were certified for service. This is the second year in a row the district had a perfect score upon annual inspection, said Director of Transportation Brad Mellor.
“We’ve been hard at it since the middle of December,” Mellor said. “This is an extraordinary achievement, and is a reflection of the hard work, dedication and professionalism of our mechanics, crew chief, drivers and staff.”
Following the annual inspection, the state can take one of three actions:
• certify a bus for service,
• issue a yellow tag, detailing a repair necessary but not integral to safety, so the bus remains in service or
• issue a red tag, which removes the bus from service until repairs are made and the bus is re-inspected.
According to Mellor, in the past four years of inspecting more than 500 buses, the district received only one yellow tag two years ago.
“Our drivers partner with the mechanics to inspect buses and correct issues daily,” Mellor added. ” The results speak for themselves.
“I am terrifically proud of our collective achievement, because it means our students enjoy the fullest measure of safety on our district school buses.”
Mellor gave special recognition to mechanics Bill Burgess, George Clair, Kevin Darlington, Mark Fazel, David Horvath, Dikran Khanian and Jim Scherzer as well as their Crew Chief John Nikolich.
“They are truly an exceptional team, and their exceptional drive means safety and security for our students, drivers, and customers, internal and external,” Mellor added.
