1 Contractor Services –Transportation
CONTRACTOR SERVICE AGREEMENT
TRANSPORTATION
THIS AGREEMENT (the "Agreement") is made as of May 2, 2025 by and between the City of Diamond Bar, a municipal corporation ("City") and Durham School Services, LP, an LLC Corporation (referred to as the “Contractor”)
1. Contractor's Services.
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement Contractor shall provide to the reasonable satisfaction of the City Transportation services set forth in the attached Exhibit "A" – City’s Request for Proposal, which is incorporated herein by this reference. As a material inducement to the City to enter into this Agreement, Contractor represents and warrants that it has thoroughly investigated the work and fully understands the difficulties and restrictions in performing the work. Contractor represents that it is fully qualified to perform such services by virtue of its experience and the training, education and expertise of its principals and employees.
Andee Williams, Recreation Supervisor, herein referred to as the (“City’s Project Manager”), shall be the person to whom the Contractor will report for the performance of services hereunder. It is understood that Contractor shall coordinate its services hereunder with the City’s Project Manager to the extent required by the City’s Project Manager, and that all Contractors required hereunder by Contractor shall be performed to the satisfaction of the City’s Project Manager and the City Manager.
2. Term of Agreement. This Agreement shall take effect June 1, 2025, and shall continue until June 30, 2030 ("Term"), unless earlier terminated pursuant to the provisions herein.
After completion of the first term year fiscal year 25/26, the contractor can request a CPI adjustment and any increase in compensation will be negotiated between the City and the Contractor per fiscal year, but in no event shall the increase exceed the amount that the Consumer Price Index ("CPI") for the Los Angeles-Anaheim-Riverside metropolitan area for the month immediately preceding the Adjustment Date (the "Index Month") as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, has increased over the CPI for the month one year prior to the Index Month.
3. Compensation. City agrees to compensate Contractor for each service which Contractor performs to the satisfaction of City in compliance with the cost proposal provided by contractor set forth in Exhibit "B". Payment will be made only after submission of proper invoices in the form specified by City. Total payment to contractor Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 2 Contractor Services –Transportation
pursuant to this Agreement shall not exceed fourteen thousand, dollars per fiscal year ($14,000.00) without prior written consent of the City. The above not to exceed amount shall include all costs, including, but not limited to, all clerical, administrative, overhead, telephone, travel and all related expenses.
4. Payment.
A. As scheduled services are completed, Contractor shall submit to City an invoice for the services completed, authorized expenses and or authorized extra work actually performed or incurred.
B. All such invoices shall state the basis for the amount invoiced, including services completed, the number of hours spent, and any extra work performed.
C. City will pay Contractor the amount invoiced by check within Net 45 days of receipt. In the event payment is not received within forty-five (45) days, a late charge of 1.5% per month of the outstanding balance will be assessed upon City’s account.
City agrees to provide proper credentials and access (e.g., parking pass) to occurrences for which contractor services are requested and credential are required.
D. Payment shall constitute payment in full for all services, authorized costs and authorized extra work covered by that invoice.
E. Deductions. Should the Contractor fail to adhere to the time schedule set forth by the City, the City shall deduct $25 dollars from any payments due to the Contractor for every 15 minutes that transportation arrives later then the time required.
Repeated failures to adhere to the time schedule may result in termination of this Agreement.
5. Change Orders. No payment for extra services caused by a change in the scope or complexity of work, or for any other reason, shall be made unless and until such extra services and a price therefore have been previously authorized in writing and approved by the City Manager or his designee as an amendment to this Agreement.
The amendment shall set forth the changes of work, extension of time, if any, and adjustment of the fee to be paid by City to Contractor.
6. Priority of Documents. In the event of any inconsistency between the provisions of this Agreement and any attached exhibits, the provisions of this Agreement shall control. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and the attached exhibits, the following order of precedence shall apply: (1) The Agreement; (2) The City’s Request for Proposal (Exhibit “A”) and (3) the Contractor’s cost proposal quote (Exhibit “B”).
7. Status as Independent Contractor.
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A. Contractor is, and shall at all times remain as to City, a wholly independent Contractor. Contractor shall have no power to incur any debt, obligation, or liability on behalf of City or otherwise act on behalf of City as an agent, except as specifically provided herein. Neither City nor any of its agents shall have control over the conduct of Contractor or any of Contractor's employees, except as set forth in this Agreement. Contractor shall not, at any time, or in any manner, represent that it or any of its agents or employees are in any manner employees of City.
B. Contractor agrees to pay all required taxes on amounts paid to Contractor under this Agreement, and to indemnify and hold City harmless from any and all taxes, assessments, penalties, and interest asserted against City by reason of the independent Contractor relationship created by this Agreement. In the event that City is audited by any Federal, State agency, including the Public Employee Retirement System, regarding the independent contractor status of Contractor and the audit in any way fails to sustain the validity of a wholly independent contractor relationship between City and Contractor, its employees or subcontractors, then Contractor agrees to reimburse City for all costs, including accounting and attorney's fees, arising out of such audit and any appeals relating thereto.
C. Contractor shall fully comply with Workers' Compensation laws regarding Contractor and Contractor's employees. Contractor further agrees to indemnify and hold City harmless from any failure of Contractor to comply with applicable Worker's Compensation laws.
D. Contractor shall, at Contractor’s sole cost and expense fully secure and comply with all federal, state and local governmental permit or licensing requirements, including but not limited to the City of Diamond Bar.
E. In addition to any other remedies it may have, City shall have the right to offset against the amount of any fees due to Contractor under this Agreement any amount due to City from Contractor as a result of Contractor's failure to promptly pay to City any reimbursement or indemnification required by this Agreement or for any amount or penalty levied against the City for Contractor’s failure to comply with this Section.
8. Standard of Performance. Contractor shall perform all work at the standard of care and skill ordinarily exercised by members of the profession under similar conditions and represents that it and any subcontractors it may engage, possess any and all licenses which are required to perform the work contemplated by this Agreement and shall maintain all appropriate licenses during the performance of the work.
Risk of Loss. Contractor is not responsible for the loss, damage, or theft of personal property. Contractor is not responsible for the personal injury of customers, or third parties caused by the negligent or intentional acts of the City, passengers or third parties.
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Passenger Conduct. At any time during the charter trip the Contractor, or the driver as the Contractor’s representative, reserves the right to refuse to transport any person or persons that Contractor or its representative believes to be in violation of the Charter Passenger Policy attached hereto as Exhibit “C”. Compliance with this policy is required of each passenger. Failure to comply with this policy may result in immediate removal up to suspension of charter transportation privileges.
Contractor is not responsible for any passengers who have not boarded the vehicle at the time of departure. City must provide their own supervision if required. The Contractor is not responsible for the City’s failure to provide supervision. Any activity that interferes with the safe operation of the vehicle shall be discontinued immediately.
Use of any external signage or decoration requires prior Contractor approval and may be subject to applicable law.
9. Indemnification. To the maximum extent permitted by Civil Code section 2782.8, Contractor shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless City, its officers, officials, employees and volunteers ("Indemnitees") from and against all liability, loss, damage, expense, cost (including without limitation reasonable attorneys' fees, expert fees and all other costs and fees of litigation) of every nature arising out of or in connection with:
(1) Any and all claims under Workers’ Compensation Act and other employee benefit acts with respect to Contractor’s employees or Contractor’s contractor’s.
(2) Any and all claims arising out of Contractor's performance of work hereunder or its failure to comply with any of its obligations contained in this Agreement, regardless of City’s passive negligence, but excepting such loss or damage which is caused by the active negligence or willful misconduct of the City. Should City in its sole discretion find Contractor’s legal counsel unacceptable, then Contractor shall reimburse the City its costs of defense, including without limitation reasonable attorneys' fees, expert fees and all other costs and fees of litigation. The Contractor shall promptly pay any final judgment rendered against the Indemnitees. It is expressly understood and agreed that the foregoing provisions are intended to be as broad and inclusive as is permitted by the law of the State of California and will survive termination of this Agreement. Except for the Indemnitees, this Agreement shall not be construed to extend to any third-party indemnification rights of any kind. (3) Any and all claims for loss, injury to or death of persons or damage to property caused by the negligent professional act or omission in the performance of professional services pursuant to this Agreement.
(4) The Contractor's obligations to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the City shall survive termination of this Agreement.
10. Insurance.
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A. Contractor shall at all times during the term of this Agreement carry, maintain, and keep in full force and effect, with an insurance company authorized to do business in the State of California and approved by the City the following insurance:
(1) a policy or policies of broad-form comprehensive general liability insurance written on an occurrence basis with minimum limits of $5,000,000.00 combined single limit coverage against any injury, death, loss or damage as a result of wrongful or negligent acts by Contractor, its officers, employees, agents, and independent Contractors in performance of services under this Agreement; (2) property damage insurance with a minimum limit of $5,000,000.00 per occurrence;
(3) automotive liability insurance written on an occurrence basis covering all owned, non-owned and hired automobiles, with minimum combined single limits coverage of $5,000,000.00; and
(4) Worker's Compensation insurance when required by law, with a minimum limit of $3,000,000.00 or the amount required by law, whichever is greater.
B. The City, its officers, employees, agents, and volunteers shall be named as additional insureds on the policies as to comprehensive general liability, property damage, and automotive liability. The policies as to comprehensive general liability, property damage, and automobile liability shall provide that they are primary, and that any insurance maintained by the City shall be excess insurance only.
C. All insurance policies shall provide that the insurance coverage shall not be non-renewed, canceled, reduced, or otherwise modified (except through the addition of additional insureds to the policy) by the insurance carrier without the insurance carrier giving City at least ten (10) days prior written notice thereof. Contractor agrees that it will not cancel, reduce or otherwise modify the insurance coverage and in the event of any of the same by the insurer to immediately notify the City.
D. All policies of insurance shall cover the obligations of Contractor pursuant to the terms of this Agreement and shall be issued by an insurance company which is authorized to do business in the State of California or which is approved in writing by the City; and shall be placed have a current A.M. Best's rating of no less than A-, VII. In the case of professional liability insurance, such coverage shall be issued by companies either licensed or admitted to conduct business in the State of California so long as such insurers possesses the aforementioned Best's rating.
E. Contractor shall submit to City (1) insurance certificates indicating compliance with the minimum insurance requirements above, and (2) insurance policy endorsements or a copy of the insurance policy evidencing the additional insured requirements in this Agreement, in a form acceptable to the City.
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F. Self-Insured Retention/Deductibles. All policies required by this Agreement shall allow City, as additional insured, to satisfy the self-insured retention (“SIR”) and/or deductible of the policy in lieu of the Contractor (as the named insured) should Contractor fail to pay the SIR or deductible requirements. The amount of the SIR or deductible shall be subject to the approval of the City. Contractor understands and agrees that satisfaction of this requirement is an express condition precedent to the effectiveness of this Agreement. Failure by Contractor as primary insured to pay its SIR or deductible constitutes a material breach of this Agreement. Should City pay the SIR or deductible on Contractor’s due to such failure in order to secure defense and indemnification as an additional insured under the policy, City may include such amounts as damages in any action against Contractor for breach of this Agreement in addition to any other damages incurred by City due to the breach.
G. Subrogation. With respect to any Workers' Compensation Insurance or Employer's Liability Insurance, the insurer shall waive all rights of subrogation and contribution it may have against the Indemnitees.
H. Failure to Maintain Insurance. If Contractor fails to keep the insurance required under this Agreement in full force and effect, City may take out the necessary insurance and any premiums paid, plus 10% administrative overhead, shall be paid by Contractor, which amounts may be deducted from any payments due Contractor.
I. Contractor shall include all sub-Contractors, if any, as insureds under its policies or shall furnish separate certificates and endorsements for each subcontractor to the City for review and approval. All insurance for subcontractors shall be subject to all of the requirements stated herein.
11. Confidentiality. Contractor in the course of its duties may have access to confidential data of City, private individuals, or employees of the City. Contractor covenants that all data, documents, discussion, or other information developed or received by Contractor or provided for performance of this Agreement are deemed confidential and shall not be disclosed by Contractor without written authorization by City. City shall grant such authorization if disclosure is required by law. All City data shall be returned to City upon the termination of this Agreement. Contractor's covenant under this section shall survive the termination of this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent Contractor prepares reports of a proprietary nature specifically for and in connection with certain projects, the City shall not, except with Contractor's prior written consent, use the same for other unrelated projects.
12. Ownership of Materials. Except as specifically provided in this Agreement, all materials provided by Contractor in the performance of this Agreement shall be and remain the property of City without restriction or limitation upon its use or dissemination by City. Contractor may, however, make and retain such copies of said documents and materials as Contractor may desire.
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13. Maintenance and Inspection of Records. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, Contractor and its subcontractors shall maintain reasonably full and complete books, documents, papers, accounting records, and other information (collectively, the “records”) pertaining to the costs of and completion of services performed under this Agreement. The City and any of their authorized representatives shall have access to and the right to audit and reproduce any of Contractor's records regarding the services provided under this Agreement. Contractor shall maintain all such records for a period of at least three (3) years after termination or completion of this Agreement. Contractor agrees to make available all such records for inspection or audit at its offices during normal business hours and upon three (3) days' notice from the City, and copies thereof shall be furnished if requested.
14. Conflict of Interest.
A. Contractor covenants that it presently has no interest and shall not acquire any interest, direct or indirect, which may be affected by the services to be performed by Contractor under this Agreement, or which would conflict in any manner with the performance of its services hereunder. Contractor further covenants that, in performance of this Agreement, no person having any such interest shall be employed by it. Furthermore, Contractor shall avoid the appearance of having any interest which would conflict in any manner with the performance of its services pursuant to this Agreement.
B. Contractor covenants not to give or receive any compensation, monetary or otherwise, to or from the ultimate vendor(s) of hardware or software to City as a result of the performance of this Agreement. Contractor's covenant under this section shall survive the termination of this Agreement.
15. Termination. The City may terminate the Agreement at any time with or without cause. The contractor may not cancel the services for any reason (excluding force majeure). In the event of such termination, City agrees to pay Contractor for services satisfactorily rendered prior to the effective date of termination. Immediately upon receiving written notice of termination, Contractor shall discontinue performing services, unless the notice provides otherwise, except those services reasonably necessary to effectuate the termination. The City shall be not liable for any claim of lost profits.
In addition to any other termination rights set in this Agreement and without prejudice to any other rights or remedies that either Party may have, either Party may terminate this Agreement immediately by delivery of written notice to the other Party at any time if any of the following occur: (i) the other Party files a voluntary petition for bankruptcy which is not dismissed within ninety (90) days; (ii) the other Party discontinues its business; (iii) a receiver or trustee of any of the other Party’s property is appointed and such appointment is not discharged within ninety (90) days; (iv) the other Party breaches a material provision of this Agreement and such default is not cured within fifteen (15) business days after written notice thereof; and (v) any of the representations or warranties made by the other Party in this Agreement prove to be untrue or inaccurate in any material respect.
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16. Personnel/Designated Person. Contractor represents that it has, or will secure at its own expense, all personnel required to perform the services under this Agreement. All of the services required under this Agreement will be performed by Contractor or under it supervision, and all personnel engaged in the work shall be qualified to perform such services. Except as provided in this Agreement, Contractor reserves the right to determine the assignment of its own employees to the performance of Contractors’ services under this Agreement, but City reserves the right in its sole discretion to require Contractor to exclude any employee from performing services on City's premises.
17. Non-Discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity.
A. Contractor shall not discriminate as to race, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental handicap, medical condition, or sexual orientation, in the performance of its services and duties pursuant to this Agreement, and will comply with all rules and regulations of City relating thereto.
Such nondiscrimination shall include but not be limited to the following: employment, upgrading, demotion, transfers, recruitment or recruitment advertising; layoff or termination; rates of pay or other forms of compensation; and selection for training, including apprenticeship.
B. Contractor will, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of Contractor state either that it is an equal opportunity employer or that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sex, marital status, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental handicap, medical condition, or sexual orientation.
C. Contractor will cause the foregoing provisions to be inserted in all subcontracts for any work covered by this Agreement except contracts or subcontracts for standard commercial supplies or raw materials.
18. Reserved.
19. Time Is of the Essence. Time is of the essence in this Agreement.
Contractor shall do all things necessary and incidental to the prosecution of Contractor's work.
20. Reserved.
21. Reserved.
22. Assignment. Contractor shall not assign or transfer any interest in this Agreement nor the performance of any of Contractor's obligations hereunder, without the prior written consent of City, and any attempt by Contractor to so assign this Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 9 Contractor Services –Transportation
Agreement or any rights, duties, or obligations arising hereunder shall be void and of no effect.
23. Compliance with Laws. Contractor shall comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, codes and regulations of the federal, state, and local governments.
24. Non-Waiver of Terms, Rights and Remedies. Waiver by either party of any one or more of the conditions of performance under this Agreement shall not be a waiver of any other condition of performance under this Agreement. In no event shall the making by City of any payment to Contractor constitute or be construed as a waiver by City of any breach of covenant, or any default which may then exist on the part of Contractor, and the making of any such payment by City shall in no way impair or prejudice any right or remedy available to City with regard to such breach or default.
25. Attorney's Fees. In the event that either party to this Agreement shall commence any legal or equitable action or proceeding to enforce or interpret the provisions of this Agreement, the prevailing party in such action or proceeding shall be entitled to recover its costs of suit, including reasonable attorney's fees and costs, including costs of expert witnesses and consultants
26. Mediation. Any dispute or controversy arising under this Agreement, or in connection with any of the terms and conditions hereof, which cannot be resolved by the parties, may be referred by the parties hereto for mediation. A third party, neutral mediation service shall be selected, as agreed upon by the parties and the costs and expenses thereof shall be borne equally by the parties hereto. The parties agree to utilize their good faith efforts to resolve any such dispute or controversy so submitted to mediation. It is specifically understood and agreed by the parties hereto that mutual good faith efforts to resolve the same any dispute or controversy as provided herein, shall be a condition precedent to the institution of any action or proceeding, whether at law or in equity with respect to any such dispute or controversy.
27. Notices. Any notices, bills, invoices, or reports required by this Agreement shall be deemed received on (a) the day of delivery if delivered by hand during regular business hours or by facsimile before or during regular business hours; or (b) on the third business day following deposit in the United States mail, postage prepaid, to the addresses heretofore set forth in the Agreement, or to such other addresses as the parties may, from time to time, designate in writing pursuant to the provisions of this section.
“CONTRACTOR” “CITY”
Durham School Services, LP. City of Diamond Bar
2601 Navistar Dr. 21810 Copley Drive
Lisle, IL 60532 Diamond Bar, CA 91765-4178
Attn.: Paul Egger Attn.: Andee Williams
Phone: 714.267.7936 Phone: 909.839.7076
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E-Mail: E-mail:
[email protected] [email protected]
28. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be interpreted, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of California. The venue for any action brought under this Agreement shall be in Los Angeles County.
29. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be the original, and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.
30. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, and any other documents incorporated herein by reference, represent the entire and integrated agreement between Contractor and City. This Agreement supersedes all prior oral or written negotiations, representations or agreements. This Agreement may not be amended, nor any provision or breach hereof waived, except in a writing signed by the parties which expressly refers to this Agreement. Amendments on behalf of the City will only be valid if signed by a person duly authorized to do so under the City's Purchasing Ordinance.
IN WITNESS of this Agreement, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above.
" Contractor " "City"
Durham School Services, LP. CITY OF DIAMOND BAR
By: Durham Holding ll, LLC. Its General Partner
By:____________________________ By: ________________________ Printed Name:_____________________ Daniel Fox, City Manager Title:_____________________________
ATTEST:
_____________________________
Kristina Santana, City Clerk
Approved as to form:
By:_____________________________
Omar Sandoval, City Attorney
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Paul Egger
Vice President, Charter
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
Transportation (School
Busses) for Day Camp
Excursions
Contract Services
Submission Deadline
Friday, February 28, 2025 by 4 P.M.
Exhibit A
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1. INTRODUCTION
The City of Diamond Bar is requesting proposals from qualified School Bus Transportation contractors to provide transportation services for the 2025 Summer Day Camp Program Excursions with the option to enter into a five-year term agreement if selected.
RFP Date: February 12, 2025
Project Name: Transportation Services – City of Diamond Bar – Day Camp
Department: Parks and Recreation
Proposal Deadline: Friday, February 28, 2025 by 4 P.M.
Proposals shall be delivered by the proposal deadline via the PlanetBids portal https://vendors.planetbids.com/portal/39500/bo/bo-detail/126295.
All proposals submitted in response to this RFP will become property of the City upon submittal and a matter of public record pursuant to applicable law. Late submittals will not be accepted.
Questions regarding this RFP shall be made in writing via email to Andee Williams, Recreation Supervisor, at [email protected], no later than February 20, 2025 by 4 P.M. Questions and responses may be made available to all potential proposers.
The City will review all proposals received by the submittal deadline indicated in this RFP. Proposals that do not meet the minimum requirements of this RFP will be rejected. The City reserves the right to select the firm that best meets the overall needs and offers the best overall value to the City based on a variety of criteria, including but not limited to, experience, quality of work product, successful completion of similar projects, and cost effectiveness, but not solely on the lowest cost of services.
The following tentative schedule has been established for the selection of a contractor which is subject to change:
• RFP Posting Date February 12, 2025
• Written Questions Deadline February 20, 2025
• Proposal Due Date February 28, 2025
• Award of Contract March 14, 2025
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The City of Diamond Bar shall not be liable for any pre-contractual expenses incurred by any Contractor, nor shall any Contractor include any such expenses as part of the proposed cost. Pre-contractual expenses include any expense incurred by a contractor prior to the date of an executed contract, such as the cost of preparing and submitting a proposal and negotiating any terms with the City.
2. ABOUT THE CITY
Diamond Bar is a scenic community located on the eastern edge of Los Angeles County, within minutes of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties. With its origin as a center for ranching perched among a landscape of rolling hills in the East San Gabriel Valley, Diamond Bar became one of the first master planned communities in Los Angeles County dating back to 1956, and has grown since that time to be known for its friendly country-living atmosphere, abundant open spaces, exceptional public facilities, well-maintained parks and hiking trails, and excellent schools. In 1989, Diamond Bar became the 86th city in Los Angeles County. Today, Diamond Bar covers 14.9 square miles and is home to 57,177 residents.
Diamond Bar is bounded by the cities of Industry and Pomona to the north, Chino Hills to the east, and unincorporated Los Angeles County to the south and west (Figure B-1; Regional Setting Map). With convenient access to State Routes SR-57 and SR-60, Diamond Bar is within 30 miles driving distance of the cities of Los Angeles, Riverside, and Irvine, making it a desirable destination to live and work. The Industry Metrolink Station lies on the City’s northern border, providing east-west transit connections to Los Angeles and Riverside.
3. PROJECT BACKGROUND
The City of Diamond Bar’s Summer Day Camp is a nine-week recreation program held at Heritage Park located at 2900 S. Brea Canyon Road, Diamond Bar, CA 91765. Day Camp is designed to provide a fun experience in a safe environment for children ages 6-12. Camp activities include two excursions per week.
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4. SCOPE OF WORK AND DELIVERABLES
To be considered, proposals must be submitted to the City of Diamond Bar by Friday, February 28, 2025. All proposals must be itemized per excursion per week and include tax, and any other additional charges. Once the vendor has been selected, updated excursion information and locations will be provided.
Quote for one (1) school bus that can accommodate a minimum of 57 passengers.
Two bus trips per week for nine weeks, June 2 through August 1, 2025. (See attached excursion schedule of locations, times and dates)
• Bus will arrive, depart and return at scheduled times. • Bus will stay on site at locations with Summer Day Camp at all times. • Bus will need to have seatbelts for each seat.
• Flexibility for City staff to change times, dates and locations within one week of advance notice.
Please quote on the cost proposal bid sheet.
5. FORMAT AND CONTENTS OF PROPOSAL
The Contractor’s proposal shall contain the following information and shall be organized as follows:
A. Contractors Experience/References
Provide a list of at least three references who may be contacted to discuss their experience working with the Company on similar projects. Please provide contact information including Organization, Name, Title, Address, Phone, Email, Project Name and Date of Completion.
B. Cost for Services
Please complete the attached Cost Proposal – Bid Sheet on PlanetBids.
Provide a detailed not-to-exceed cost proposal to accomplish the services requested. Identify the hourly allocation of resources by discipline and by each task identified in the Scope of Work, including billing rates for personnel, printing, attendance at public meetings, and any other cost anticipated. Please clearly highlight any additional or recommended tasks and associated costs that are included. No additional charges for items such as transportation, out-of-pocket expenses, etc., will be paid unless Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Transportation Services – City of Diamond Bar – Day Camp February 12, 2025
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these are specifically included in the proposal. Contractor must be able to accept payment in check form and provide itemized invoices.
C. Insurance
Proof of insurance requirements addressed in the professional services agreement of this Request for Proposal shall be submitted by the selected Contractor upon execution of the contract as defined under the City’s existing purchasing Ordinance.
The selected Contractor must submit a "Statement Certifying Insurance Coverage" certifying that the required insurance coverage will be obtained by the Contractor, and that the Contractor understands said coverage is prerequisite for entering into an agreement with the City. The Contractor is required to confirm with its insurance carrier that it can meet all the requirements for insurance. Failure to meet the insurance regulations as set forth shall result in proposer’s disqualification.
6. SUBCONTRACTING
The Contractor may utilize the service of specialty Subcontractors on those parts of the work which, under normal contracting practices, are performed by specialty Subcontractors. Unless a specific Subcontractor is listed by the Contractor, Contractor is representing to City that Contractor has all appropriate licenses, certifications, and registrations to perform the work hereunder.
After submission of the Proposal, the Contractor shall be fully responsible to the City for the performance of the Subcontractors, and of persons either directly or indirectly employed by them. Nothing contained herein shall create any contractual relation between any Subcontractor and the City.
7. RIGHT TO REJECT ALL PROPOSALS
The City reserves the right to withdraw, reduce, or revise elements of the scope of work prior to the award of any contract. Furthermore, the City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals submitted; and no representation is made hereby that any contract will be awarded pursuant to this Request for Proposal, or otherwise.
All costs incurred in the preparation of the proposal, in the submission of additional information and/or in any other aspect of a proposal prior to the award of a written contract will be borne by the proposer. The City shall only provide the staff Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Transportation Services – City of Diamond Bar – Day Camp February 12, 2025
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assistance and documentation specifically referred to herein and shall not be responsible for any other cost of obligation of any kind which may be incurred by the proposing firm.
8. SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS
Exhibit A – RFP
Exhibit B – Cost Proposal – Bid Sheet (based on 2025 excursions) Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E DURHAMSCHOOLSERVICES.COM
2601 Navistar Drive • Lisle, IL 60532
CITY OF DIAMOND BAR
RFP #: Transportation (School Busses) for Day Camps Excursions DUE: February 28, 2025, 4PM
Paul Egger (714) 267-7936
Vice President, Charter
EXHIBIT "B"
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E School Bus Transportation
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 1
Letter of Introduction 2
Cost for Services
Bid Form 3
Pricing Details 4
Contractor Information and Qualifications
Service Overview 7
Service Request Process / After-Hours 8
References 9
Company Overview (Experience) 10
Additional Information
Driver Hiring and Training 15
Safety 42
Equipment and Maintenance 64
W9 79
Insurance 80
Deviations/Exceptions for Consideration 81
Response Page 1
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 2713 River Ave | Rosemead, CA 91770 | P: 714.267.7936 | [email protected] | durhamcharterservices.com FULL-SERVICE TRANSPORTATION y ROUTE OPTIMIZATION AND SCHEDULING y SPECIAL NEEDS EXPERTISE y CHARTER BUS SERVICE February 28, 2025
City of Diamond Bar
Attn: Andee Williams, Recreation Supervisor
RE: Transportation Services – City of Diamond bard – Day Camp Dear Andee Williams,
Durham School Services is pleased to submit the enclosed response for the City of Diamond Bar’s RFP for “Transportation Services – City of Diamond bard – Day Camp”. I am confident we are the right choice to provide your passengers with safe reliable transportation. My name is Paul Egger, I will be your point of contact for this proposal.
Paul Egger
Vice President, Charter
2713 River Ave
Rosemead, CA 91770
[email protected]
714.267.7936
We have over 100 years of experience, and we currently partner with more than 400 school districts and municipalities across the United States. Many municipalities and school districts throughout the country have found that contracting with Durham has enabled them to not only solve their transportation challenges, but to also control costs while maintaining the highest safety standards, service, and accountability.
Our customer retention rate is one of the highest in the school bus transportation industry and it didn’t happen by chance. We believe our personal attention to our partners’ needs, our commitment to safety and our customer service philosophy and practices are the reasons our clients are satisfied. Our proactive approach to superior customer service sets us apart from the rest. Thank you for the opportunity to continue our mutually beneficial partnership with you.
Respectfully,
Paul D. Egger
Vices President, Charter
Response Page 2
espectfully,
aul D. Egger
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Company Name
Address
Name & Title
Phone
Email
Week
Excusrions
WEEK 1 Main Event Bowling 5201 E Montclair Plaza Lane Montclair, CA 91763 6/3/2025 9:00am 3:30pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 6/5/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmWEEK 2John's Incredible Pizza 5280 Arrow Hwy Montclair, CA 91763 6/10/2025 10:00am 2:30pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 6/12/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmWEEK 3Urban Air Trampoline 1515 S Harbor Blvd, Ste 10, Fullerton, CA 92832 6/17/2025 8:00am 12:30pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 6/19/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmWEEK 4Harkins 3070 Chino Hills Ave 91709 6/24/2025 11:30am 3:30pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 6/26/2025 12:30pm 4:30pm CITY OF DIAMOND BAR: COST PROPOSAL - BID SHEET 2025
Excursion Address Date
Return Time
(Busses return to
Heritage)
Arrival Time (Busses
arrive @ Heritage)
Total Cost for (1)
Bus
Response Page
Durham School Services, LP2601 Navistar Dr., Bldg 5, Lisle IL 60532Paul Egger, Vice President, [email protected] $578.52$452.35
$484.66
$452.35$484.66$452.35$484.66$452.35
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E WEEK 5
Infuzion Zone 4200 Chino Hills Parkway Suite 400, Chino Hills, CA 91709 7/1/2025 10:00am 3:30pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 7/3/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmWEEK 6Lucky Art - Crayonology 5135 Holt Blvd, Montclair, CA 91763 7/8/2025 9:00am 2:00pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 7/10/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmWEEK 7Sawdust Factory 1525 Howard Access Rd STE. F, Upland, CA 91786 7/15/2025 10:30am 3:30pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 7/17/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmWEEK 8Discovery Cube 2500 N Main St, Santa Ana, CA 92705 7/22/2025 9:00am 3:30pmDeane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 7/24/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmWEEK 9 Altitude Trampoline 533 W Arrow Highway, San Dimas, CA 91773 7/29/2025 8:00am 12:30pm Deane Home Swim Club 1010 Overlook Ridge Rd, Diamond Bar, CA 91765 7/31/2025 12:30pm 4:30pmVOLUNTEEN TRIPKnotts Berry Farm 8039 Beach Blvd, Buena Park, CA 90620 8/6/2025 9:00am 8:30pm**All buses will pick up from Heritage Park located at 2900 S. Brea Canyon Road, Diamond Bar, CA 91765*As summer gets closer, times will be confirmed. Some trip times may flucutate slightly, but they are pretty accurate as listed Response Page
$536.09$452.35
$510.37
$452.35$510.37$452.35$578.52$452.35$578.52$452.35$978.37 Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Signature
DatePrinted NameTitleCompany Name
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF REVIEW
“I affirm that I have reviewed the Request for Proposal (RFP). I have completed the Cost Proposal - Bid Sheet to the best of my knowledge. I understand that all information submitted about this RFP may be subject to the provisions of the Public Records Act. The City shall have the right to terminate at any time any contract awarded to an RFP response that contains false information.”
ADDITIONAL DETAILS
Response Page
Please see attached Pricing Details.
2/28/2025
Paul Egger
Vice President, Charter
Durham School Services, LP
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E School Bus Transportation
Pricing Details
Bus Type:
School Bus
Buses:
School Buses will be utilized.
School buses will accommodate up to 48 Adults sitting 2 per seat.
Smaller lift-equipped buses available upon request at booking.
All buses operated by licensed School Bus Drivers.
Additional Charges:
Cleaning beyond what is normal and customary, $75.00.
Biological cleanup as quoted.
Buses cancelled within five (5) business days: $200.00 per bus.
Late Booking/Change within (5) business days of trip, subject to a fee of $50.00 per bus.
Extension of time or significant change in destination may result in proportional rate adjustment.
Rates are based minimum duration of 4.5 live hours
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Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E School Bus Transportation
Service Overview
Durham will utilize its centralized Charter Contact Center as a single point of contact for all requests in addition to any follow-up or back-office needs. This approach will facilitate streamlined communication between our organizations.
Durham School Services is committed to providing you with safe and reliable transportation for your students and passengers, we understand the importance of partnering with an experienced, dependable, and consistent transportation provider.
Durham School Services, L.P.
2713 River Ave
Rosemead, CA 91770
Response Page 7
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E School Bus Transportation
After Hours Contact
Trip Request Procedures
After Hours Contact:
Should the need arise to contact a location after-hours, all trip confirmations contain the name of the Service Center operating the trip, and the location’s contact number.
Additionally, our Charter Center Manager, Britt Bogust, may be reached afterhours at 818-282-6198, or via e-mail at [email protected].
Trip Request Procedure:
All requests will be received by our Charter Contact Center where our dedicated customer service team will be your primary point of contact. For additional details please see Service Approach. To contact our dedicated charter center, please use one of the following methods:
Phone: 833-698-7474
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: NationalExpressCharter.com
Once a request is received, our team will confirm availability with our supporting locations. Once availability has been established, a trip confirmation will be provided, that will include the trip’s details. All contact from booking to billing will be provided by our dedicated center. The only time you would need to contact anyone else would be the day of the trip. On these days, we ask our customers to contact the operating location directly, to help expedite any requests, and minimize potential delays, or extra calls needed by the customer.
Response Page 8
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E School Bus Transportation
References
City of Glendora
Summer Camp Transportation
Ramiro Valderrama
[email protected]
626-852-5204
City of Lakewood
Summer Camp Transportation
Jessica Johnson
[email protected]
562-924-1391
Ventura County Fairgrounds
Event Shuttle Bus Services
Heidi Ortiz
[email protected]
805-648-3376 x106
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School Bus Transportation
Company Overview
Durham School Services can trace its history back to a three-bus company started in 1917 in the San Gabriel Valley of California, providing student transportation service to the Rosemead School District, a community we still serve today. In its early years, Durham concentrated in special education transportation. This specialization has helped us to nurture a unique commitment to quality service that remains throughout our company today.
Headquartered in Lisle, Illinois, Durham School Services is part of the school bus transportation division of National Express LLC (NELLC). National Express Group (NEG) is our parent company and is located in the United Kingdom.
Our Company’s Vision and Values
VISION
Our vision is to deliver service excellence to earn the partnership, loyalty and trust of our customers and
employees.
With combined resources, our organization operates more than 15,500 school buses, employs more than 19,500 people, and serves more than 400 school districts in 30 states and three provinces.
NELLC Corporate
Headquarters
Located in metro Chicago
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VALUES
Durham School Services is pleased to have the opportunity to partner with your district; we are committed to serve you safely and to provide the personal attention you need for successful transportation services. Our operations focus on our five core values:
Safety, Customer, People, Community and Excellence.
Safety
Safety Performance
No one takes safety more seriously than we
do; our goal is zero accidents. With
collaborative support from our employees, we
have created a safer atmosphere by
encouraging open discussions on safety
concerns and by hiring strong managers who
make sure employees have the appropriate
training and equipment to safely perform their
jobs.
Customers
Retention
Our customer retention rate is one of the
highest in the school bus transportation
industry; we’re proud to have maintained a
high level for the past several years. We
believe our personal attention to our district
partners’ needs, our commitment to safety,
and our customer service philosophy and
practices are just some of the reasons our
customers are so satisfied with us.
Exceptional Customer Service
Our vision is to earn the lifetime loyalty of each district by delivering safe, high quality, passenger transport services.
1 2
We will work closely with you and are always open to suggestions to ensure your program is the best it can be. Our goal is to deliver a smooth and seamless partnership between your district and Durham School Services.
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School Bus Transportation
Company Overview
People
We Are a People Business
From the students and passengers we
transport safely every day to our outstanding
team members making a difference in the
communities where we live and work, it’s all
about people.
Enjoy the Ride Program
We know how important our people are to the
success of our organization. Our employee
relations program, Enjoy the Ride, was
designed to acknowledge the effort and contribution employees make to our company every day.
Employee Diversity
Our company has a long history of employing a diverse workforce. Our focus is treating people with trust and respect and never tolerating discriminatory behavior. Through our equal employment opportunity policy and management training program, managers and supervisors are well versed in our zero tolerance nondiscrimination policies.
Community
Communications and Social
Media
POSITIVE DISTRICT RELATIONS
Our communications department works closely
with districts to publicize important news
affecting local school bus services. We are
responsive to newspaper, radio and television
media, and have a history of success at
improving the public image of school bus
transportation.
SUPPORTING YOUR DISTRICT’S EVENTS
We look forward to supporting your district’s community events and district projects.
Our community involvement includes donating buses, collecting goods for families in need and active participation in local charity events in your community. 3 4
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SOCIAL MEDIA
We understand the importance of social media and the expectation for company information to be available online and in real-time. We encourage district administrators, parents, employees and the community to join us to learn about job fairs, community events, awards and employee recognition programs.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/DurhamSchoolServices
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/durham-school-services Twitter: @DurhamSchoolSvc
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DurhamSchoolServices Instagram: https://instagram.com/durham_school_services/ Website: www.durhamschoolservices.com
Community Diversity
MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PARTICIPATION
Our company is proud to support local minority-owned businesses and vendors. We will, in good faith, continue to support minority businesses within your community.
Excellence
As part of our commitment to excellence and
continuously increase our value offering to our
customers and employees, we have a
dedicated organization focused on driving
efficiencies throughout our organization,
embed best practices and sustain a culture of
innovation. Our management operating
system incorporates lean and six sigma
methodologies to constantly identify and
eliminate barriers to performance excellence
and empower our employees to provide the
best in class service to our customers.
Taking Maintenance Excellence to the Next Level
Maintenance technicians are a critical part of our mission to getting children to school safely, on time and ready to learn®. Providing safe student transportation starts with putting safe vehicles on the road. To foster excellence in its maintenance operations, we 5 Response Page 13
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School Bus Transportation
Company Overview
support our maintenance
professionals who work to achieve
master technician certification by the
National Institute for Automotive
Service Excellence (ASE), an
independent, non-profit organization
that works to improve the quality of
vehicle repair and service by testing
and certifying repair and service
professionals.
As we continue on the path to
excellence, our maintenance teams are
taking the extra steps towards becoming “the best of the best” by earning their ASE.
Individual maintenance technicians across our organization have put in the hard work and dedication to complete a series of rigorous tests, ranging from body systems and diesel engines to suspension and steering, to earn ASE master certification. In addition to earning master certification, their respective maintenance shops went even further to achieve ASE Blue Seal of Excellence – the ultimate recognition from ASE.At least 75 percent of technicians performing diagnosis and repairs at our customer service centers must be ASE certified in order to qualify for the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence Recognition Program. Each area of service offered in the maintenance shop must be covered by at least one ASE-certified technician.
Illinois Performance Excellence Center (ILPEx) for Commitment to Excellence
2016 AND 2015 BRONZE AWARDS
National Express LLC was selected for this award based
on our demonstrated commitment to excellence and our pursuit of continuous improvement. This recognition is especially meaningful as organizations can take many years to achieve this honor. In the beginning of November 2015, a team of assessors spent an entire week in our corporate headquarters and also visited our Aurora, Lake Villa and Carpentersville customer service centers, speaking to over 100 team members.
During the visit, the assessing team dug into the details of our business and assessed the extent to which we demonstrate excellence; our business was assessed using the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for excellence.
The ILPEx assessment was a review of our organization’s continuous improvement efforts. This recognition not only confirms our improvement from 2011 to 2016 but validates the journey to excellence that we continue to travel.
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Employee Hiring
OUR STAFFING PHILOSOPHY AND WORK CULTURE
Durham School Services is not just another bus company. We differentiate ourselves by providing the best service to our customers while providing the best opportunities to our employees. Our approach is to treat both customers and employees as partners where we work to deliver on long-term commitments around goals, priorities and standards.
We know our employees are the key to our success, so we give them every opportunity to develop and leverage their strengths. We provide employees with the following:
Climate of trust and respect
Commitment to safety through employee screening, training, technology and corporate support
Open door policy
Professional job-related training
Competitive wages and benefits
Career growth path
You can tell the difference if you visit a Durham School Services customer service center. You will see how employees interact with one another, depend on each other as a team and respect the experience each has to offer. This dedication can be seen in the way our drivers dedicate time to children, to the community and to the special needs children they serve. Thousands of former school district employees, who now work for us, enjoy our special focus on serving our children and the community. You will see thorough attention to detail in every aspect of Through effective employee screening,
continuous training, the use of
prevention tools and communicating daily
safety messages to our employees, we
continually strive to improve our safety
performance.
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the job, from drivers who check the buses over just once more before beginning their routes to dispatchers who must make route adjustments at a moment’s notice.
PREFERENTIAL HIRING
We practice preferential hiring with existing school district employees. After the partnership with a district begins, we will hold a “Meet and Greet” for all current transportation employees. We know that a change in employers can be difficult and that the earlier we communicate with the affected staff, the better the transition is for everyone. Our objective for this meeting is to provide information about our company practices and to encourage open communication. We will explain the hiring process, what can be expected by employees, wages, benefits and operating policies. Time is allocated for questions and answers.
The next immediate step is to hold a hiring event for all drivers and monitors. At the hiring event, stations are set up for each part of the interview process.
Key stations are:
Welcome desk – Applicants sign-in and receive company literature.
Applications – Employee applications are completed along with other necessary forms. We verify accuracy of the required documentation and gather any other needed information.
Interview – All applicants will participate in a job-related interview with the general manager, safety director or other key personnel.
ESI Assessment – All applicants complete our employee safety inventory which assesses the applicant’s tendencies and attitudes towards safety.
Pre-employment screening – After a conditional offer of employment is provided, all applicants will be scheduled for necessary employment screenings which will include drug testing and physical examinations (required by company policy and DOT standards). Additional screenings may be required by the state including fingerprinting.
Check out – We verify all information is accurate, discuss next steps and answer any remaining questions.
From here, one of our project managers will assume responsibility for completion of the transition, ensuring that every task or item listed in the transition plan is completed on schedule.
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
NEW HIRE AND FULL-TIME POSITIONS
Applicants who are interested in our full-time opportunities will complete an application and submit a resume that will be reviewed by the appropriate supervisor and recruiting team. Additional steps will include a behavioral-based interview and conditional offer of employment and completion of necessary background checks per company policy and state requirements. New hires are then placed into appropriate training and orientation sessions.
All screening and assessments comply with federal, state and local regulations.
RECRUITMENT
Driver Selection and Performance Criteria
We have expert driver recruiters to staff our operations at or above required levels at all times. Our recruiting professionals’ research market driven salaries from local and surrounding communities, including salaries from other industries which may compete for front line employees and uses this key information to ensure our salaries remain competitive in the market.
To ensure we are always properly
staffed, all locations have access to our
comprehensive online recruiting
toolkit named ADORE (Attract, Decide,
Onboard, Retain and Engage). This
toolkit includes templates, plans,
videos, marketing materials and best
practice samples of how to effectively
recruit our most important resource –
our Drivers.
Our corporate recruitment team will
partner with local operations staff to
develop a comprehensive staffing
campaign, including appropriate print and online advertising, promotions with local vendors, and various other techniques customized for your community.
Working closely with the local management team, we use a variety of recruitment techniques to attract employees from your local area:
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Community-based organizations including PTAs, churches, government agencies and local chamber of commerce groups
Print and radio advertising in local media
Advertisements at retail locations, community centers, retirement residences and veteran groups
Onsite advertisements at local customer service centers Unemployment offices and various job training programs
Direct mail to area households
DRIVER SELECTION
In support of our commitment to safety, we meet or exceed all required federal and state mandates for school bus transportation. The depth of our practice for checking employee criminal backgrounds, motor vehicle records and work history sets us apart from our competitors, both in the work environment we create and in the service we provide.
HIRING REQUIREMENTS AND POLICIES
We use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to hire all driver, monitor, maintenance and staff employees. Taleo allows us to drive a consistent hiring process that complies with all employment legislation. This ATS also allows us to evaluate our hiring effectiveness and provides us with key metrics to ensure we continually improve our overall recruiting efforts.
Each new candidate must go through our pre-employment qualification screening. We have high expectations for our employees and look for the best to serve your district. We use a third party vendor, HireRight, an industry-leading, hiring process management and compliance company, to ensure the background checks, drug testing, DOT checks, physicals, driving records and other mandated background information is thoroughly screened for the most qualified candidates.
Driver Qualifications
The following are qualifications for employment as a driver with our company:
At least 21 years old and have had a valid driver’s license for at least three years
Complete an employment application, including acceptable employment references
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Participate and successfully complete a structured, behavioral-based interview
Score acceptably on the employee safety inventory (ESI) Possess an acceptable motor vehicle report (MVR) (driving record abstract)
Submit to and pass a background check with no criminal convictions for sex, drug, violent offenses or
felonies
Complete a physical examination
Pass any additional state or locally
required driver qualification
checks (fingerprinting, child check
registries, etc.)
Successfully complete our
company’s driver training
program
Satisfactorily pass a behind-thewheel evaluation by designated evaluators
Secure a commercial driver’s
license with passenger
endorsement
Be properly licensed to operate a
school bus in the state of
employment
Bus Monitor Qualifications
The following are qualifications for employment as a bus monitor with us:
At least 18 years old
Complete an employment application, including acceptable employment references
Pass a pre-employment drug test and physical examination Complete our training program and obtain any applicable state training certifications
Pass a criminal background check
Satisfactorily demonstrate job competency through an in-bus evaluation by designated evaluators
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Medical Assessments
As a condition of hire, we require applicants for driving positions and non-driving safety-sensitive positions, e.g., mechanics and bus assistants, to undergo medical examinations to ensure they are physically fit for the job for which they have applied. At a minimum, medical assessments are given:
At the driver and monitor selection stage
Every two years for drivers
Annually for drivers over the age of 65 where state and local laws allow frequency of medical assessments to be based on age
Motor Vehicle Record Check
We review each applicant’s and employee’s current motor vehicle report. At a minimum, applicants and employees in driving positions must meet the following standards for driving records:
No driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence for at least 10 years
No homicide, manslaughter or assault arising out of the operation of a motor vehicle
No major violations within the past 36 months:
Failure to stop at the scene of an accident (hit and run) Driving while license is suspended or revoked
Possession of opened container of alcoholic beverages
Reckless driving
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Speed contest, drag racing or
attempting to elude an officer of the
law
Speeding ticket for driving more than
15 miles per hour or more over the
posted limit
Annual Review of Driving
Record
Driving records for each employee who
drives a company vehicle must be obtained
and reviewed annually. Driving records may
be reviewed more frequently as required by
state law or contract. As part of the review,
the driving record is signed and dated by a
supervisor and the employee.
Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs
Our drug and alcohol testing program has been created to protect our customers, the public, and our employees. It mandates discipline up to and including termination. This program is intended to comply with all applicable state and federal regulations governing workplace anti-drug and alcohol abuse programs in the transportation industry.
Our third party vendor, HireRight, has assigned a medical review officer to perform employee drug and alcohol testing mandated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) in 49 CFR Part 40, “Procedures for Transportation Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs.” Drugs are prohibited in the workplace by “The Drug-Free Workplace Act,” located in 20 CFR Part 29.
Accordingly, there are two specific drug and alcohol testing procedures outlined in our company’s drug and alcohol prevention program; we include DOT procedures and company procedures. The DOT procedures apply to employees and job applicants in safety-sensitive job functions, including all drivers and other employees who may operate commercial motor vehicles or perform safety-sensitive functions.
We meet or exceed all
required state
mandates for school
bus transportation.
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Under the DOT procedures, testing will be conducted in the following instances:
Pre-employment
When a driver is involved in an accident that results in any of the following criteria:
¾ Fatality
¾ Bodily injury to any person who, as a result of the injury, immediately receives medical treatment away from the scene of the accident and our driver receives a moving violation citation within eight hours of the occurrence
¾ One or more vehicles incurring disabling damage as a result of the accident, requiring the vehicle to be transported away from the scene by a tow truck or other vehicle, and our driver receives a moving violation citation within eight hours of the occurrence Random testing. The DOT requires 50% of employees performing safetysensitive functions to be tested for drugs; and 10% tested for alcohol annually; we exceed this requirement by randomly testing 55% of all employees performing safety-sensitive functions for both drugs and alcohol annually
Any time there is reasonable suspicion of use
When an employee performing a safety-sensitive function returns from a drug and/or alcohol treatment program, in which the employee would also be subject to follow-up testing
If circumstances do not warrant testing under DOT procedures, then the company’s procedures will be used as the secondary standard. Under the company’s procedures, testing will be conducted in the following instances unless otherwise prohibited by state law:
Post-accident, for any employee involved in the following:
¾ Preventable street motor vehicle accident
¾ Preventable third-party injury
¾ Work-related injury or illness
¾ Any time there is suspicion of drug or alcohol use
When a supervisor, manager or company official questions an employee’s fitness-for-duty
When an employee returns to work after a leave of absence of 30 days or longer
When a safety-sensitive employee returns from a drug and/or alcohol treatment program, in which the employee would also be subject to follow-up testing
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Background Check Policy
We obtain criminal background checks, which may include fingerprinting, to comply with applicable state and federal laws, as well as company policy and district standards. An applicant will not be denied employment based solely on the grounds of a conviction or guilty plea for a criminal offense. The type of offense, the date of the offense, and the relevance of the criminal conviction/guilty plea to the position applied for may be considered in the employment decision. Before any background check is run, we require each applicant to complete and sign a disclosure and authorization form to give permission to check their criminal and driving records. Prior to being disqualified from employment, the applicant must be given a pre-adverse action letter which provides instruction on how to view the information contained in the criminal and driving record check.
Education Verification (All Non-Driving Positions)
Education is verified before an offer of employment is extended. For eligibility, all information must be verified with no discrepancies. A candidate will be considered ineligible if there is significant discrepancy in the major course of study or if the candidate did not complete the education component but reported it as being complete. Candidates are given the opportunity to provide records to prove attendance or completion.
Employment Verification (All Non-Driving Positions)
Prior employment is verified before an offer of employment is extended.
Verification is limited to the preceding three years of employment or three previous employers. For eligibility, all information must be verified with no discrepancies. A candidate will be considered ineligible if there is a significant discrepancy in the title or responsibility documented.
Employee Safety Inventory (ESI) Assessment
In addition, each driver applicant must successfully complete our employee safety inventory (ESI), an assessment tool that measures the employee’s attitude towards safety. Drivers who possess the proper attitudes toward safety and accident prevention will be less likely to engage in unsafe behaviors on the job.
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employee morale.
Perhaps the most important selection criteria are
the disposition and personality traits the candidate
demonstrates during the interview process. We
know people are the key to everything we do. We
encourage our interviewers to ask themselves,
“Would I feel comfortable letting this person drive
my children?” If the answer is “no,” the person is
not hired. Simply put, when you hire great people
and surround them with a positive culture, you
deliver excellent service. If the structured interview
does not indicate the person has the commitment
and desire to work with young people, they will not
be hired.
Hiring Disqualifications
An applicant may be disqualified based on the following criteria:
Unsatisfactory driving record or accident history
Convictions for sexual offenses of any nature (felony or misdemeanor) Convictions for drug possession, use, trafficking or manufacturing Convictions for assault or battery
A pattern of misdemeanor convictions
DUI within the past 10 years
Any felony conviction
Receives a “not recommended” result on the ESI assessment Failure to meet age and legal work authorization requirements An applicant is similarly rejected if he or she has a poor work history with previous employers or if he or she misrepresents information on the application.
Failure to pass the physical or pre-employment drug screen is also grounds for rejection.
State Laws
Where a state law specifically prohibits a component of the criminal background checks policy, that state law will be followed.
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
NEW HIRE PAPERWORK
Every new applicant must complete new hire paperwork to be kept on file with our company. New hire paperwork complies with all federal, state and local mandates. New hire paperwork consists of, but is not limited to:
New hire form
Employee handbook acknowledgment
Corporate confidentiality and privacy policy
W-4 form
Corporate personal appearance policy
NELLC contact list
Form I-9 employment eligibility
Direct deposit
Information security policy
Recordkeeping
Each location is required to keep employee records on file per federal, state and local mandates. Employee records are kept confidential, released only to persons designated and authorized to view, compliant with all laws and regulations, and consistent with our policies. Active employees have the right to review information in their employee file in the presence of a supervisor or manager.
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ORIENTATION
A formal orientation program is held at all
locations and includes general information
about our company, opportunities for
development, key company guidelines
and the employee handbook. Supervisors
ensure that each new employee
participates in the program and receives
the necessary information and training to
acclimate to their new positions. During
the employee’s first 90 days on the job,
the supervisor will assess the employee’s
ability to get along with others,
punctuality, attendance and other
indicators of job success. During this time,
employees are encouraged to meet with
supervisors to set performance goals and
to discuss any questions or concerns.
Orientation Checklist
Supervisors are responsible for familiarizing new employees with their local work environment during the first few weeks on the job.
Company and Job Information
Company mission and values
Tour of work area, introduction to staff
Function of work group and of job, interdependence of job functions Explanation of responsibilities
Levels of supervision and management
Availability of supervisor for questions
Work habits (promptness, appearance, etc.)
Safety guidelines
Reporting accidents, work injuries or hazardous situations Internal and external customers
Equipment and supplies
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Guidelines and Procedures
Work schedule
Attendance and punctuality
guidelines
Business confidentiality
EEO guidelines
Harassment guidelines
Professional conduct guidelines
Meal and break periods
Drug and alcohol guidelines
Smoking rules
Use of telephone and personal
calls
Rules for parking personal and
company vehicles
Time reporting
Time off (holidays, vacations and sick leave)
Notifying supervisor of lateness or absence
Supervisor’s telephone number
Promotions and job posting
Personal appearance and uniforms
Safety equipment and guidelines
Location of entrances, elevators, restrooms, lounge or eating area, fire exit, storm shelter and facilities for disabled
Salary and Benefits
Method and frequency of pay, payroll periods and deductions Overtime
Benefit plans
Performance feedback and salary review process
LAW AND POLICY COMPLIANCE
Upon hire, each employee will be subjected to all federal and local laws, rules, regulations and requirements, as well as company policies and procedures outlined in our employee handbook. All employees are required to sign, acknowledge and conform to these rules.
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Compliance with All Applicable Laws
We will comply with all federal, state and local laws applicable to providing student transportation services for the district. This includes maintaining the requisite licenses, permits, certifications, ratings or other requirements for operation of the business.
Employee Training Programs
Our employee training programs prepare our employees to deliver the safest and most reliable service in the student transportation industry. Each department has specific training that focuses on the needs of both external and internal customers. Each employee is expected to pass all required instructional materials and to meet or exceed qualifications as outlined by local, state and federal regulations. Our customer service centers receive unmatched support from a team of safety and training professionals consisting of both region and corporate resources.
We offer new hire and continual training courses designed for:
Certified instructors
Drivers, monitors and dispatchers
Mechanics
Managers
New drivers must complete rigorous training courses that average 40-44 hours of classroom and behind-the-wheel training. Dispatchers and monitors are required to pass the driver training classroom curriculum, and if applicable, Our drivers are the
best trained in the
business.
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
dispatchers will continue our behind-the-wheel training and CDL licensing for driver certification. Other training programs incorporate mandatory mechanic certification and also an incentive for ASE certification. We require all management personnel to attend our annual management training courses taught through our National Express University (NXU) program. Every employee is also required to participate in annual refresher training and to attend our safety meetings.
CERTIFIED INSTRUCTORS AND TRAIN-THETRAINER PROGRAM
We go to great lengths to ensure our own trainers are
certified and skilled to train. Area safety directors and driver trainers must complete a four-day S.T.A.R. (Safety Training Alleviates Risk) academy driver training course. Through this certification program, participants receive comprehensive training in adult learning styles, facilitation techniques, how to teach using STAR classroom and behind-the-wheel curriculum. To ensure application of learning, the participants take part in demonstrating newly acquired or enhanced skills in simulation activities in the classroom and with practicing key driving skills in a closed course. Each customer service center is equipped with the proper certified trainers who have passed this extensive trainthe-trainer course. Once certified the trainers are required to participate in recertification every three years. This ensures their skills are up-to-date with the latest in instructional techniques and offers continued one-on-one development of their competencies in training.
DRIVER, MONITOR AND DISPATCHER TRAINING
PROGRAM
We understand the key to providing safe transportation is to provide great employees. The right attitude, the best training, and most of all, possessing the highest standard of care for the students are critical success factors of our training. Our safety training program, S.T.A.R., has been developed specifically for us to ensure our customers are provided with the best skilled drivers and monitors. This program emphasizes current safety prevention tactics, proper bus inspections, student management and the extra attention our special needs Response Page 29
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riders deserve. Monitors are
required to participate in the
classroom training program
with emphasis on safety
basics, intersection, danger
zones and student
management. Since many
dispatchers began as drivers,
those who retain their CDL
license are also required to
participate in all driver
classroom and behind-thewheel curricula.
Classroom Training
Our classroom training is 20-30 hours of in-depth material to prepare our drivers and monitors for the safest driving practices. The delivery of the curriculum incorporates various instructional methods. We use lecture, digital video device courses, classroom discussions, simulations and assessments to assist with the understanding, retention and application of the training content.
Behind-the-Wheel Training
Our behind-the-wheel training course gives each driver the opportunity to apply classroom principles to real-life
situations in a controlled environment. Since we operate several different types of buses, every driver must be
familiar with the bus type and the location of all controls and gauges on the bus he or she will be operating. Drivers must also know where, emergency equipment and
We have more than 16 training
modules covering all aspects of
driver training.
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
emergency exits are located on the bus and how to operate the devices. In addition, the driver must know seat belt operations, seat adjustments, lifts and tie-downs, types and locations of mirrors, and other specifics such as vandalock, glow plugs and choke.
Behind-the-wheel training ranges from 20-22 hours. Immediate feedback is provided to compliment or improve the driver’s skills during this time.
LLLC Defensive Driving™
LLLC driving principles educate drivers on how to avoid accidents and to always be prepared for any traffic situation. These principles consist of:
Look Ahead
Drivers are trained to look 15 seconds ahead of where the bus is at any given point in time. By always using the Look Ahead principle, drivers can identify potential hazards early enough to react and safely make adjustments.
Look Around
Drivers must take in the entire scene when driving. Drivers are taught to Look Around for other cars, pedestrians and fixed or moveable objects on or near the road, especially when making a turn.
Leave Room
Drivers learn to ideally Leave Room on all six sides of the bus – in the front, the rear, on each side of the bus, and above and below the bus. This will help to maintain and monitor the space in front of the bus by keeping an adequate following distance. Techniques are taught for tailgating vehicles, highway driving and low clearance overheads.
Communicate
Drivers are taught to use headlights, brake lights and turn signals to Communicate their intentions. Drivers must use signals before turning or changing lanes and to allow at least four flashes before taking any action.
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First-Aid Training
Our first-aid policy is communicated during driver training and is reinforced during safety meetings. When a medical situation arises, the driver must contact dispatch immediately so the emergency medical personnel can be contacted and dispatched to the scene. Each facility and bus is equipped with a bodily fluid disposal kit. This kit contains items such as latex gloves, eye shield/face mask, apron, powered absorbent material, scoop and scraper, disinfectant, paper towels and biohazard disposal bags with twist ties.
We have a policy for administering EpiPens® that includes additional training and parental sign-off. We offer this service as an option to customers who specifically request it and agree that the policy is right for its students. We will be happy to discuss our policy further upon interview or award.
Bus Safety and Student Management Training
One of the most important aspects of our training program is student behavior management. For the safety of all passengers and for any interaction we may have with the public, our drivers are trained to deal with problematic behavior that may put others at harm.
BUS SAFETY
We will instruct K-3 students on proper entry and exit of the bus, emergency evacuation techniques, and general school bus safety through live demonstrations, videos and educational materials. These fun, instructional games are also available on our website. Throughout the year, our education programs focus on safety around the bus “Danger Zone,” emergency evacuations, and safe riding procedures.
We are active participants in National School Bus Safety Week, held every October. We travel to various areas and teach children about school bus safety with the help of “Pride,” our labrador retriever mascot. We conduct 30-minute shows to educate students from kindergarten to the third grade. Our transportation professionals are also available to speak at classroom presentations or community organizations.
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
PREPARING DRIVERS ON
PROPER STUDENT CONDUCT
AND CONTROL
Our goal is to safely and comfortably
transport students to and from
school, on time, and ready to learn.
We know this part of the day is
important to children, especially
young children, and that what
happens on the bus can make or
break the rest of the day.
Understanding the children and their needs helps drivers to handle situations which may arise on the school bus. Drivers are taught to be courteous and to always be in control. Drivers set school bus boundaries through initial authority recognition and by building relationships with students based on mutual respect.
Courtesy is Contagious
The power of a smile cannot be over emphasized. Drivers are trained to be welcoming and to acknowledge each child by name, to help set a positive tone for a comfortable school bus ride.
Dealing with Negative Behavior
Durham will follow the district’s discipline procedures, however if there is not a procedure in place, we recommend the following approach.
Our drivers are taught to never allow bullying, sarcasm, or put downs by other students. We will always follow your district’s policies for dealing with problematic issues, while following our own basic standards for a safe bus ride.
Our drivers are trained to be professional and to be positive at all times, never displaying negative behaviors or facial expressions. The same way courtesy is contagious, so is a negative demeanor.
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MY CHILD CHECK POLICY
Drivers and bus monitors must complete a
thorough check of the bus for children at the
end of each route and prior to leaving the bus
at any time. Failure to comply with this policy
will lead to disciplinary action; if a child is left
unattended, the driver and bus monitor (if
present) will be terminated.
Each driver and bus monitor sign a pledge
annually committing their responsibility to
safety by completing a thorough child check at
the end of each route and prior to leaving the
bus at any time.
We use Zonar®, which is equipped with child
check technology. Zonar® includes an RFID tag in
three locations of the bus to ensure drivers conduct
mandatory child checks at the end of each route.
SPECIAL NEEDS TRAINING PROGRAM
Our business is devoted to special needs transportation; today, we are recognized experts in this area. We hire people with the integrity, patience and sensitivity necessary to be a positive influence in the lives of children with special needs. Transporting students with special needs presents unique challenges to our drivers; we have developed a customized training curriculum for these drivers. All drivers and aides who provide transportation for special education students must first complete our regular training program before beginning the special needs program.
The seven DVD training program includes:
Legislation overview
Transportation challenges
Types of special needs
Lifts and mobility devices
Securement
Emergency evacuations
Balancing needs
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
The training covers the logistics of student transportation and also focuses heavily on behavior management and the reasons behind the behavior. In one activity, each trainee sits in a wheelchair while it is put on the lift and transported. Exercises like this help drivers to put themselves in the place of the children they serve, experiencing the world from the perspective of a child with special needs. Additional classes on working with visually impaired, deaf, autistic, and wheelchair-bound students are available as required by student needs.
Special needs drivers can also meet with each child’s parents before school starts to ensure they have adequate insight into the individual needs of each child.
Classroom Training Objectives
After completing the classroom portion of this program, drivers and aides will have an understanding of the following:
Rights of special education students
Special education student characteristics
Special education student management techniques
Behavior patterns of special education students
Procedures for special education student drop-off
Ambulatory special education student procedures
Procedures for transporting students using wheelchairs
Securement procedures for student equipment
Emergency procedures
We view transportation as an important
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educational program; learning about
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to provide service at the highest levels
possible.
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Practical Training Objectives
Before transporting special needs students, drivers and aides must have handson, practical experience in the following areas:
Ambulatory loading, securement and unloading
Securing student equipment
Wheelchair loading, securement and unloading
Emergency evacuation
This program takes three hours to complete,
including classroom instruction, practical
training and completion of the written exam.
Driver Evaluations
All drivers and participating dispatchers undergo
a behind-the-wheel evaluation at least once per
school year and if involved in a motor vehicle
accident. Drivers are given the opportunity to
discuss their evaluations with the training
supervisor or general manager. If warranted by
the evaluation, retraining is assigned and
conducted.
In-Service Training
In order to remain qualified as one of our school bus drivers, all drivers must participate in at least 10 hours of in-service training per school year. This can be accomplished through attending mandatory safety meetings, special driver seminars and workshops.
Topics include:
Enhanced familiarization with school district
Pre- and post-trip inspections
Fire extinguisher instruction and demonstration
Breakdown procedures
Evacuation procedures
Defensive driving techniques
Accident procedures
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Operation lifesaver (railroad crossing procedures)
Mirror use, backing and turning point set-up
Student management
Student safety awareness
Winter driving techniques
Safety competition practice (classroom and behind-the-wheel) Post-accident retraining
Rules and regulations for loading/unloading
MANAGER TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
National Express University (NXU)
In 2014, we invested in a learning management system (LMS) which houses and tracks important training curriculums in the areas of leadership, compliance, safety and technical training for all our full-time staff members.
In 1994, we became one of the first school bus transportation companies to implement a formal management training program. This training program consists of several phases. First, new general managers at each location participate in a comprehensive six month GM onboarding orientation session.
Second, each year, we provide an annual in-person regional training forum that includes all management and supervisory staff. Third, for newly selected site supervisors (on the job between 30 to 120 days), we require participation in an onsite four day manager orientation. This session includes discussions and training topics that vary from orientation to operational duties, such as customer service, software applications, COMPASS - our proprietary dispatch and payroll platform, and recordkeeping. Through presentations, scenarios, activities, testing, peer learning, focus group discussions and homework assignments, managers learn the tools and resources needed to deliver the level of service we promise to our customers. Finally, there is an online suite of courses compiled specifically for our first line supervisors called front line leadership, which provides overall leadership theory to new leaders.
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This learning event meets the core needs of new leaders with a focus on four key areas:
Culture – Aligning customer service center operational behaviors and actions to our vision and values and our mission of getting students to school safely, on time and ready to learn®.
Organization - Showcasing the company’s structure from the local customer service center level to support from our corporate headquarters.
Results – Articulating and defining the company’s targets and goals for managers to integrate strategic planning into how they make decisions as it relates to their overall management of customer service center operations.
Excellence – Committing to making service and processes better throughout the company.
Online Performance and Learning System (OPAL)
OPAL is our company’s 24-hour virtual coach and provides immediate answers to a manager’s day-to-day challenges and guidance for long-term leadership development. In 90 seconds, managers can search OPAL to get best practices, tools and tips on how to manage over 500 leadership challenges.
In OPAL, managers can learn how to:
Manage a conflict at his/her local CSC
Give effective feedback and coaching
Conduct a performance improvement meeting with an employee Create an individual development plan
Build or rebuild team/personal trust with others
Build a highly effective team
Continual training for our
management staff is just as
important as any other training.
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Manage time better
Easily make improvements to any process
Become better organized
Improve verbal and written communication skills
Manage hundreds of other leadership and management challenges All this and more can easily be found in OPAL. OPAL is a free 24-hour support tool/resource for all managers and leaders in our organization.
Employee Retention
Durham’s total compensation program has been
designed to retain the current driver workforce and
to attract prospective employees. We offer
competitive driver wages, health, dental and a 401(k)
plan. We also believe in developing our employees to
grow with our organization. We also believe in
recognizing our employees who go above and
beyond their job duties with Enjoy the
Ride, a program that rewards those
individuals for outstanding
performance.
BENEFIT PLANS
Full-Time Employees
Plan
Durham School Services provides
company contributions toward medical insurance through BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS). There is a choice of three PPO plans offering in-network and out-ofnetwork benefits; one of which is a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) offering that includes a Health Savings Account. Employees have copays for office visits and prescriptions, and pay deductibles and coinsurance for hospital services for the non-HDHP plan offerings. The HDHP Plan requires that employees meet the deductible before the plan pays and copays are only for prescriptions, everything else is paid by coinsurance. Dental and vision insurance is available for purchase.
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Additional benefits include:
Company-paid basic life and accidental death and dismemberment Company-paid long-term disability insurance
Company-paid employee assistance program
Tuition reimbursement program
Voluntary short-term disability insurance
Voluntary life insurance for employee, spouse and dependents Voluntary group legal plan
Flexible spending accounts available for participation
Paid vacation
Paid sick time
Paid holidays
Retirement plan – matching 401(k) retirement savings plan (with company match of up to 4%) vested immediately
Part-Time Employees Plan
Medical Coverage
Drivers and monitors have the option of the below:
Kemper MEC – This plan provides preventive and wellness benefits that satisfy the individual mandate under the health care reform law.
Kemper Buy Up – Includes the KBA MEC plan plus a limited indemnity benefit plan. The plan reimburses a set amount per service. Once the employee reaches the maximums, no additional benefits are paid for the plan year. The KBA Buy Up plan also includes a limited prescription benefit.
Kemper Stand-Alone Rx
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School Bus Transportation
Hiring, Training and
Retention
Additional Benefits Provided to Part-Time Drivers and
Monitors
Retirement plan – matching 401(k) retirement savings plan (with a company match of up to 4%) vested immediately
Company-paid life insurance
Company-paid employee assistance program
Tuition reimbursement program
Dental and vision insurance are available for purchase
Group legal plan available for purchase
Paid physicals, drug screens and alcohol screens
Outside charter work opportunity, where Durham owns the fleet, for drivers for other contracts and non-school district customers, such as day care centers, churches, summer camps, etc.
ENJOY THE RIDE PROGRAM
Our company strives to create an engaged workforce where employees enjoy their jobs and feel appreciated for what they do. The Enjoy the Ride program was built around our company’s vision and values and is designed to recognize safety and excellence, develop our people, celebrate years of service to our customers and encourage involvement in the community. The Enjoy the Ride program drives engagement and retention for all employees.
EMPLOYEE DISCOUNTS
PerkSpot
PerkSpot is an online program that allows employees to find discounts and rebates on goods and services from many of the best known brand names in the U.S. and Canada. The PerkSpot site is updated daily with new deals and discounts on clothing, home furnishings, jewelry, cell phones, travel and vacation packages, and more. Discounts may range from 5% to 50% off retail value.
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
Our Safety Culture
There is nothing more important to us than safety, one of our core values. Our safety statistics are the result of a rigorous safety culture. Through effective employee screening, continuous training, the use of prevention tools and communicating daily safety messages to our employees, we continually strive to improve our safety performance.
An effective safety program must encompass all aspects of transportation, including operations, training, maintenance, and administration, while remaining focused on people, students, employees and the public. Our number one responsibility is to protect against harm and to give our customers the confidence that we will provide safe and reliable service every day. Our combined safety and training programs are the tools and resources we use to provide continual safe and efficient operations.
Our safety program components are as follows:
Employee screening
¾ Drug and alcohol testing
¾ Physical
¾ Background check
¾ Fingerprinting (as required by state)
¾ Motor vehicle report
Employee safety inventory (ESI) assessment
Tools and technology
¾ Electronic child check
¾ Global positioning satellite (GPS)
¾ Electronic vehicle inspections
Nothing is more
important than student
safety.
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¾ Interior systems
¾ Student tracking
Training
¾ Onboarding
¾ Ongoing driver, monitor and technician training
Driving Out Harm 12-step program
OSHA compliance
Self-audits
National affiliations
Emergency evacuations
OUR PREVENTION TOOLS AND TRAINING
We use prevention tools, strategy technology, and extensive training on accident and incident prevention to help develop the right employee behaviors.
Electronic Child Check
Drivers and bus monitors must complete a thorough check for sleeping children on the bus at the end of each route and prior to leaving the bus at any time. Each driver and monitor must sign a pledge committing to this responsibility. Failure to comply with this policy will lead to disciplinary action; if a child is left unattended, the driver and bus monitor (if present) will be terminated.
To ensure compliance with this
policy, our buses are equipped
with Child Check-Mate, an
electronic child check system
from Zonar® that includes an
RFID tag in three locations
inside the bus to certify that
drivers conduct mandatory
child checks at the end of each
route. If the check is not
completed, the lights and horn
on the bus are activated as an alert.
Our child check policy and the use of
Zonar® helped discover 222 sleeping
children last school year.
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
GPS
GPS technology provides real time tracking of bus location, direction, and speed.
It captures any travel variances from the planned route to actual, while storing the data for review. In addition, GPS systems track idling and provide reports such as on time performance and excessive speed. With near real-time information readily available, we are able to locate buses, re-route or guide around road conditions, and provide solutions to other issues that may arise.
EVIR System
By law, each driver must complete a safety inspection, or daily pre-trip, before leaving the yard. Using our electronic vehicle inspection report (EVIR) system, drivers are required to inspect the 13 check zones for any deficiencies the bus may have. The EVIR system records the inspection results and transmits the information to the maintenance shop for appropriate action.
Prevention Training
LLLC Defensive Driving™
The LLLC (Look ahead, Look around, Leave room, Communicate) defensive driving principles are tools drivers learn to avoid accidents and to be prepared for various traffic situations. These principles help to maintain a safe amount of room around the vehicle, improve visibility and provide extra time to make decisions while driving.
Student Management Training and Bus Safety Training
Some of the most important aspects of our training program are student behavior management and student safety training. For the safety of all passengers and any interaction we may have with the public, our drivers are trained to deal with problematic behavior that may put others at harm. We offer safety training for students including the bus’ “Danger Zone,” emergency evacuations and safe riding procedures.
Please refer to our employee training section of our Hiring, Training and Retention tab for further details on our bus safety and student discipline principles.
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OUR COMPANY’S DRIVING OUT HARM PROGRAM
Driving Out Harm is our principal safety program. It aims to educate all employees on how important it is to drive out all risks of harm to our customers, employees and others affected by our business. We are all leaders in safety at Durham and have personal responsibility for safety in the workforce and safety on the roads. Through our 12 Global
Standards, we identify all national and
local requirements, appropriate levels
of management and supervision, and
expect all levels of personnel to
manage our health and safety policies.
We feel confident that our program is
a significant distinction from all other
school bus providers and is an ideal fit
for your district’s expectations.
1 Competence and Fitness of Bus Drivers
We believe the most important risk control is the competence of our drivers.
Our minimum standards include:
Driver selection and recruitment qualifications
Core skills training
Competence assessment
Physical capabilities and drug and alcohol testing
Refresher training
Monitoring
Defensive driving
Pre- and post-trip inspections and recordkeeping
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
2 Competence and Fitness of Maintenance
Staff
Our maintenance personnel also play a critical role in the safety of our operations.
Our minimum standards include:
Selection and recruitment for high performing maintenance personnel
Maintaining work competence through training and
management
Maintaining physical fitness to safely perform the job
Identifying activities which have potential to affect safety Recordkeeping
3 Competence and Fitness of Other Staff
Personnel
All managers and supervisors have a role in leading safety, as well as a personal responsibility to act and work safely.
Minimum requirements for management and other supervisor personnel include:
Hiring and placement
Training
Competence management
Physical fitness to perform minimum duties
Recordkeeping
DRIVING OUT HARM: EMPLOYEE’S GOLDEN RULES
We believe each staff member is a leader in safety regardless of title. Managers are responsible for reminding staff of the rules that have the most important impact on risk control associated with their roles in company and personal safety.
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Separate rules have been assigned to drivers, maintenance staff and operations staff. Each employee is given a pledge card of their Golden Rules.
This program:
Aims to ensure that safety is always front of mind so that we achieve a safety record which is best in class among transport operators.
Our aim is to drive out all risks of harm to our customers, our colleagues and others affected by our business.
4 Drugs and Alcohol
Our drug and alcohol standard requires screening personnel in safety sensitive positions up to, and including senior management.
Every employee is tested prior to employment, following incidents or accidents, and we also conduct DOT random drug screens.
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
5 Safety of Vehicles – Buses
Maintenance and procurement personnel are responsible for all vehicle specification standards and safety requirements.
Maintenance policies require compliance with all manufacturers’ specifications and other federal, state or local standards. Safety requirements also include route risk or emergency procedures associated with any danger that may cause harm to students, drivers and monitors, and any member of the public with who we may be in contact.
MAINTENANCE OEM STANDARDS
We use well-known, qualified original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) vendors whose industry standards surpass many federal, state and local regulations. We work with OEM vendors such as Bridgestone, Goodyear, Interstate Battery and ArvinMeritor for our parts inventory, ensuring that we use the very best equipment for our vehicles.
EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN AND INCLEMENT WEATHER
The emergency action plan is designed to ensure employee safety from security threats, fires, natural disasters and other emergencies. Our safety response guide is used as a reference for local management to address these types of emergencies. Each location is responsible for completing an emergency action plan training guide to address situations specific to their location.
Examples of location plans may include:
Fire
Bloodborne pathogens
Mechanical breakdowns
Bomb threats
Crime in progress
Inclement weather
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6 Safety of Premises (Workplace)
Our employees, visitors and contractors have the right to work in a safe and well-managed environment. All potential hazards must be identified, recorded and risk controls implemented to eliminate or reduce risk.
We require monthly facility inspections and risk assessments are made for:
Design layout and modifications to premises
Fire safety equipment
Exit routes
Working at heights
Slips, trips and falls
Fuel storage and other hazardous materials
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Safety inspections
DESIGN, LAYOUT AND MODIFICATION OF PREMISES
The following risks must be assessed, recorded and inspected for our premises.
Pedestrians and vehicles must be segregated using
designated walking routes. This includes the use of one-way systems, minimizing reversing moves, and design of parking arrangements such that people and vehicles are segregated where possible.
Operational areas must be visibly designated with signs.
Walkways must be marked and used within all operational areas and kept clear of tripping or slipping hazards.
Maintenance areas must be clearly designated with signs.
All low ceilings, beams and objects must be visibly marked.
Fire exits must be clearly marked, safe and hazard free exit routes must exist, and fire safety equipment must be
located in a suitable place.
TOOL AND EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE
Defective tools can cause injuries. It is vital that workers properly use the tools and equipment, and that the tools and equipment are Response Page 49
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properly inspected, maintained, not altered or modified in any way, and kept in good repair. To ensure safe use of hand tools, our employees are trained to never use a defective tool, to inspect all tools prior to use, and to ensure defective tools are repaired or discarded. Air, gasoline or electric power tools require skill and the operators’ complete attention, even when they are in good condition.
STORAGE AND HANDLING OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES
Risks associated with the storage and handling of all
hazardous substances must be carefully controlled. This applies to all of our premises – maintenance shops, parking lots and office buildings. The control of such substances is subject to federal and state regulations; compliance is mandatory. Hazardous substances can be solids, liquids, gases, fumes or dust that can cause harm to people;
including substances that are flammable, explosive,
corrosive, toxic or that can otherwise cause ill health or harm.
Examples of hazardous substances we monitor are:
Fuel (diesel, petrol, LPG)
Acetylene cylinders
Oil and other lubricants
Glues, inks and detergents
Cleaning products (bleach, toilet cleaner and polishes) Dirty water (e.g., in pits and drains)
Paints and varnishes
Fumes from engines
Fumes from welding
Dust from cutting
The following procedure for storage and use of hazardous substances must be followed: identify hazardous substances, identify the tasks that use these substances and how employees might be exposed to hazards from them, reduce potential exposure, and check and maintain hazardous substances.
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HAZARD COMMUNICATION PROGRAM (HAZCOM)
Our hazard communication program complies with OSHA’s five key elements:
Hazardous material inventory – Maintaining a list of all hazardous materials on hand.
Safety data sheets (SDS) – SDS collected and maintained for all hazardous substances used or stored at the facility.
Labeling –Labeling hazardous materials in order to identify the material and warn of its potential hazard to employees.
Training – Training employees to identify and work safely with hazardous materials.
Written program – A written program developed
encompassing all of the items noted above.
7 Risk Assessment
Risk assessments are an essential part of how we manage safety in all of our activities; it allows us to understand the potential for harm arising from these activities and to plan and implement effective controls to minimize harm to all employees, passengers and members of the public.
ROUTE RISK ASSESSMENT
Route risk assessments are designed to identify locations on the route where particular hazards exist, or specific times where hazards may be more likely to arise. The risks identified on this assessment are used to implement risk reduction controls. 8 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
All employees are required to be equipped with PPE, including eye protection, ear plugs, protective clothing and high visibility vests to be worn in assigned areas (designated by posted signs).
HIGH VISIBILITY APPAREL
High risk locations such as parking areas and maintenance shops have the potential to become hazardous. Risk levels increase in times of limited daylight and adverse weather. We require the use Response Page 51
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of high visibility clothing in an effort to protect our employees and visitors.
9 Accident and Incident Investigation
Reporting of accidents and incidents and an effective investigation process are vital to determine the causes and to identify controls to prevent recurrence. We are staffed with professionals who conduct investigations, reporting, data analysis and recordkeeping.
ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT REPORTING
Timely and accurate reporting of all accidents and incidents is critical. Reports contain structured and completed information for each accident to allow comparisons, metrics and identification of trends during the review process. Compliance with relevant legal requirements for accident and incident reporting to external bodies, e.g., regulators, insurers, etc. is mandatory.
ACCIDENT AND INCIDENT INVESTIGATION
Our effective accident or incident investigations follow a defined process and are led by our experienced safety and legal/risk management team. If a major accident or incident occurs, we comply with statutory regulations that require a formal investigation.
ALLOCATION OF ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION RESOURCES
The legal/risk management department will direct whether the following resources will be dispatched for investigation, depending on federal, state and local regulations in conjunction with our own accident investigation level procedures.
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Senior management may go to the scene to provide moral
support to staff and customers.
The local area director of safety may be present to review the employee file, oversee the local investigation and
determine if safety guidelines were followed.
The maintenance department may review records on the
vehicle to determine if the vehicle was in good mechanical condition.
Legal counsel may be consulted.
Claim vendors may be notified to dispatch adjusters,
engineers, or contractors to the scene to assess damage.
REVIEW OF INVESTIGATION REPORT
Each investigation report must be reviewed by a local supervisor at the customer service center who has not been involved in conducting the investigation. This review process includes checking recommendations are made, dealing with the underlying causes of the accident, following the requirements outlined above, and production of action plans outlining the execution of the recommendations including timescales for execution and resource allocation.
ACCIDENT LOG AND INCIDENT METRICS
A thorough process for implementing recommendations is
critical to help prevent reoccurrences. Once the accident or incident has been reported and investigated,
recommendations are made and recorded on the safety
action log used to track actions to address the
recommendations. Incident metrics provide a means of
detecting trends or hazards which may otherwise go
unnoticed. Reviewing these metrics helps us to address
safety issues and to develop more precise risk assessments and appropriate controls.
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
10 Incident Response and Management
We understand that an effective response to an incident is critical to the safety of all persons involved and to the prevention of further harm. Our incident management teams are prepared to control the situation and to immediately establish safe conditions, communication and support.
ACCIDENT RESPONSE AND PROCEDURES
It is our goal to have a unified and consistent approach to accident response and procedures. Accident response procedures begin immediately with a report to dispatch to notify all appropriate parties according to the severity of the accident. In the case of minor or major injuries, or if children are on board, immediate notification to the authorities will occur.
Employees are also required to contact our crisis hotline as part of the reporting process so that we can troubleshoot any situation and ensure that the proper response plan is crafted and executed.
In addition, each employee is trained to report the incident to our insurance and claims administrator within 24 hours of occurrence.
Sedgwick, our third party administrator, manages auto and general liability claims and workman’s compensation, working closely with our legal/risk and safety departments to ensure that claims are effectively managed.
ACCIDENT PROCEDURES
Our bus drivers are trained in this procedure for accidents, never leaving the bus unattended.
Do not move the vehicle until directed to do so by the
authorities
Contact dispatch with the following information:
Bus and route number
Location of accident
License of other vehicle (if applicable)
Whether passengers are on board, and if so, notify state and local police
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Description of injuries and whether medical attention is required
Number of students on board
Whether or not emergency vehicles are needed
Gather the required information for the accident report card, including:
Name, address, and driver’s license number of other drivers involved
Insurance company name and policy number
Name of investigating officer and agency
Distribute courtesy witness cards to any potential witnesses Refer all insurance coverage questions to risk management Assist law enforcement officials as necessary
At the return to the customer service center, give a
complete report to the supervisor
In accordance with all local laws and company policy, the local manager/supervisor must arrange for the
administration of a drug and alcohol test on the vehicle driver.
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
11 Safety Audit and Management Checks
All areas of our business are subject to safety auditing and management checks. Safety audits are completed by area directors of safety; results are then analyzed and recorded by our local teams and local safety committee.
SAFETY AUDITING
Our audits give us the assurance that standards for safety are delivered according to requirements, and that the requirements are effective and appropriate. Auditing provides a basis for updating our safety management requirements to reduce risks in our business. Where there are unsafe or potentially unsafe working practices or conditions, these checks provide an excellent means for taking immediate corrective action to reduce risk. Management checks are mandated at all levels, providing a key component of safety performance monitoring in all locations.
SCOPE AND APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS
Our standard establishes minimum requirements to be applied at our locations to ensure safety audits and management checks are undertaken in a consistent, rigorous, and effective manner. Audit and management checks in this standard cover activities carried out by our employees and our contractors, and include three tiers of audit:
Management checks – Regular checks carried out by
management to ensure day-to-day activities are being
conducted safely and in accordance with standards,
policies, working instructions and procedures.
Internal audits – Conducted in each customer service
center by functionally independent auditors, e.g., area director of safety to check compliance with implementation of standards and policies.
External audits – Commissioned to provide an independent review of the implementation and effectiveness of safety management policies. Audit reports are provided to us for review.
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12 Safety Validation of Change
We recognize that changes to your district’s transportation services may introduce or increase safety risks if not carefully managed.
Managing risks associated with change involves determining the level of safety required, any change process that may need to be implemented and auditing for control.
OUR SAFETY COMMITTEE
Each company facility will have an established safety committee – typically six members including a member of the driver management staff, a maintenance supervisor and a minimum of four drivers. Members meet monthly and when needed to review accidents or injuries in a timely manner. Safety assessment and auditing discussions will be kept on file at the facility for review by the area director of safety and area management. The safety committee assesses and audits accidents and injuries by:
Detecting and eliminating unsafe conditions, practices, procedures and policies
Reviewing all motor vehicle accidents, determining cause and recommending prevention measures with the direction and assistance of SVP Safety and legal counsel if deemed necessary
Reviewing all employee work-related injuries or illnesses, determining cause and recommending prevention measures
Conducting regular safety inspections of the facility
Identifying physical hazards in the service area
Promoting safety awareness
Acting as role models through strict adherence to company safety policies and procedures
Assisting the local management staff with the facility safety communication program
Soliciting feedback and suggestions from employees and making recommendations to management on safety and training issues Recommending safety incentive programs
Recognizing safety accomplishments
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
Safety Committee Training
The area director of safety assists with instruction. Training topics may include:
Determining accident/injury root cause
Safety incentive programs
Safety communication programs
Facility safety inspections
Hazard identification and correction
Safety policies and procedures
Group dynamics
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ACT
COMPLIANCE (OSHA)
Per OSHA requirements, we provide our employees with a workplace free of recognized hazards that have the possibility of causing an injury. We are committed to providing a safe work environment and to complying with all governmental safety regulations. Our safety programs and efforts comply with the following OSHA requirements:
Provide well maintained tools and equipment, including personal protective equipment.
Provide training on hazardous communications, bloodborne pathogens, lock out tag out, accident investigation, safety committee development, etc.
Maintain proper documentation of training to ensure training is current and provided on a regular basis.
Conduct regular workplace safety inspections to identify potential hazards and to develop corresponding action plans to remedy any issues.
Report within eight hours to OSHA any accident that results in a fatality or within 24 hours the hospitalization of one or more employees.
Maintain an OSHA 300 log at each customer service center, updating as needed. Post the log in each customer service center according to required timelines.
Each customer service center will post the OSHA poster that informs employees of their rights and responsibilities, and ensure that employees are knowledgeable in communicating safety issues to local management so they can be corrected in a timely fashion.
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In addition, our team of area safety directors and corporate safety staff analyze all injuries to develop safety programs in various areas including slip, trip, and fall prevention and safe body mechanics.
AREA AND CORPORATE SUPPORT
Certified Safety and Health Management (CSHM)
Credentials
All of our area safety directors have or are in process of receiving the Certified Safety and Health Management (CSHM) certification, the only “safety management” designation that is fully accredited by the Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Board. The CSHM certification is by the Institute for Safety and Health Management (ISHM), founded by the National Safety Management Society as the credentialing organization to establish professional standards.
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School Bus Transportation
Safety
Employee and Management’s Shared Safety
Responsibility
Our employees have the responsibility to ensure their environment is safe for themselves and for the safety of the children they transport; we take injury prevention very seriously. We give a
thorough training program for new
employees along with ongoing
training through monthly safety
meetings. We maintain each
employee’s focus on safety through
posters, daily safety messages and
contests.
Cooperative Effort
We preserve and improve our safety
record through a cooperative effort
between supervisors and
employees, and between colleagues
at all levels to contribute to safe
working conditions and accidentfree performance. Our area safety directors and corporate safety staff
meet monthly to review trends,
discuss initiatives, and provide
training and share ideas and best
practices between customer service
centers throughout the organization.
Our safety professionals provide
support for each customer service
center in the following areas:
Training and developing
managers and supervisors
Promoting safety and developing company programs
Conducting a bi-annual safety audit
Improving loss prevention by minimizing risk
Safety is one of our five core
values and everyone who
works for us will know what is
expected of them.
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We routinely hold company-wide safety conferences. This event allows our general managers to interact with area and corporate support staff and to set safety expectations for the following school year. Breakout sessions are held to provide guidance on safety initiatives and reporting requirements.
Safety meetings provide important information such as reviews of accidents, outlining steps to prevent future accidents of the same type, recognition of safe drivers, suggestions for promoting safety and identification of potential safety hazards. Attendance is mandatory; attendance at a make-up session is required for any missed meetings. Unexcused absences may result in corrective action including termination.
Safety Inspections
Planned inspections assess implementation of safe arrangements on new or current premises by confirming that hazards have not changed, specified control measures are in place, there are no changes in the environment which could adversely impact on risk and any unsafe acts.
Internal Inspections
We have developed a comprehensive inspection program requiring each customer service center to conduct a monthly internal inspection; results are documented on a facility safety inspection form and corrective action plans are developed to address deficiencies.
Risk and Safety Management Inspections
Safety inspections will be conducted monthly by location management and at biannually, by any member of safety management team. These inspections may also be conducted by outside consultants or business partner vendors with prior notification and authorization by risk and safety management. All safety inspections are in compliance with DOT, OSHA and state school bus regulations, along with our own policies at each operating location. In addition, we conduct an annual review of all school bus legislative requirements to ensure we meet all state laws, rules and regulations in each state of operations.
Executive Team Safety Tours
Members of our executive team visit customer service centers with the purpose of discussing safety initiatives and performance. These visits are informal, Response Page 61
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providing an opportunity for the local safety team to have an open dialogue with our executive team members about safety at each of our locations.
Inspection Reports
Inspections are recorded on the facility safety inspection form, including date completed, name, location, and activities inspected. The location manager maintains records of inspection schedules, checklists, reports, and monitoring of corrective actions from the initial report to the final completion for audit purposes. Inspection records are kept on file for two years.
NATIONAL SAFETY DEPARTMENTS AND
ADMINISTRATION PARTNERS AND ASSOCIATIONS
We continuously follow new safety initiatives, government safety training seminars, and national safety groups. Below are a few organizations with whom we are proud to be associated:
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
National Safety Council
National Association of Pupil Transportation (NAPT)
American School Bus Council (ASBC)
National Student Transportation Association (NSTA)
EMERGENCY EVACUATION PERFORMANCE
When emergency circumstances arise in our communities, we are fully prepared to engage in the evacuation procedures. Our emergency action plan and safety response guides were developed to train our employees on how to prepare, react and assess post emergency situations. The following are some examples of how our managers and drivers used their training and knowledge to lend support in a real life crisis.
Hostage Training
West Bloomfield police lieutenant Mike Turner was shocked when he saw the news story about an Alabama bus driver who was shot and killed while attempting to stop a man from taking a student-passenger hostage. Distraught Response Page 62
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and concerned this same situation could occur in his small Michigan community, Turner contacted our West Bloomfield CSC with an idea to raise community awareness in relation to the Alabama incident. Turner realized neither the special response team (SRT) nor the students in West Bloomfield had ever simulated hostage situations on an actual school bus and asked for help with coordinating such an exercise.
On the day of the training exercise, three Durham drivers, posing as passengers and a bus driver, helped simulate a hostage situation as an “armed perpetrator” on the school bus “forcefully” took students hostage. With Durham employees, students and school staff watching in awe, the SRT demonstrated how quickly they can access the bus, rescue the hostages and take the perpetrator into custody. To make the simulation as realistic as possible, the SRT used a flashbang, broke windows of the bus and pried the service door open. After the demonstration, officers answered questions from simulation participants and onlookers. This training exercise was so successful Durham and West Bloomfield police have begun discussing the possibility of making this an annual event.
Active Shooter Event Response
Shortly after receiving a phone call about police activity going on near the San Bernardino CSC, Durham School Services learned of an active shooter situation near the county building in close proximity to the facility.
A member of management contacted the California highway patrol (CHP) for an update at which time Durham advised all units on route and those coming back to the yard from their midday run to avoid the area and proceed to a park a few miles from the location. Management, in following our emergency action plan took steps to secure the CSC and satellite location a few miles away and advised all employees to stay away from windows and doors.
Police and school district personnel contacted Durham requesting assistance to help evacuate people from the county building. Four drivers volunteered and were escorted by police, including officers in the buses during the evacuation process. Durham School Services was in direct contact with CHP, the local police department and the San Bernardino district office throughout the crisis event, ensuring drivers, students and evacuees were safe.
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School Bus Transportation
Equipment and
Maintenance
Fleet Experience and Performance Results
Our organization currently operates a fleet of more than 15,500 buses. We have developed a fleet and maintenance program that combines high maintenance standards with evolving engineering technologies.
Results:
Less than 1% in service failure rate
Process and compliance with on-time preventative maintenance Technician recognition program in place to increase certified master ASE technicians
Our fleet and maintenance program consists of:
Proposed fleet and specifications
Green fleet sustainability
Preventive maintenance and inspection programs
Oracle eAM maintenance software
OEM manufacturers warranty and inventory parts
Maintenance training and certification
Shop blue seal certification program for eligible maintenance facilities
FLEET COMPLIANCE AND SPECIFICATIONS
All buses will be inspected and maintained in compliance with applicable state and federal statutes, ordinances and regulations, meeting or exceeding the state minimum safety standards for school buses. Vehicles shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition. We will make sure we have sufficient spare vehicles available to accommodate vehicles that are rotated in and out of service so they may receive their regularly scheduled preventive maintenance. ´:H·UHDOZD\VORRNLQJIRUDQG
HYDOXDWLQJQHZWHFKQRORJLHVWR
HQKDQFHVDIHW\µ
– Keshav Ragunathan, Senior Director
Asset Management & Engineering
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Limiting Engine Idling – We recognize the impact fuel consumption has on the environment. A well-maintained and properly operated vehicle will help fuel efficiency.
Fuel – We have extensive experience in using alternate fuels; a number of our locations use CNG and propane fuel. Based on your needs, we can provide you with a quote for alternative fuel vehicles if desired.
Green School Bus Fleet Certified
The National School Transportation Association (NSTA) Green School Bus Fleet Certification program recognizes NSTA members for environmental efforts through the use of technology. It is the only certification program for the school bus industry that is endorsed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus USA program. To obtain certification, contractors must complete a survey for each site and submit it to NSTA to be scored.
There are four levels of certification:
Platinum Status – The operator must demonstrate having a written antiidling policy plus a fleet with an average emission reduction levels of 85% overall (equal to 100% of the fleet at tier 3 level) using any combination of OEM, EPA/CARB verified after-treatment technologies or alternative fueled vehicles.
Gold Status – The operator must demonstrate having a written anti-idling policy plus a fleet with an average emission reduction levels of 42.5% overall (equal to 50% of the fleet at tier 3 level) using any combination of OEM, EPA/CARB verified after-treatment technologies or alternative fueled vehicles.
Silver Status – The operator must demonstrate having a written antiidling policy plus a fleet with an average emission reduction levels of 25% overall (equal to 50% of the fleet at tier 2 level) using any combination of OEM, EPA/CARB verified after-treatment technologies or alternative fueled vehicles.
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School Bus Transportation
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Maintenance
Bronze Status – The operator must demonstrate having a written antiidling policy plus a fleet with an average emission reduction levels of
12.5% overall (equal to 50% of the fleet at tier 1 level) using any combination of OEM, EPA/CARB verified after-treatment technologies or alternative fueled vehicles.
The following customer service centers were recognized by the NSTA with Green School Bus Fleet Certifications:
* These sites have been certified repeatedly.
Maintenance
Program
We are committed to quality
preventive maintenance and
follow-up and have developed a
proactive approach to preventive
maintenance that is designed to
improve reliability by reducing
the number of breakdowns, increased safety and lowered overall running costs.
We efficiently and consistently exceed standards of excellence through our preventive maintenance program and proprietary maintenance software, Oracle Enterprise Asset Management (eAM), the cornerstone of our fleet operation.
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PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE (PM)
Preventive maintenance isn’t just about
repairing deficiencies as a result of an
inspection; it is also a means for
monitoring and preventing potential
problems. Our reliable PM schedules
allow us to help predict maintenance
needs. By properly performing
inspections and repairs, we help prevent
future unplanned repairs such as
breakdowns and driver reported defects.
Our PM program uses a formal review
process and our extensive data management system to continually improve.
PM Process
Each bus is scheduled for regular PM
inspections according to miles traveled
or days operated. Schedules depend on
the type of operation, service provided
and state regulations. Our
computerized system tracks PM
schedules, provides alerts when a
maintenance inspection is due, and
contains listings of other required
adjustments and services performed
per manufacturers’ recommendations, e.g., brakes, tires, steering, suspension, drive train, electrical systems and all ancillary equipment on each bus.
PM inspections are based upon state DOT mandated schedules and/or our minimum guidelines and are recorded on a multi-point checklist that includes all vehicle components and systems. A second, more extensive PM inspection is conducted every 12 months. If a technician finds a defect during the scheduled PM inspection, they are required to note the defect and enter it into the maintenance software system to generate a repair order. All defects are discussed with the maintenance manager who assigns the repair work to a technician for completion. A bus will not be returned to service until all needed repairs have been completed. Once all necessary repairs, adjustments and service requirements have been performed, the technician will inform the maintenance manager.
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School Bus Transportation
Equipment and
Maintenance
Standard Inspection Procedures and Intervals
Our scheduled maintenance program includes a systematic procedure for the servicing and inspection of each vehicle. Our program ensures that all vehicles meet or exceed the standards for vehicles set by the states regarding the operation of all safety related equipment.
Driver Pre-Trip and Post-Trip Inspections
Our first line of defense for identifying defects is through the driver daily preand post-trip inspection using a driver Electronic Fleet Management solution.
Drivers use this device on a daily basis to report the condition of the vehicle they operate and to alert maintenance departments of any defects that affect the operation and safety of the vehicle. If a driver notes a defect during their inspection, they are required to report defects through the Electronic Vehicle Inspection Reporting (EVIR) or manual Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting (DVIR).
ELECTRONIC WORK ORDER GENERATION AND REPAIR PROCESS
Any defect recorded through the EVIR is reviewed by and responded to by the maintenance manager. If any reported defects are critical, then a work order is opened and the bus will be kept off the road until the repair is complete and the work order is closed. Work orders are included in the vehicle’s permanent record.
DRIVER OBSERVATION WHILE IN ROUTE
Drivers are also to be alert to
indications of vehicle malfunction
while driving such as unusual
vibrations, noise, odors, abnormal
instrument readings, and erratic
brake and steering operations.
Additionally, proper starting
procedures will help increase the
useful life of vehicles, as there are
different starting procedures for
gasoline-fueled, spark ignition engines
and multi-purpose diesel-fueled engines.
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WHEEL CHECK INSPECTION
As a part of the driver’s daily pre-trip inspections,
we have installed wheel lug nut indicators on our
vehicles. The wheel lug nut indicators allow for
increased ease of visual inspection of loosening
wheel nuts during driver pre-trip inspections. A
more in-depth inspection is performed by our
technicians at a minimum during the PM annual
inspection.
WHEEL CHAIR LIFT/RAMP INSPECTIONS
Daily pre-trip inspections test the ramp and chair
lift for proper operational function. Annually,
wheel chair lifts and ramps are inspected for
battery conditions, electrical connections, pivot
points and lubrication.
HVAC SYSTEMS
Drivers check during their daily pre-trip inspections to see if the vehicle’s heating and cooling components are working properly. During PM inspections, technicians inspect the HVAC systems for leaks, worn hoses, chafing, proper operational components, and proper heating and cooling for potential failures.
TIRES
Drivers inspect tires daily during their pre- and post-trip inspections. It is less expensive to change a tire in the shop than on the road, and fuel economy improves with proper tire inflation, mounting and driving habits. Achieving the lowest tire cost per mile begins with getting the correct tire and maintaining it properly. Tire preventative maintenance includes inspection for tread depth, wear patterns, sidewall cuts, proper inflation, balance and alignment. We have partnered with tire vendors at most locations to perform audits of our tires at our shops twice a year.
Emissions Inspections
The fleet maintenance manager coordinates with state and local officials to ensure that our fleet meets emissions program standards. In compliance with the Clean Air Act of 1977, some states have implemented mandatory emissions Response Page 69
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 7 | Page
School Bus Transportation
Equipment and
Maintenance
testing programs. Owned and leased vehicles are subject to the requirements of the jurisdiction where the vehicles are regularly housed. Regular inspection intervals typically range from 180 days or 10,000 miles for larger vehicles and 180 days or 5,000 miles for smaller type vehicles.
Bus Cleaning
We realize that the interiors and exteriors of the buses must be kept in a clean and sanitary condition at all times in order to provide a pleasant environment for each passenger. Each driver is required to sweep and clean the interior of the bus daily. This includes floors, seats and the driver area. Exteriors are washed as necessary to maintain a clean, professional appearance.
Fleet Maintenance Compliance Audits
Regional maintenance managers (RMMs) and/or state certified mechanics regularly perform compliance audits to review vehicle maintenance processes and documentation at each customer service center. This review ensures maintenance employees are performing necessary procedures and processes according to our standards of performance along with federal and state requirements. In addition, RMMs conduct an annual facility audit to ensure the maintenance shop operates in a safe and compliant manner. A sample of the fleet is physically inspected to ensure vehicles are properly maintained and in the best condition possible. In addition, shop supervisors and regional maintenance managers perform random post PM audit to review quality of PMs performed.
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Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 8 | Page
UNPLANNED BREAKDOWNS
A vehicle breakdown or road-call is an unplanned interruption in the service of a bus that requires a technician to inspect the bus for a possible problem or to perform a mechanical repair before the bus can continue or start on a planned route or trip. When a breakdown occurs, the driver will immediately call the dispatcher or general manager to communicate and discuss the problem. The breakdown information will be communicated to the shop supervisor. Upon completion of the response and repair, all actions and parts are documented on the repair order and recorded in the vehicle maintenance tracking system as an in service failure.
If the bus has not left the customer service center, a technician will diagnose the problem and repair it. If the problem cannot be safely repaired in order to meet the route’s schedule, a replacement bus will be dispatched. If the bus is in route to pick up passengers or has started picking up passengers, a replacement bus will be dispatched to transfer the passengers safely and to pick up the remaining passengers. A repair
technician will be
dispatched in a service
vehicle to repair the broken
bus.
Mechanical
Failure Review
All mechanical failures that
occur on the road or while
assigned to an operator will
be reviewed for cause. The maintenance facility lead or supervisor will review each occurrence for prior maintenance history, including last PM type, mileage, technician making repairs and the circumstances leading up to the failure.
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Response Page 71
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 9 | Page
School Bus Transportation
Equipment and
Maintenance
Cold Weather Start-Up Maintenance Program
Our cold start procedure helps prevent breakdowns or unnecessary stalling due to exposed cold weather. The procedure helps to ensure operations will run ontime and without any initial delay. Drivers are trained to properly start a vehicle and identify dangerous issues, e.g., frozen batteries or starter problems. Drivers are advised to place plastic bags on mirrors and wiper blades after the last run if snow or freezing rain is forecasted. At all times, ice and snow are removed from the stop-arm and crossing gate and opening and closing mechanisms. Drivers are required to keep the fuel tank full at all times.
COMPUTERIZED FLEET MAINTENANCE – ORACLE
ENTERPRISE ASSET
MANAGEMENT (EAM)
AND DIAGNOSTIC
TECHNOLOGIES
We use Oracle eAM, a fleet
maintenance system to schedule all
preventive fleet maintenance, manage
inventory and review repair order
history for failure analysis. Each of our buses are scheduled for regular PM inspections according to miles traveled or days operated, depending on the type of operation and service being provided. We use this system with the help of work orders for managing maintenance work, procuring parts, managing inventory and maintaining history.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Each fleet location is managed with a weekly review of KPIs using the eAM system. The local fleet management team is responsible for ensuring proficiency in key areas such as timely completion of inspections, cost controls, productivity, completion of manufacturer safety recalls, percentage of on-road failures and percentage of out-of-service vehicles.
Response Page 72
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 10 | Page
KPI Reports
Oracle eAM offers a configurable series of dashboards showing critical KPIs. We have access to comprehensive reports that our technicians can analyze to better serve our customers. Customized electronic reports may also be created quickly as needed. Our KPI reports include:
Preventative maintenance (PM) compliance
On road failures
Mileage updates
Warranties, repairs and claims
Parts inventory
Electronic repair order and vehicle recordkeeping
Asset performance (utilization, cost/hour, etc.)
Schedule and resource loading
Work orders and work requests
Quality Checks
Management personnel will review the KPI reports weekly. The regional maintenance manager and shop supervisor will perform a monthly audit on vehicles to help ensure vehicle safety and verify the quality of the inspections recently completed by each technician. He/she will review the inspection reports with the technicians to ensure PM excellence.
Sample Maintenance Performance Report
Response Page 73
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 11 | Page
School Bus Transportation
Equipment and
Maintenance
Diagnostic Tooling Systems
Diagnostic software and tools are used to minimize downtime of the bus while improving the efficiency and quality of the repairs. We use JPRO® Commercial Fleet diagnostic system, along with other OEM diagnostic software, to diagnose failures and help determine root cause and necessary repairs.
Our fleet diagnostic system provides diagnostic and troubleshooting information for vehicle components. The diagnostic system senses active and inactive vehicle faults to give our technicians the ability to quickly review critical elements of each system. The system also records data into log files for playback, view and chart engine parameters, has report printing capability, and launches the fleet maintenance software for proper parts replacement. Key data point collections exist for the following components: vehicle, engine, transmission and brake.
Vehicle – Diagnostic elements include road speed limit, cruise set speed limit, average fuel economy, total engine hours, odometer, coolant level, battery voltage and oil level.
Engine – Diagnostic elements include air inlet pressure, exhaust pressure, fuel pressure, boost pressure, oil pressure, oil temperature, coolant temperature, fuel temperature, exhaust temperature, air inlet temperature and battery voltage.
Transmission – Diagnostic
elements include transmission
input speed, transmission
output speed, transmission
fluid temperature, gear
selected, gear obtained and
battery voltage.
Brake – Diagnostic elements
consist of road speed and
wheel speeds.
OEM MANUFACTURERS AND PARTS INVENTORY
To ensure the best quality parts are being used, we use OEM parts with major brand name suppliers only such as International®, Bridgestone®, Thomas Built®, Valvoline® and Exide Battery®. OEM parts support our commitment to safety and Response Page 74
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 12 | Page
quality as well as the confidence in and reliability of our buses. Our facilities carry ample parts inventory to perform all necessary repairs in a timely manner.
MAINTENANCE STAFF’S QUALITY COMMITMENT
We provide a professional fleet organization that encourages local initiative and decision making while working within a centrally managed network to create a working environment that rewards achievement, enthusiasm and team spirit, and offers personnel the opportunity for development and growth. Fleet operations will provide direction, management, and services to maximize fleet resources and to help ensure that we provide the safe and reliable service. We use a continuous process improvement approach that incorporates a customer service focus, safety practices, sound environmental methods, and encourages employees to excel in their professionalism and competency.
As part of our continued commitment to excellence, our performance development system (PDS) program embeds training and continuous improvement methodology for proactive scheduling of work and identifying and eliminating barriers to service optimization. We are always looking for ways to improve and take our service to the next level.
MAINTENANCE TRAINING
We believe our employees make the difference in providing the best possible vehicle maintenance for our customers. Preventive maintenance training to our maintenance staff enables us to maximize fleet resources and to ensure we ´:HDUHFRPPLWWHGWREHLQJUHFRJQL]HG
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– Keshav Ragunathan, Senior Director Asset
Management & Engineering
Response Page 75
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 13 | Page
School Bus Transportation
Equipment and
Maintenance
provide the right bus in the safest, most reliable and cost-effective manner. In addition, technicians have the opportunity to get the training directly from manufacturers for engines, alternators, electrical system etc. We also send a few technicians each year to hands-on factory training offered by bus manufacturers to ensure we have a trained knowledge pool.
All technicians are required to receive preventive maintenance training. Each technician is required to take the PMX program covering topics such as engine, drive train, brake and body systems. A passing score of 80% is required to obtain the certification.
Required Certifications
PM certification (all technicians)
Brake training (Tech II and above)
Air-conditioning certification (all as required)
CDL (all technicians)
Other certification as required by NELLC or regulatory agency(s) Maintenance Safety Training Meetings
All of our maintenance shops will have a mandatory 30-minute safety training meeting conducted by the maintenance facility lead at least once a month, covering such topics as shop safety practices, fire prevention and new techniques.
Response Page 76
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 14 | Page
Maintenance Information Portal
We have developed an information portal that hosts technical information and training resources for all of our technicians. With service information now becoming widely available via the electronic media, we have setup this portal that can be accessed by every technician. Information hosted via this portal include PM training resources, manufacturer technical and service information, field campaigns issued by suppliers, etc.
ASE Certification Program
Our maintenance personnel are encouraged to participate in the automotive service excellence (ASE) certification program for school bus technicians. ASE is a broad-based program, testing general areas for school bus technician skills. The certification is tailored to specific tasks the technician must perform every day at the customer service center. We reimburse tuition for the ASE certification exam and award up to a $500 recognition award to employees who achieve certification. We have also instituted a program to award annual bonus to our master certified technicians that are continuously employed by us.
Technicians earn classifications based on education, experience, and possession of hand tools, as well as successfully passing ASE and our internal tests. Our technician classification system has three designations:
Class I technician
Class II technician
Class III technician
Each designation has specific minimum requirements outlined in job descriptions. Technicians also develop their skills through in-service training provided throughout the year. Because of our rigorous certification process, our company has some of the best-trained technicians in the student transportation industry, resulting in a safer fleet and lower maintenance costs. We have 25 master certified technicians and more than 65 employees are currently progressing through various stages of the program.
Maintenance Shop Blue Seal Certification
We have started the certification process of our repair shops that will meet the ASE criteria for blue seal of excellence recognition program. This program will Response Page 77
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 15 | Page
School Bus Transportation
Equipment and
Maintenance
enable us to showcase the quality of technicians we employ, while providing best service to our customer. We strive to remain an attractive choice for employment of qualified technicians.
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Response Page 78
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E 1/2/2025
Response Page 79
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Willis Towers Watson Northeast, Inc.
c/o 26 Century Blvd
P.O. Box 305191
Nashville, TN 372305191 USA
Durham School Services
2601 Navistar Drive
Lisle, IL 60532
Evidence of Coverage
10/29/2024
1-877-945-7378 1-888-467-2378
[email protected]
ACE American Insurance Company 22667
Old Republic Insurance Company 24147
W35981793
A
5,000,000
5,000,000
10,000
5,000,000
5,000,000
5,000,000
HDO G4889804A 11/01/2024 11/01/2025
A
5,000,000
ISA H10819490 11/01/2024 11/01/2025
MWC 314263 24 B 3,000,000 No 11/01/2024 11/01/2025 3,000,000 3,000,000
SR ID: 26672531 BATCH: 3681209
Willis Towers Watson Certificate Center
Response Page 80
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Exhibit C
Charter Passenger Policy – School Bus
Purpose
This policy provides guidance to the Customer regarding all charter transportation passengers, including but not limited to, employees, staff, and customers of the Customer who ride the charter buses provided by the Carrier.
Scope
This policy prohibits the following acts on any Carrier vehicle which is used as part of the services Carrier provides to Customer under the Agreement:
Smoking tobacco or any other substance, or carrying a lighted or smoldering substance in any form. With the exception of peace officers, carrying aboard any weapon. Carrying aboard any flammable or explosive substance except for matches and cigarette lighters. For example, cooking stoves, propane tanks and other fuels are prohibited. Carrying aboard any package or article of a size which will block any aisle, emergency exit, or stairway of the vehicle. Carrying aboard any animal not housed in an enclosed carrying container. Such container cannot block or hinder travel in the aisle, emergency exit, or stairway. Service animals are allowed. Carrying aboard a stroller unless such item is folded and unoccupied. Strollers must remain folded while aboard the vehicle and must not block or obstruct an aisle, emergency exit, or stairway. Playing radios or other audio devices or musical instruments aboard unless the only sound produced by such item is emitted by a personal listening attachment (earphone) audible only to the person carrying the device producing the sound. An exception exists for peace officers, security guards, and for Carrier officials while performing their official duties.
Littering, discarding, or depositing any trash, debris, or offensive substances in non-appropriate places. Spitting, urinating, or defecating.
Damaging, writing upon, or otherwise defacing or altering property. Fighting or engaging in any violent, tumultuous, or threatening behavior. Making excessive and unnecessary noise, or using profanity. Obstructing the free movement of passengers.
Interfering with the safe operation or movement of a Carrier vehicle or operator. Standing or otherwise occupying any space in front of the line marked on the forward end of the floor of the vehicle or otherwise conducting himself in such a manner as to obstruct the vision of the vehicle operator while the vehicle is in motion.
Impeding the opening of, or interfering or tampering with, or otherwise obstructing the operation or use of, any window, door, or other emergency exit.
Standing in the way of direction or impeding the vehicle from moving. Posting or removing any notice or advertisement unless authorized by a Carrier official.
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E Throwing any stone, wood, snow or other substance at, into, or from any Carrier vehicle. Gambling or soliciting others to engage in gambling.
Engaging in any activity prohibited by State, County, or Municipal law. Entering or exiting a Carrier vehicle through the rear exit door unless directed by a Carrier official or in the event of an emergency.
Climbing through a window or extending an arm, leg or head out the window of any Carrier vehicle. Hanging onto or attaching oneself to any exterior part of a Carrier vehicle while the vehicle is resting or in motion. Running or engaging in any horseplay.
Refusing to leave any Carrier vehicle after having been ordered to do so by the operator of the vehicle, a security guard, peace officer, or Carrier official or supervisor.
Compliance
If a Carrier operator encounters any individual(s) violating this policy on a Carrier vehicle, the operator will ask the individual(s) to stop the activity or leave the premises. If the individual(s) persist in their conduct, the Carrier will notify a peace officer who will take the appropriate action. Compliance with this policy is required of each passenger. Failure to comply with this policy may result in immediate removal up to suspension of charter transportation privileges.
Docusign Envelope ID: 8B8BA28C-80C6-44C3-87EC-F67AABAAA90E