Bellevue East High School uses vans to transport equipment and students in limited numbers without using a bus.
Many students involved in things such as sports, band, or other extracurricular activities use the vans often. They use them for events, practices, etc.
“I have been in them for [going to] rehearsals and band related things,” junior Amos Vignolo said. “If our parents couldn’t take us then the coaches could take us.”
Bellevue East provides the vans for both staff and student use, so both equipment and students can be transported safely. Even though they are used as an alternative to the buses, they still cost more money than average vans.
“The most recent quote I received from a certified dealer was $79,900 per van,” Director of Transportation Matthew Moore said.
The school vans cost more than a regular van because of the seating arrangement. The school uses nine passenger vans, which means that the typical 12 passenger vans must be modified.
“Currently, there aren’t any manufacturers that make 10 passenger vans (nine passengers + one Driver) they make 12 passenger vans so the seating needs to be rearranged,” Moore said.
The Transportation Department modifies these vans due to state law, as well as paying for them. Added onto providing the vans, the Transportation Department also handles state vehicle inspections.
“Coaches/teachers report an issue with a van when it occurs,” Activities Director Chad Holtz said. “It doesn’t happen very often because of the regular maintenance that is done on the vans.”
The school currently isn’t sure when they will buy new vans to replace the current ones, or if they will replace them with something else. Some students think that the vans should be replaced more frequently, and have had issues with the current ones.
“When we were turning to come out [of the parking lot] I was sitting on the bench and it wasn’t connected to the floor, so the whole thing tipped over on me,” Vignolo said. “They need help, they need to make sure they’re actually working.”
Though there have been incidents with the vans, the school keeps up regular maintenance and inspections. Added onto this, if the school reports an issue, the Department of Transportation can get those issues fixed.
“Every 80 days the vans go through a thorough preventative maintenance State Vehicle Inspection that is conducted by our Transportation Department Mechanics,” Moore said.
Maintenance is done to keep them ready for these inspections, but there is also reactive maintenance. This kind of maintenance happens only when schools report issues in the vans, so many issues must be addressed officially.
“There really isn’t a set time period of when the vans get replaced,” Moore said. “Different factors such as miles, condition of the vehicle and cost of upkeep go into decisions on when it makes the most sense to purchase replacements.”
