School Bus Safety Starts Before the First Pickup
Logan Bus Company · October 19, 2026
For a parent waiting at the curb, school bus safety is personal. It means a child arriving at school ready to learn, a dependable trip home and someone who listens when a concern arises.
Behind that daily expectation is work most families never see including preparing drivers, checking vehicles, maintaining buses and coordinating the people responsible for each route.
During National School Bus Safety Week, October 19–23, Logan Bus is highlighting that work and the responsibility that comes with transporting New York City students. The national theme, “Safe Rides, Everyday Heroes,” recognizes the people behind the ride. For Logan, it is also a reminder that trust must be earned through everyday service.
Investing in the People Behind the Wheel
Preparing a school bus driver takes time, instruction and practice. According to Executive Vice President Corey Muirhead, Logan hires and pays to train an average of 335 drivers each year through its CDL training program, at an average annual cost of $2.4 million.
Those company-reported figures describe an ongoing investment in developing qualified drivers. They do not include every part of Logan’s recruiting or employee training efforts.
Logan’s driver training program combines classroom learning with experience behind the wheel. Continuing education covers safety, emergency procedures, communication and regulatory responsibilities. Monthly safety meetings and refresher instruction keep those responsibilities part of the job after initial training ends.
Drivers and attendants also need to understand the children and families they serve. Professionalism includes how employees answer a question, respond to a concern and help a student feel comfortable on board.
Safety Continues in the Yard and on the Road
Vehicle care and operational oversight support the work of trained employees.
Logan’s Safety Department conducts field inspections, monitors operations, investigates safety concerns and supports drivers. These responsibilities help connect instruction with what happens during a route.
The company’s operational practices also include child-check procedures, communication among drivers, attendants and dispatchers, and preventive fleet maintenance. Each serves a practical purpose: keeping attention on students and addressing concerns as part of the daily operation.
Muirhead also reports that Logan replaces an average of 10 percent of its fleet each year, representing an average annual investment of $11 million. Fleet replacement is one part of the company’s broader approach to caring for the vehicles its employees operate.
For families, the importance of this work is straightforward. The bus they see at the stop depends on people preparing and caring for it before it arrives.
Dependable Service is a Responsibility
A late or missed bus can affect an entire household. A child may lose classroom time. A parent may be late to work. A school may need to adjust its day.
Logan’s responsibility includes recognizing that impact and responding with clear information. The scale of an operation does not make an individual family’s experience less important.
Working with New York City Public Schools and school administrators is part of that responsibility. Some transportation concerns require coordination across organizations. Families should still receive a clear explanation of the issue and the next step.
When a concern is raised, listening matters. Understanding what happened on a particular route is the starting point for a useful response. That means taking the concern seriously, reviewing the available information and following through.
A Partnership with Schools and Families
School bus safety also relies on the adults around each child. Drivers, attendants, dispatchers, mechanics, trainers, school staff and families contribute in different ways.
National School Bus Safety Week offers an opportunity to recognize those contributions and make the work behind transportation more visible. It also offers a reason to keep asking how service and communication can improve.
Logan’s commitment is to prepare employees; carefully maintain vehicles and take accountability for the transportation it provides. Investment in training and equipment supports that commitment; families experience it through the service they receive.
National School Bus Safety Week may end on October 23, but the responsibility continues with the next morning’s pickup.
