Laurel School District counts on Power Service Products’ Diesel Fuel Supplement to keep the buses running in the recent sub-zero weather!
Source: The 1.13.10 issues of the Laurel Outlook, Laurel, Montana
 
Unlike Billings' School District No. 2 and First Student Transportation, that had to deal with buses that wouldn't start and students left at bus stops, Laurel Schools' Transportation Department was prepared for last week's sub-zero temperatures. Laurel's students weren't left out in the cold when wind chills dropped below -40 degrees.

 “This is Montana and we are prepared for operation in cold weather,” Laurel Schools Transportation Director Herb Townsend said.

The District used its AlertNow phone system last Wednesday evening to advise parents to dress their children warmly and to be prepared for bus delays after sub-zero temperatures were forecast overnight. The following message was sent at 6 pm. to the homes of all of the district's students:

 “Hello. This notice is from the Laurel School District. According to the Weather Channel, it is expected that temperatures on Thursday morning, Jan. 7, will be well below zero with wind chills dropping to -25 degrees. We ask that your children dress warmly for the anticipated colder temperatures at bus stops, on the bus, or walking to and from school. We also want to notify those parents whose children ride the bus to anticipate slight delays as our drivers deal with the snowy road conditions. As always, thank you for your assistance and have a great evening.”

Townsend said the Transportation Department knows what to expect when the weather gets cold and tries to prepare ahead of time so the buses run smoothly. He noted the district did have one minor problem on Thursday morning - a bus headed to Clapper Flat, north of Laurel, developed a problem and another bus was sent out immediately, so student pick up was delayed by only 10 minutes.

The Laurel School District maintains its own buses and bus drivers fuel them locally at Town and County Supply or Town Pump. The diesel engines burn No. 2 diesel fuel and during cold weather, drivers use a diesel fuel supplement, Power Service PS, to keep the fuel from gelling up when temperatures drop. When the fuel gels, it doesn't flow smoothly to the engines' injectors and the engines won't run.

The District normally begins adding the diesel fuel supplement in October and continues its use into the spring. The District's buses are checked out each morning by bus driver Rick Bailey. Paul Songer at Riverside Repair maintains the buses and when it is cold, he comes to the District's bus barn early in the morning to assist Bailey and make sure all the buses start and run properly.

Buses start leaving on their routes between 7 am. and 7:30 am. to pick up between 400-450 students daily.

Assistant Transportation Director Zada Stamper said one container of the fuel supplement treats 100 gallons on fuel and about $5.50 per bottle. On cold weather days, which means anything below 20 degrees, Bailey and Songer show up at 5 am. to get the buses used on the 13 routes started and warming up. They also start up three spare buses, just in case they are needed. During cold weather bus engine heaters are left plugged in when the buses are not in use.

“We don't just have to worry about our buses starting, but we also have to be concerned with road conditions and other bus maintenance issue created by wear and tear and the cold temperatures,” Stamper said. She credited much of the smooth operation on the bus routes to the district's bus drivers.

“We have incredible drivers,” she said. “They care about the kids and they take good care of their buses to make sure they are safe.”

Ad-Maker Downloads

Authorized distributors can download high-quality images of product line art and color photography for their advertising needs. All images are taken from our hard copy Ad-Maker Kit. Contact Power Service to request your user ID and password.

back to top