School buses ready to roll

Get ready to slow down. Quite literally.

School starts today.

Little kids with brand-new backpacks, high schoolers learning how to drive, college students who will later regret taking that 9 a.m. class.

They'll all be on the roads this morning.

Along with 1,467 school buses and a bunch of traffic cops.

Las Vegas police officer Jose Hernandez said enforcement will be heavy this week, especially in places with a history of pedestrian-related traffic accidents.

"That will be a big focus for us," he said, noting fines can be doubled for speeding in school zones.

In addition to the school zones and crosswalks, drivers should also look out for school buses.

Doug Geller, director of transportation with the Clark County School District, said the district's 1,467 school buses cover 8,000 square miles and drive 21 million miles each year.

They stop at 18,000 bus stops every day.

Those buses use 20,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel a day, and the bosses can find out where they are at any moment because they're all outfitted with GPS technology.

More than 100,000 students ride the buses every day. Geller said the district is experimenting with technology that would outfit the children with ID cards or some other scannable technology that would allow the district's computer system to track every one of them so no one gets lost.

"The reason we can do what we do is technology," he said.

The buses are housed at four different bus yards, and a new one is being built in the northwest. The new one is necessary to cut down on transportation costs, Geller said.

"It's millions of dollars in savings," he said. "Probably $6 million a year."

But the yard is behind schedule. It was supposed to be open by next week, but there have been delays in getting sewer and water lines, power lines and the roadway in place. They hope to have it open by Oct. 1, he said.

When it does open, it should relieve the roads in the center of town of some school buses, though that's going to mean more school buses in and around Ann Road and Interstate 215.

That intersection is already busy at rush hour, but Geller and Jon Howard, director of vehicle maintenance, said the buses will not all be rolling out at the same time. The buses will come out one by one over a few hours, they said.

College students don't take the buses. Most of them drive themselves. Which means they have to park somewhere.

University officials say they have enough spaces for all students, though finding that last open one can be difficult.

The university officials suggested students look at the parking lot maps online before leaving home, arrive early, carpool, and not be afraid to walk from the lot at the Thomas & Mack Center and the adjacent parking garages, which almost always have open spots.

For the confused, there will be electronic message boards at the university's main entrances directing students.

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.