School Bus Safety Failures Spike In Minnesota

ARE FAILED BUS INSPECTIONS PUTTING OUR CHILDREN AT RISK OF INJURY?

There is concerning information about school bus companies in Minnesota failing bus state inspections.

The Minnesota State Patrol conducts the inspections every year and says the rise in failures is partly due to the expanded inspection standards that went into effect in 2021.

State inspection records indicate that many of our Minnesota bus companies repeatedly fail annual inspections, and those problems are growing. In 2019, there were approximately 1500 failed inspections, compared to approximately 4500 in 2023.

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CLOSE TO HOME

It seems that the bus companies aren't taking the inspections seriously. Lt. Brian Reu, the person in charge of vehicle inspections for the Minnesota State Patrol said, "When you start seeing that 50% or higher rate, it goes to show that they really aren't putting that effort into maintaining their fleet."

FAILED INSPECTIONS SHOW CONCERNING RESULTS

The records indicate that one company failed 100% of the inspections. Midwest Bus Services which provides bus transportation to students in St. Paul had 25 inspections and failed all 25. Pride Transportation in St. Paul failed 91% of its safety inspections last year, and has since given their new fleet manager extensive training, and says that their top priority is providing a safe and reliable transportation service.

Bloomington Public Schools owns their fleet of buses and is one of the largest districts in the state according to the article. Bloomington Public Schools failed 57% of their bus safety inspections last year, with 69 of their buses considered unsafe for use.

 AREA BUS SERVICES

Closer to home, there are several central Minnesota bus service companies that made the list.

Some of those bus services include:

• Albertville: Don's Bus Service failed 28 of 55 inspections
• Buffalo: Vision of Buffalo, failing 13 of 20 inspections

You can see the full list by clicking HERE.

The violations vary from malfunctioning crossing control arms to problems with emergency exits.

THE GOOD NEWS FOR PARENTS

The good news for parents? Once a Bus receives a failed report, it is not allowed back on the road until the issues are fixed. If a company allows a bus back on the road, there is a new state law that makes that a crime and the driver and company can be subject to a gross misdemeanor charge for using a bus that's been deemed 'Out of Service."

You can learn more by watching the video below.

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