By Molly McGee Hewitt, PhD, CAE Last month, my leadership article focused on strategy within the transportation sector. This month, I’m excited to introduce the concept of execution.   Execution? That word can carry a negative connotation, often evoking thoughts of dire situations! However, the execution I’m referring to involves implementing our plans and utilizing strategies to propel us forward. In reality, we execute our tasks daily! This term embodies activity, action, and the thoughtful implementation of our plans rather than marking an end. An esteemed colleague once introduced me to the following steps for planning and change: • Analyze • Strategize • Plan • Execute • Evaluate These steps have become foundational to my personal analysis and planning. Begin with a thorough analysis of the current situation—determine what needs to change and assess our existing successes. Next, move on to strategy: dedicate time to think critically and develop methods that can enhance your organization or circumstance. The third stage is crafting a plan, which should be a written document detailing clear expectations, timelines, required resources, assignments, and goals. The fourth step—execution—is the focus of this article, as it’s often overlooked or neglected. For any plan, idea, or process to thrive, execution is essential! Initiate the plan, take action, and stop merely contemplating what you intend to do—just do it! Many individuals rush to step five too quickly, evaluating the plan before it’s even implemented. Premature evaluation can hinder progress and stifle initiative. Just like the other four steps, while post-activity evaluation can provide valuable insights, doing it too early can compromise our planning efforts. Numerous professionals excel at the first three steps. They relish analyzing, strategizing, and planning! Unfortunately, they frequently stall at that point. Organizational politics, lack of authority to implement their plans, or fear—fear of failure or fear of the plan not succeeding—can all impede execution. Without a focus on executing, even the best plans may face the risk of failure! If you examine my professional library, you’ll find hundreds of books on leadership, time management, and adult education, along with a myriad of diet books! However, purchasing a book doesn’t guarantee that I’ll apply its insights. Throughout my education and training, I’ve realized that possessing information is beneficial, but utilizing that information is what truly transforms outcomes! Mastery of any subject requires experience and expertise, which can only be gained through execution. One of my friends uses ChatGPT to plan their vacations. They invest hours analyzing their destination, timing, and desired sights, then leverage AI to devise strategies regarding costs and logistics. They subsequently use AI to create a detailed timeline for their trip! Once these steps are complete, they execute the plan by embarking on the journey and making use of the gathered information. Without execution, the meticulously crafted trip remains just a fantasy! While AI has certainly broadened our possibilities and enhanced our capabilities, even the most advanced AI cannot execute a plan—that requires a dedicated and committed individual! It also necessitates the understanding that even the best plans and strategies may require adjustments or management. So, how do you approach analysis, strategy, planning, execution, and evaluation? Could adopting a systematic methodology enable you to advance more swiftly and effectively in your department and career? I’m confident it can!

  By Bella Ma, RIDE In my role as an account manager for RIDE, I frequently work with school transportation teams who are new to EV technology and looking for answers about what it really means to operate battery-powered school buses. From my eight years at RIDE (where I’ve worked in purchasing, supply chain, project management, and now sales), I’ve gained an inside-out understanding of how these innovative vehicles are built, what makes them safe, and why RIDE’s vertically integrated approach provides added confidence for districts making the transition. Transportation leaders accustomed to traditional diesel or propane buses exploring the transition to electric vehicles really like to hear about the features and benefits that set electric school buses apart from their less high-tech counterparts.  Understanding as much as possible about my customers, their needs, and their drivers’ concerns, helps answer the questions they often have about electric school buses. The concerns are nearly universal: • How far can they go on a charge? • What level of service does RIDE provide? • Why are they safer than other ESBs? • When can I get one? When these concerns come up, I always lead with education. Depending on battery size, driver training and road conditions, range of an electric school bus can vary. Generally speaking, our most robust school buses, the Type C Creator, equipped with a 282-kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Blade Battery, is capable of covering 170 miles on a single charge. RIDE’s LFP batteries have been tested under extreme conditions and have proven their safety and reliability. In the United States, we’ve delivered more than 1,000 battery-electric transit buses, and globally over 80,000. We’re happy to share test reports and technical documentation to help customers feel confident about our safety and range claims. I often hear from agencies that have purchased competitors’ products and now want to retrofit them with RIDE’s batteries. While we appreciate the confidence, we always politely decline. Service Another concern from districts is the possibility of the bus simply losing power and stopping without warning. In response, I walk customers through our battery management system and the backup protocols built into the bus design. But more than that, we offer dedicated training to make sure drivers are fully prepared to operate these school buses in real-world conditions. We provide on-site training both before and after delivery to help staff get comfortable with every aspect of the vehicle.  RIDE has dedicated service hubs around the United States to provide technical and service support when needed. There is a reason why RIDE can assuredly say we offer the safest batteries. When it comes to electric safety, one of RIDE’s most important differentiators is vertical integration. Unlike many OEMs that outsource batteries or rely on third-party propulsion systems, RIDE does it all in-house. BYD, our parent company, started as a battery manufacturer.  We have spent more than 30 years in the battery business. That experience gives us full control over our supply chain and confidence in every component installed in our vehicles. For school bus—unlike from our competitors— we have our own battery source, and control of the supply chain. PRIDE We also take pride in our rigorous quality control. Every RIDE vehicle undergoes a multi-stage inspection, some by our internal engineers and others by third-party auditors, before it leaves the plant. At every station, from assembly to testing, safety remains the guiding principle. In today’s climate, where every incident involving an EV bus becomes a headline, trust and transparency matter more than ever. That is why we aim to provide open dialogue with our customers, walk them through every layer of our battery and vehicle safety systems, and ensure they are never left without support. Ordering ESBs from RIDE or a RIDE dealer can be a smooth process. Depending on what type of ESB you want, we typically can have your clean, quiet and innovative RIDE product delivered to you in 10 to 14 months after receiving an order. At RIDE, we don’t just build electric buses. We build peace of mind, powered by safe, smart, and thoroughly tested energy systems designed specifically for school and transit environments. Bella Ma is Account Manager for RIDE. Visit www.ride.co for more information.

School BUSRide spoke with Kara Arundel, senior reporter for K-12 Dive (www.k12dive.com), about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) marking its 50th anniversary. She spoke about the milestone’s significance, the impact of IDEA on transportation, and how transportation professionals can continue to stay involved and enhance services for students with disabilities. We are marking 50 years of IDEA. How significant a moment is that, in your opinion? Kara Arundel: It’s a significant anniversary because IDEA began as a civil rights movement on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education. Before IDEA, there was no federal guarantee of a free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Now, some states did go ahead and make that guarantee, but it wasn’t uniform nationwide. What I also think is significant is the evolution over time of the implementation of IDEA. When the federal law first began, students with disabilities were allowed in the school building; that was a big moment. But fast-forwarding to now, there are accountability systems in place and best practices to ensure that students with disabilities have access to grade-level academic standards and that they are meaningfully included in other aspects of school life. How would you characterize the impact of IDEA on our education system and on the lives of the children it has served? Do you feel it has achieved what its framers set out to achieve all those years ago? Arundel: I think the impact of IDEA has been tremendous. I mean, parents have told me really heartbreaking stories of their children getting a disability diagnosis at a very young age and being told what their child wouldn’t be able to do, both as a young child and even looking into adulthood. It was always negative. I think IDEA has helped change that mindset and change the future of millions of students and children with disabilities because they’re getting educational support and peer interactions; interactions with their classmates who don’t have disabilities. I’m not an expert in the day-to-day, but I’ve really thought about this question because I think it’s important. One thing I’d say is that it should start with relationships and relationship building. That’s something that I hear a lot from special education experts. For kids, the school bus driver is the hero. So, the bus driver’s kindness and attention to each student and their family matters a lot. Is it perfect everywhere? No. But there has been a major focus for decades on supporting students with disabilities and also supporting those educators who work with those students and, really importantly, the families who have children with disabilities. To repeat something I heard recently: “Don’t forget that special education students are general education students first.” Our members are engaged daily in getting yellow school buses to transport 25 million children to their education, and that includes many students with disabling conditions. Can you comment on that role that we play? Arundel: Under IDEA, the student’s individualized education program team (whichincludes administrators, educators, parents, related service providers, and sometimes the students when they’re older) needs to consider whether each student needs transportation accommodations to support academic progress. That might mean having an aide support a student on the bus. Or it could mean the student is entitled to a pickup right in front of their home. Whatever the accommodation, it’s based on each student’s individualized need on a case-by-case basis. Under IDEA, this is at no cost to parents if the accommodation is listed on the student’s IEP. But it’s important to say that doesn’t mean school systems must transport students with disabilities separately from general education students. IDEA has a provision called “least restrictive environment,” which is about determining the best setting for students with disabilities, starting with the most general inclusion alongside their non-disabled peers. This applies to transportation, too. So, students with disabilities can and often do ride alongside their non-disabled peers when that’s the best setting. But sometimes students need a more restrictive setting, which might mean a specialized school bus. Again, this is decided case-by-case. How can we get more training and preparation for school bus drivers to help them do their jobs for students with disabilities and IEPs? Arundel: I’m not an expert in the day-to-day, but I’ve really thought about this question because I think it’s important. One thing I’d say is that it should start with relationships and relationship building. That’s something that I hear a lot from special education experts. For kids, the school bus driver is the hero. So, the bus driver’s kindness and attention to each student and their family matters a lot. The other aspect is safety. In addition to driving a bus and staying alert to traffic, a bus driver is monitoring student behavior. If a student with disabilities has accommodations specific to their bus ride, like special seating or loading/unloading protocols. The driver really should be aware of those. That goes back to relationships between transportation experts and the school or district administration. What do you see coming on the horizon that gives you hope for IDEA and special education, including implications for transportation? Arundel: I think we’ll see more innovative practices. Hopefully, that includes helpful technology for drivers as they safely transport students. I’m also thinking of overall road safety. I live in Washington, D.C., and some of these roads are really difficult to navigate in my small car. So I’m hopeful for more road improvements, maybe backed by technology like road-calming practices that can help traffic safety overall. Specifically for school buses, cameras that capture cars illegally passing stopped buses are hopefully helping decrease that behavior. As for special education, districts are struggling with teacher shortages as well as driver shortages, and that pressure extends across the entire school system, which all supports students with disabilities. That makes it harder to ensure best practices reach every area – not just the classroom but extracurriculars and the school bus. That’s why school experts Read More >

  By Joe Jenkins With 16 years in the alternative fuels space, including electric, hybrid, propane, and natural gas, I have worked through the evolution of vehicle technology from early aftermarket conversions to today’s purpose-built, factory-designed electric school buses. At IC Bus, I focus specifically on supporting customers through the transition from internal combustion to electric, with a core emphasis on power safety and how to get the most out of their new bus. When school districts first begin exploring electric buses, safety is usually their top concern, and rightfully so. They’re used to diesel fleets and often hear conflicting information about EVs. My job is to cut through that noise and give transportation teams a grounded, practical understanding of how electric school bus power systems work, and more importantly, how they’re engineered to keep drivers, technicians, and students safe. Addressing Common Misconceptions The most common concern I hear is about battery fires. There’s a public perception (fueled by media and online content) that EVs are prone to thermal events. But the reality is that modern EV platforms, especially in the school transportation sector, are designed with layers of safety redundancies to prevent and mitigate those risks. Fires in electric school buses are extremely rare. From day one, we’ve designed our vehicles with active battery cooling systems, real-time battery monitoring, physical safety disconnects, and component fuses to make sure power is only delivered when it is safe to do so. These systems work together to detect abnormalities and shut things down long before a hazard develops. A Unique Approach to High-Voltage Safety Where IC Bus stands out is in our attention to detail when it comes to technician safety and system transparency. In many medium-duty vehicles, high-voltage cabling is identified only by a solid orange color, giving no real indication of what’s behind it. That leaves the technician guessing: what is this cable connected to? Is it live? Is it isolated? We took a different approach. At IC Bus, all high-voltage cables are clearly marked with colored stripes and labeled numerically: 1, 2, or 3. These markings indicate exactly how deep into the isolation process a technician must go to safely handle a specific cable or component. That level of clarity eliminates ambiguity and supports both routine maintenance and emergency service work. We also provide technicians and fleet personnel with detailed documentation and training that directly aligns with these visual safety indicators. They know what each marking means, how to interpret them, and how to work confidently around high-voltage components. Keeping the Cabin Free of High Voltage Another IC Bus safety feature that we prioritize is keeping all high-voltage components outside the passenger cabin. Everything is located at chassis level, ensuring that even in the event of a crash or emergency extraction, there is reduced risk of a student or first responder coming into contact with dangerous voltage. This is especially important for emergency response teams. If a district requests it, we’ll conduct on-site training with local fire departments or EMS teams to walk through the vehicle and answer their specific questions: Where can they cut? What parts are safe to handle? What tools should they use or avoid? We want them to be prepared and comfortable when responding to any incident involving one of our buses. Built-In Diagnostic Safeguards One of the more advanced but lesser-known safety features, now common in passenger cars, and we align with is the high-voltage interlock system. This is a low-voltage circuit embedded in every high-voltage connection. It detects whether the cable is fully snapped and locked into its component. If it’s not, the system alerts the vehicle with a fault code or indicator and prevents high-voltage current from flowing. This is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle. It prevents situations where a loose cable that is still energized could cause arcing or component damage. It also adds another layer of protection for the operator and technician. If something isn’t fully connected, the vehicle knows, and it tells you. A Safer Transition to EV When districts adopt electric buses, they are stepping into unfamiliar territory. I make it a priority to train every stakeholder, not just the technicians, but also drivers, managers, and even administrative staff. In this way, they understand the systems and feel confident operating them. And when questions do come up, whether it’s “can I change my charging strategy to increase efficiency?” or “why is my range different than expected?” we’re there. We help interpret the vehicle’s telematics, determine whether a service visit is needed, and support every step of the EV ownership journey. What I always emphasize is that this is still the same IC Bus platform that customers know and trust. All the standard school bus safety features (emergency exits, hatches, mandated configurations by state spec) are still in place. The vehicle may be powered differently, but the integrity of the bus as a safe transport vehicle remains unchanged. Joe Jenkins is a Zero Emissions Customer Onboarding Manager for International Truck and IC Bus. Visit www.icbus.com for more information.