The Inter-Mountain photo by Eliana McCutcheon Transportation Director Randy Long works in the Randolph County Schools bus garage this week.

The Inter-Mountain photo by Eliana McCutcheon
Transportation Director Randy Long works in the Randolph County Schools bus garage this week.

ELKINS –In preparation for the first day of the school year, Thursday, Aug. 15, Randy Long, director of transportation for Randolph County Schools, said bus drivers are busy getting their buses ready to transport students.

Long said it is a priority of the staff to make sure that the children who are placed in their care remain safe. As a result, the transportation staff works long days in the summer leading up to the school year.

“We have about 47 legal buses in route,” Long said. “We service everything throughout the summer. We do any major repairs needed, we do all of the greasing, all of the oil changing, all of the tires, we pretty much work them all over. Every single bus from one end to the other. Some need assistance on transmission work, to radiator installation. We are getting the buses safe and road worthy.”

Long explained how much work is involved in maintaining the bus fleet.

“Some counties do things differently. What we do is we try to grease and change the oil every 8,000 miles. We also bring the buses in every 2,000 miles for a grease job. If some buses do not put 2,000 miles on, we try to bring them in at least every couple months to go over and do general maintenance on them and service them as well,” he said.

“We travel around 5,000 miles a day, not counting extracurricular trips. We put a lot of miles on them. We have three mechanics and in the summer, we also have part-time help. We sent our guys off to training yesterday for five days. They had training at the Canaan Valley Resort. They took classes from general repair to breaks and service. They also took an electrical class. So, it is pretty intense through the summer. We get three months and we have to work.

“Now, we have a few more buses left to do. We are over 90% done at this point. We will be ready! The drivers will come out (today) and we will start bus driver training at Elkins Middle School,” he said. “We will give them six hours of class there on Friday, work throughout the day on Friday, and be back at work on Monday. Then, we will put the buses on the road on the 14th. The drivers will be out and getting ready for their routes.

“We have a few new drivers this year, so this gives them the opportunity to learn their routes. We are in the process of getting two new buses. One is a special needs bus and the other is 77 passenger bus.”

Long urges anyone who is interested in applying for a position as a substitute bus driver to call the county office at 304-636-9150 ex. 145.

“Right now, I do not have enough subs,” he said. “We are taking applications for substitute driver. It seems that every county throughout the state is having some issues finding substitute bus drivers.

“We are right on the line. I would like to have a couple more subs. However, I have all of my regular routes filled. I am pretty much operating with five subs and 47 drivers. For those who are interested in applying, they can go to the Randolph County Board of Education website and find the job postings,” Long said. “They need to upload their high school diploma or their GED equivalent as well as anything else that they might have, like college experience. They can attach those things with the application and then once they submit it, we will go from there. They can also call me and I can give them any information that they need.”

Long also shared some helpful information about what the public can do to help ensure the safety of children who ride the bus.

“When the red lights come on, it is the law to stop for the bus,” he said. “We have had a lot of illegal passes in the past. One illegal pass is too many. We have even had two that have passed on the right hand side of the bus on the door side. That could be a problem. So, please stop for buses for the safety of the children.”