PSD buses undergo thorough state inspection

Peninsula School District mechanic Joni Dupille preps a school bus at the Peninsula School District shop prior to a recent afternoon run. Photo by Peter Ruble

The Washington State Patrol did its annual inspection of Peninsula School District’s fleet of 90 buses between April 13 and 17.

Every aspect of the buses was examined thoroughly, including steering, brakes, lights, emergency doors and more.

According to Peninsula School District shop foreman Joel Schroeder, 3.5 percent of the buses were declared “out of service.”

The bus drivers do a pre-inspection twice daily of the brakes, doors and lights. Schroeder and his team do an inspection every 60 days to ensure the Washington State Patrol has as little to worry about as possible.

According to Schroeder, his inspection is “brutal” in it's thoroughness and is held to a very high standard.

“We jack up the front of the bus and inspect the dome lights, seats for tears, buzzers, steering, rock chips larger than a nickel, trip hazards, steering, leaks in the exhaust and all emergency doors,” Schroeder said.

According to PSD Director of Transportation Annie Bell, the percentage of out of service vehicles is a good percentage, considering the buses cover 120 square miles each day and average 7,000 miles a day. They also encompass 425 daily hours spread among 70 drivers who each drive between four and six hours a day.