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How districts keep school buses warm on cold mornings

Posted at 7:45 AM, Feb 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-21 09:45:43-05

COLORADO SPRINGS – We’re watching out for your students safety, with what exactly it takes to warm up those school buses on brutally cold mornings.

The process actually starts the night before! Drivers start by plugging in their engine block heater when they’re finished for the day. These pre-heat the engines overnight and keep the coolant at about 60 degrees. That’s just the start.

In the morning, if it’s below 10 degrees, the fleet manager arrives at 4 a.m. to check the batteries and start any buses that may need a jump. He also makes sure to start the spare buses.

“In case we have any issues with the other ones that were not aware of,” explains District 11 Fleet Maintenance Manager John Hill. “If something happens, they have a bus they can go to that’s already warmed up for them, so they don’t have to sit in it, start it, and warm the thing up.”

When drivers arrive all they have to do is put those keys in the ignition and power up the bus! By the time your student hops on the school bus, it’s already been warming up for several hours.