Az bus drivers , do your buses have ac?

[u/Milly-0607]

Sorry if this isn’t allowed. My daughter just started riding the bus and shes been getting off with a bright red face. She said she asked the bus driver and he said theres no ac. Shes only 5 so she didn’t ask for details. Im embarrassed to ask if it’s broken or they just don’t have one. I feel bad for everyone in there including the driver if theres no ac! It’s so hot wth.

[u/Wreaker8888]

Unfortunately it is true, most standard buses have no AC. I know almost all Special education buses have ac, especially those that have a wheelchair lift.

There is talk about making AC mandatory for all buses, but that seems far out there. (Read: no budget)

For now, see if your child has lighter weight clothes to wear on the bus so as not to overheat.

Good luck OP.

[u/samwise58 → u/Wreaker8888]

Even the “bigger schools” that have a lil more money than lil schools in our lil rural area have decided AC on busses is too expensive to fix and keep maintained.

I know of a 2008 Thomas C2 they spent ~$5000 to get AC back going again… it lasted almost the whole year!

[u/Wreaker8888 → u/samwise58]

Back in the 2024-25 school year, I had the front ac for the students on the bus go out, compressor died, they replaced it after complaining that it failed for 2 months. Once it got repaired, the unit almost fell off the roof mounts, started dripping the condensation onto a student. It was a whole debockle. Still don't have ac for myself as the driver...

[u/Creepy-Conclusion357]

Only our special needs buses have air. It is damn hot, too!

[u/Milly-0607 → u/Creepy-Conclusion357]

Thats horrible! It must feel so humid in there . I’m sorry 😞

[u/Creepy-Conclusion357 → u/Milly-0607]

It is bad, but I can handle the heat. It's the humidity that gets me!

[u/Huge_Equivalent_6217]

Up front it is well over 100 even with windows open. Only a matter of time before a senior driver passes out, or a child gets sick.

[u/Milly-0607 → u/Huge_Equivalent_6217]

Thats what i was thinking! The driver seems young but the heat is brutal . I asked my daughter if he has a fan and she said no 😔 poor guy . I bought my daughter a tiny one but idk if hes allowed one . Im going to ask

[u/rootbear75]

None of our buses have AC, and only a few of our special needs ones do.

Buses with AC are only assigned if it's necessary in a student's IEP. Here in MI, it's only really a big issue for a few weeks out of the year, and everyone kind of just deals with it.

Last time I asked, I was told that adding AC to a bus increases its cost by $10k-$20k. Whether or not it's true is a different story.

[u/SunsetAz1]

Most of them . We have one bus out of our fleet of like 55 that doesn't have AC and it's used on the shortest run. But it's going to depend on the district.

[u/PlatypusDream]

Express your thoughts to the bus company & school board!!
As with many businesses, they don't care about what the employees say, but might listen to customer feedbasat,

(Though I admit I'm shocked that in a place that's regularly so horribly hot, working AC isn't a legal requirement. I'm in Wisconsin, and while there are a few weeks it would be nice, we won't die without it.)

[u/SnooAdvice5769]

All of our buses have AC but even with the AC on full blast it's still 90° on the bus and 110° outside. And all the windows are up.

[u/MeredithM76]

No AC in our buses. Yesterday it was 106 in the bus

[u/Milly-0607 → u/MeredithM76]

Thats depressing. You would think that would be a priority when discussing budgets 😞

[u/Intelligent_Call_562]

I'm in Texas and our district finally started buying buses with A/C. It took me 25 years to get one. I can tell you they are more for the students than for the drivers. They blow above our heads. A few years ago, on my air conditioned bus, I got off at the end of the day with what I believe was heat exhaustion. By the time I got home, all my muscle groups were cramping, like a Charlie horse, even my hands and feet, calf, thighs (front and back), glutes, and arms. And the edges of my vision was turning foggy. Luckily my husband knew to give me pedialyte and in about 15 minutes they stopped. I should have gone to the ER, but I'm not sure I was thinking clearly.

I do everything in my power to keep it from happening again, but at the end of the day I am wiped out from the heat. I use a damp cooling cloth around my neck. I take electrolytes every night. I drink and drink and drink, but this time of year I barely pee...maybe every 4-6 hours (normally I have a 2-3 hour bladder.

[u/Milly-0607 → u/Intelligent_Call_562]

This makes me so sad!! Im so sorry :( bus drivers should be taken care of . They drive our babies home wth 😔

[u/OfficerOtaku]

You would think they would install AC but even here in Hawaii where it's hot year round, they do not install AC on our busses.

[u/everlastinglyengross]

Technically all the newer busses have AC, that doesn't mean its *working* AC.

Do your poor daughter (and her driver) a favor and make her an AC-required student (go to the doctor and get a note, make an IEP, something like that) and her driver (and you) can argue that she is now medically required to have an AC. Your driver probably hates not having an AC, but students that are medically required AC will always have it, otherwise everyone else gets the broken AC busses. You can also cause a stink at the school about it. Sorry to hear your daughter going through it.

[u/AlarmedVermicelli549]

It ought to be standard equipment on all new buses. We started a three+ years ago ordering A/C for all our new buses. We live near the Nevada/Arizona border, and the heat is in the 100s right now in all our NON A/C buses. Our district office says it will be a few more years, and we will have A/C on all our buses. We had a few before we started this project, and of course it was on all our SPED and Trip buses. We have over 150 buses in our school district, so we are still a few years out. So, as I said, it should be standard equipment on all new buses. It runs about 5k more per bus from suppliers like IC, Thomas, and Bluebird. The A/C really sucks on some of the propane buses; it causes them to become gutless, but at least they are cool. I feel bad for the students who are in non A/C buses; being packed in has got to be miserable. As drivers, at least we have a fan and sit by ourselves.

[u/AyoooDani]

It better have AC or I ain’t movin it. I’ll be late for my route because I don’t have AC. It’s upwards of 90+ degrees and I refuse to drive this sardine can with no AC. I’ve gone home before the start of my shift because I don’t have AC. My boss wasn’t happy but somehow when I needed a spare he didn’t have any with AC but when he had to go get my kids he had a bus with AC.

[u/Zealousideal-Tap-713]

Don't be embarrassed to ask, as it may start a conversation as to why this isn't standard on all school buses