The wheels on some new Vicksburg Warren School District buses go ’round and ’round all around the town just like the old ones — but there are some added features.

In the annual replacement plan for the district’s 150-bus, all-diesel fleet, 10 new buses were purchased this year. The last few were received about two weeks ago and will soon be joining the rest of the fleet on regular routes, transporting students to school and on sports events and on field trips.

District Transportation Supervisor David Keen said the new Thomas Built Saf-T-Liner C2 Series 71 passenger buses were just introduced, are safer and far more stylish than the “yellow dogs” of old. They cost about $66,000 each.

According to the company Web site, the unusual appearance is a redesign of an earlier series. The buses are taller inside, making it easier for adults to walk inside and easier for cleaning crews to work. The windshield is one solid pane of glass without a frame in the center, so there’s better visibility. The buses also have lower sloped hoods, also for better visibility, more emergency exits and air brakes. The district purchased seven C2 model buses, two “flat-nosed” 84 passenger buses and a C2 series bus equipped with a wheelchair lift.

Keen said that over the life of the vehicles, air brakes will last longer, work better and require less maintenance. John Williams, who has serviced VWSD buses for about 20 years, agrees.

“They’re building them a whole lot different now,” said Williams, “It rides just like a big Cadillac,” he said. “We used to get buses breaking down every day,” but not anymore Williams said.

Now most maintenance is limited to oil changes and tire rotations. (There’s a savings there, too. The Thomas Built buses hold about 19 quarts of oil. Other buses in the district hold up to 30 quarts of oil.)

Another new safety feature is designed to prevent students from being left on the bus. When the driver shuts off the engine, an alarm at the rear exit door sounds. The driver must walk to the rear of the bus to shut off the alarm, encouraging the driver to check the seats for sleeping or inattentive students.

When the Vicksburg Warren School District was formed in 1986, about 50 used buses were purchased from the other states to supplement the fleets of the former Warren County and Vicksburg City School systems, said Superintendent James Price. He said the district had so many 1988 model buses that some were set aside and “cannibalized” or used for spare parts. Recycling parts has kept some of those buses on the road for nearly 20 years, although the oldest buses are used as backups and not driven on daily routes. “We probably get 15 years out of a bus,” Price said. And, “When we’re done with a bus, you don’t want it,” he added. Old buses not worth repairing are stripped of useful parts then sold for scrap.

In spite of all the new features, two accessories will probably not be added anytime soon — air conditioning and cameras.

Price and Keen said air-conditioned school buses are not economical, would burn more fuel and increase maintenance. Keen said other design elements like white tops and tinted windows, keep the buses cool during warmer months. Adding air conditioning would cost about $14,000 for a new bus said Keen.

We’ve done that before — we spent a lot of money putting cameras on buses. And although some VWSD buses have them, “cameras just don’t work that well on buses,” Price said. Even the widest angle cameras can only capture the first few rows. And younger, smaller students are often hidden out of view behind the tall seats. “We found it’s more cost-effective to have a person on the bus.” Drivers on most routes are supplemented by monitors who are supposed to keep order.

One feature not on school buses is seat belts. National Transportation Safety Board studies have shown that seat heights and other factors are sufficient, that individual belts don’t add to safety and may present a hazard in an emergency such as a fire.