For 35 years and counting, Donald Roberts has been a constant presence on the roads in Buncombe County, guiding his trusty school bus through snow, rain and sunshine to get students safely to and from school. He is dedicated to his job and the children he transports daily.
Thanks to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) for providing four new school buses to Buncombe County Schools (BCS), Donald was surprised with a new set of wheels.
“Donald spends eight hours a day on a school bus logging countless miles,” said BCS Director of Transportation, Jeremy Stowe. “We thought it would be great to put a new school bus with him.”
Every morning, Donald wakes up before dawn as he gets himself and his bus ready for another school day. He is one of the first friendly faces students see at school in the morning, and the last school employee of the day. When Mr. Stowe showed up at North Buncombe High School with the announcement of a new bus, Donald was filled with emotions and at a loss for words .
“Oh I love this,” he said. “It’s really bright and nice. It’s good, I enjoy it!”
In the 35 years that Donald has been driving buses, this was the second brand-new bus he has received. He is ready to put many miles on the new ride as students enjoy it for years to come.
Replacing old buses with new ones is a bit of a process for Mr. Stowe.
“We have a variety of buses that are acquiring miles everyday and some have reached their length of service,” he explained. “We manage and record all the miles everyday for every school bus. Automatically any bus over 300,000 miles, along with a bus that is 15 years old and 250,000, or 20 years old with 150,000 will be replaced by the state. So right now maybe your child’s bus may get moved around, but we will have a good bus in place for your child.”
On any given school day, BCS has 220 buses hitting the roads to safely transport 10,000 students. Three new additional buses will be rolled out before the start of the 2024-2025 school year.