Charter Company Information
The Transportation Department has guidelines and requirements when using a charter company to transport district students for various academic, athletic and fine arts trips. The related files provide information for district staff and charter companies when planning a trip. Please call the Transportation Department should you have any questions.
These guidelines are based on State Education Department, Department of Motor Vehicles, and insurance carrier recommendations.
- The teacher, or administrator, planning a trip via charter coach calls the transportation office for the names of pre-approved charter coach companies. Only pre-approved charter coach companies may be used for trips of any kind involving Liverpool Central School District pupils. At that time they let the transportation office know the date and destination of the trip.
- The teacher, or administrator, confirms the trip with the transportation office and informs them of the pre-approved contractor selected to complete the trip.
- In advance of the trip the transportation office will:
- Contact the charter coach company to get the name of the driver to be assigned,
- Send the charter coach company the guidelines to be followed for Liverpool Central School District trips,
- Confirm with the Department of Motor Vehicles that the company and the driver are approved to transport school students.
- On the day of the trip the Charter Coach will arrive at the bus garage at least 20 minutes prior to the pick up time to:
- conduct a walk around inspection of the bus with the charter coach driver,
- determine that the driver is one that was pre-approved by the District, and,
- verify the driver’s license.
The following additional items will be verified the day of the trip:
- The bus has a current Department of Transportation inspection sticker.
- The bus is not more that 15 years old.
- There is a seat for every person that is riding the bus.
- The driver will be informed that it is expected that all vehicle traffic laws, including the speed limit, will be obeyed.
- The bus passes the pre-trip inspection conducted by the driver and the transportation office representative on the day of the trip.
- In the event of a breakdown, the students may not be allowed to double up with a second bus if that second bus exceeds its passenger capacity.
Should the charter coach company fail to meet any portion of the guidelines, a different company will be employed, or the trip will be canceled. The transportation office representative will have the authority to cancel the trip if the above guidelines are not met.
Trip planner (teacher or administrator) after booking with a Liverpool CSD Approved Charter Company (refer to LIVERPOOL CSD APPROVED CHARTER COACH COMPANIES) should contact:
Priscilla McIlroy, PM/FIELD TRIP DISPATCHER at the Transportation Department
Email: (preferred) pmcilroy@liverpool.k12.ny.us
Phone: 315-453-0287
Fax: 315-453-0282
What Transportation needs to know:
- Contact Name of Person in Charge of the Trip;
- Date of Trip;
- Name of Charter Company;
- Contact Person at Charter Company;
- Departure School Location and Time;
- Anticipated arrival of charter bus at the Transportation Center (4101 Long Branch Road) on the Day of the Trip;
- (This should be at least 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure, 30 mins is preferable)
One week prior to the departure date (no later than three (3) business days prior), the charter company must forward to Shelley L. Lamas:
- The Driver’s Abstract;
- The MC300e for the Bus that Will Be Used.
This is to ensure that LIVERPOOL CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT CHARTER COACH TRIP GUIDELINES are met.
~IMPORTANT~
Trip Planner should:
- *PRINT and possess on their person at all times, a copy of CHARTER BUS BREAKDOWN/EMERGENCY PROCEDURES
- *List of students, with contact information for parents, in case of an emergency so that a parents can be contacted.
Birnie Bus Tours (Quality Coach Lines)
P.O. Box 630 (248 Otis Street)
Rome, NY 13442-0630
FitzGerald Brothers
P.O. Box 221
Geneva, NY 14456
Hale Transportation
37 Kirkland Avenue
Clinton, NY 13323
Linqserv dba Golden Memories Transportation
1553 Lyell Ave.
Rochester, NY 14606
Oneonta Bus Lines
Arthur Brundage Inc.
41 Orchard St.
Oneonta, NY 13820
Onondaga Coach
7659 North Street Rd
P.O. Box 277
Auburn, NY 13021
Star Travel and Tours
308 Buell Road
Rochester, NY 14624
(585) 797-9044
WadeTours
797 Burdeck Street
Schenectady NY, 12306
518-355-4942
Transportation Department Out of District Field Trip Emergency Procedure Bus Breakdown
- Driver safely secures the bus and calls Dan Elderbroom, Automotive Crew Leader, for directive.
- Driver calls Priscilla McIlroy, or the dispatcher on call, to inform them of the situation and receive directive.
- Dan Elderbroom contacts mechanics, if necessary, for service call. Mechanics dispatched with wrecker and replacement bus if necessary.
- Dan will contact head mechanic at a nearby district to assist, if possible.
- Priscilla contacts a second driver, if necessary, to bring another bus to the site.
- Driver keeps Priscilla updated on the status of the situation.
- Mechanics keep Dan and Priscilla updated on the status of the situation.
EMERGENCY CONTACT STAFF
Dan Elderbroom - Head Mechanic
Mark Cullen - Field Trip Coordinator
Sean Brown - Director of Transportation
Out of District Field Trip Emergency Procedure Accident
- Driver calls Priscilla McIlroy, or the dispatcher on call, and gives pertinent information and receives directive.
- Shelley calls 911 or police non-emergency number if it is a minor accident with no injuries (i.e. car backs into bus in parking lot).
- Priscilla contacts Sean Brown
- Priscilla contacts Dan Elderbroom
- Dan Elderbroom contacts mechanics, if necessary, for service call. Mechanics dispatched with wrecker and replacement bus if necessary.
- Priscilla contacts a second driver, if necessary, to bring another bus to the site and continue on to the field trip site or return the group to the district.
- Sean Brown contacts driver’s spouse or relative if injured.
- Driver keeps Priscilla McIlroy updated on the status of the situation.
- Mechanics keep Dan and Priscilla updated on the status of the situation.
CONTACT INFORMATION STAFF
Dan Elderbroom - Head Mechanic
Mark Cullen - Field Trip Coordinator
Sean Brown - Director of Transportation
The Liverpool Central School District has developed guidelines regarding the use of chartered buses for all school related trips.
These guidelines require the Transportation Center to approve all charter companies that the district will use prior to any trip leaving the school. (This includes chartered coaches, yellow school buses (any size), vans, and limousines.) In order for us to grant an approval we need the following from all charter companies in advance of any trip.
- A copy of the most recent Department of Motor Vehicles 19A carrier report that is included with your “Affidavit of Compliance”
- A copy of the driver’s abstract of driving record for any driver that may be assigned a trip for our district.
- A copy of your most recent NYSDOT Inspection Survey.
- A current certificate of insurance that illustrates $5,000,000.00 for liability with the Liverpool Central School District included as the additional insured. On the day of the trip, the bus shall arrive at the Transportation Center, 4101 Longbranch Road in Liverpool at least twenty minutes before the scheduled arrival at the location where student(s) will board the bus.
At that time, a representative from the Transportation Center will go over the following with the driver:
- The district will ask the driver of the chartered bus to see his/her license and the completed Pre-trip Inspection Form.
- Both the driver and the representative will perform a walk around pre-trip inspection of the bus. The driver will be asked to open engine compartment to check for leaks and the belt(s) condition. Any defects that will put the safety of the students at risk will result in not allowing that bus to be used for the trip.
- The representative will check to see if there is a current New York State Department of Transportation inspection sticker on the bus. Only buses with the appropriate sticker will be used on school district trips.
- The driver will be asked to point out emergency equipment on the bus. If the bus is not equipped with emergency equipment, ie: reflective triangles and first aid kit, the bus will not be used on the chartered trip.
- The representative will also remind the driver that the district expects the driver to obey all vehicle and traffic laws while transporting district students and will be observed by the person in charge of the trip as to your driver’s driving habits and control of the bus.
The district demands that all chartered bus companies provide proof demonstrating that Federal Department of Transportation Regulations governing drug testing are being adhered to. All drivers who operate commercial vehicles shall be subject to drug and alcohol testing in accordance with federal and state law.
These guidelines are to insure the safety of Liverpool Central School District students while they are being transported.