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Congratulations to Monroe-Woodbury Central School on being chosen by School Bus Fleet as one the Great Fleets Across America!
The October 2005 issue includes ten top-notch pupil transportation programs, with a two-page profile on each fleet chosen. Cliff Berchtold and his team were highlighted, and a reprint of the article written by Steve Hirano follows.
Visit School Bus Fleet on the web at www.schoolbusfleet.com
October 2005 - Great Fleets Across America (Part IV)
Exceeding Expectations Is Expected in This Yard - Monroe-Woodbury Central School District
Monroe, N.Y.
In the rolling foothills of the Catskill Mountains, about 45 miles north of New York City, the towns of Monroe, Woodbury, Chester, Blooming Grove and Tuxedo have experienced a real estate boom in recent years. “McMansion” developments have sprung up to accommodate the needs of commuters who want nicer, larger houses than can be found closer to the city.
The impact on the local school system — Monroe-Woodbury Central School District — has been dramatic. “This place is just booming,” says Cliff Berchtold, the district’s transportation director. “Our schools keep growing; busing keeps growing. Our challenge has been to keep up with busing.”
That’s a big challenge, especially when local voters keep defeating measures that would provide funding for new buses. “We’re scratching our heads through the spring and summer trying to figure out how to get things done without buying new buses,” Berchtold says.
Reshuffling the deck
Even though his transported population grows by 180 to 200 students each year, Berchtold is able to get by without expanding his fleet by taking full advantage of the annual shifting of the student population.
It helps that the Monroe-Woodbury operation uses only transit-style buses with forward engines. “We tried rear engines,” Berchtold says, “But they’re too long and cumbersome.” The 13-row buses have three-two seating, which allows each vehicle to carry up to 64 students of almost any size, he says.
The enterprising district is also planning to operate an electric bus that was found languishing in a weed-choked lot in Brooklyn. The New York Power Authority agreed to provide a new battery pack if it could find a good home for the bus, which was abandoned by a contractor. “We’re waiting for an electrician to install the bus-charging circuit to our shop,” he says. “Once it’s on a route, it will free up one of our diesel buses.”
Buses in the blood
Berchtold is skilled in transportation logistics, having grown up in the school bus business and having served for three years in the U.S. Army’s transportation corps, including a one-year tour in Vietnam during the war.
Berchtold’s family started a school bus contracting business in Paramus, N.J., in 1952 and operated it successfully for 25 years before selling it to another contractor that wanted to increase its market share. “When I was a little kid, I was wandering around the buses,” he recalls. “By the time I was in junior high school, I was backing up buses, bringing bolts to the mechanics and helping to wash the vehicles.” When he was 19, he started driving buses during his breaks from college.
After the family sold the business in 1977, Berchtold wasn’t sure what to do. He had his pilot’s license to fly multi-engine aircraft and considered a career in aviation, possibly as an airport manager.
But destiny intervened. The position of transportation director at Monroe-Woodbury opened up, and he happened to live right down the road and also happened to have a pregnant wife. He applied for the job, got it and planned to stay for a few years until he decided what he really wanted to do with the rest of his life. Twenty-eight years later, he’s still in the same position and is happy that he’s stayed.
“The challenges have grown enough that it’s remained interesting,” Berchtold says. As mentioned earlier, one of the key challenges has been keeping up with the growth. The fleet has approximately tripled in size since the mid-1970s. It currently transports about 8,100 students with 150 buses. Because of its location, the district provides transportation to special-needs schools in five states.
Exceeding expectations
In addition to keeping up with population growth, another key challenge is keeping the district’s parents happy. “I want them to feel like their expectation of safe bus service is being exceeded,” Berchtold says. “We want to provide the extra touches, such as calling a parent if there’s a problem. If we can’t provide service beyond expectation, we shouldn’t be in the bus business.”
Berchtold says the students in Monroe-Woodbury behave well enough on the buses that video surveillance hasn’t been necessary. The approach that the drivers take is to focus on motivation; teaching the rules of safe riding isn’t enough.
Incentives for riders
To keep the students motivated, the transportation department uses incentive programs such as “Bus of the Month” and “Rider of the Week.” “We have consequences for poor behavior, but we find that incentives work better,” Berchtold says. “Even if it’s only a free ice cream at lunch or getting their picture published in the community newspaper, kids respond to positive motivation.”
The district’s reputation for having well-behaved passengers makes it easier to recruit new bus drivers, but Berchtold says he still struggles with recruitment and retention. “We’re never really flush,” he says. “We’re able to get just enough.”
Although it could use more drivers, the department is very selective about whom it hires. Berchtold says the interview process typically lasts close to an hour. During that time, the interviewer will try to break the candidate out of “the interview mode” and might use role-playing scenarios to determine if he or she is truly suited for the job. “We want to see if the candidate really likes children or is just looking for a job,” Berchtold says.
Power of humanity
The reason that the hiring process is so critical is that it’s the employees who provide the transportation department with its backbone, spirit and success. “It’s not a matter of hardware, it’s the people that count,” Berchtold says.
— STEVE HIRANO
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