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Year: 1980
Model:
Wayne Lifeguard on a Chevrolet C60 chassis
ID: 81
Owner/Operator:
Mehlville School District R-9, St. Louis, Missouri
Quoted from Todd's Email:
In early 1980, the Mehlville School District transportation dept. and
parents of students who lived on cul-de-sac streets in the District argued over
bus transportation. The District would no longer allow a bus to travel on
cul-de-sac streets if it meant the bus had to stop and back-up, thereby putting
children at risk. Parents were upset that their children had to walk further
from home to a bus stop, and the parents argued that was unsafe. To solve the
problem, Mehlville purchased eight small conventional buses. Though these eight
units obviously seated a lot fewer students than the typical 66-passenger buses
in the fleet, the smaller buses could easily turn in a cul-de-sac without having
to back-up. Though it's difficult to tell from this photo, this is a small
conventional. It would be another few years before Mehlville again purchased any
small buses. Note: the driver is Laverne Chaney, who spent nearly
20 years behind the wheel of Mehlville buses, beginning in the mid 1960s.
Location: Mehlville bus lot, St. Louis, Missouri
Photos By: Todd Michaels, 1981 |
