Franklin Regional school board hears concerns about bus safety

A Murrysville resident and a Franklin Regional school board member would like to see the district’s school buses ease up on the gas pedal.

“There’s a large group of buses in the morning and afternoon that come down Mamont Road, and they’re moving at a pretty good clip,” said Tom Marshall, who lives on Christy Road, which meets Mamont at the Hills Church Road intersection.

“There’s a good number of them that are over the (center) line, and if you don’t move out o the way, you’ll get hit,” Marshall said. “Some are where they should be, but a lot of them are over the line.”

Superintendent Gennaro Piraino asked if Marshall had a specific number for any of the buses he mentioned.

“We do have GPS on our buses and if we know specific bus numbers, we can look into that and check with (AJ) Myers, (our transportation company),” Piraino said.

Marshall said he was nearly struck head-on by a bus coming around a bend on Christy Road earlier this month.

“It’s steep and bendy, I understand that,” he said. “But the bus came around the bend and its headlights were lined up with mine. Luckily, I was able to get out of the way, but the bus never even stopped or slowed down.”

Marshall said he’s heard similar complaints from friends and neighbors.

“I’ve noticed it myself several times,” said school board member John Fallat. “Some buses seem to really be in a big hurry.”

The school district has received two complaints so far this school year regarding buses speeding. Franklin Regional spokesperson Patricia Maurer said the district periodically receives informal reports from residents.

“I don’t want to single anyone out, but I just hope something can be done in general,” Marshall said.

Piraino said residents should reach out to the district if they have an issue with school buses.

“We have cameras on the school buses and access to a lot of data, so we can look into things like speeding or near-misses,” he said.

Franklin Regional contracts with Myers Transportation to bus more than 3,500 children to and from school and activities each day. Myers officials declined comment when reached by phone.

January has seen a couple of bus crashes in the region. On Jan. 9, a Kiski Area school bus collided with a car near the intersection of Mamont Road and Route 66 in Washington Township. A few days earlier, a Plum school bus was involved in a five-vehicle crash on Golden Mile Highway at South Duane Drive.