CJDE – Transportation: Operations – Rental of School Buses

Transportation:

Operations:

Rental of School Buses

Rental of school buses—

School buses may be rented from the District in accordance with the following policy.

Duties of pupil transportation director—

The District Pupil Transportation Director is responsible for scheduling buses and shall determine whether the District has buses in addition to those necessary to transport students to and from school and other school related activities for which buses are used. In the event the District has buses which are not needed to meet District transportation needs, the Director shall designate buses which may be rented to the public and devise a schedule showing days when each bus is available for rent together with per day rental costs and charges.

The Director shall be responsible to collect rental money and to verify that the person renting the bus has met each of the following requirements:

  1. The person or entity renting the school bus must show that the persons who will operate the school bus
    1. have the appropriate license to permit operation of the bus to be rented
    1. are at least 21 years of age; and,
    1. have been a resident of the state for at least one year.
  2. The person or entity in whose name the bus is rented shall provide adequate proofs of being a named insured covering:
    1. that person and all persons who may occupy the bus and any other person who may be injured as a result of the operation of the school bus while in that person’s control in the amount of at least $750,000 per occurrence, per person but in no event less than amounts required by the Public Service Commission;
    1. collision insurance in an amount of at least $150,000.00 per occurrence;
    1. proof that the District is an insured under the policy or policies; and
    1. a waiver of subrogation by the insurer.
  3. The person in whose name the bus is rented shall sign a release provided by the District which generally releases the District from any liability arising from maintenance or operation of the bus during the rental period.
  4. The person renting the bus shall sign a “Bus Rental” agreement and show proof by two forms of identification, at least one of which shows a picture of such person.
  5. No school bus may be rented to any person or entity who demands compensation for driving or providing carrier service, or who furthers his or her commercial interests through providing transportation, or who drives a bus or other transportation for hire.
  6. Nothing in this policy shall require the District to rent buses. The District may, at its sole discretion, limit use of rented buses to the area within the District or within the State.
  7. The District may refuse use of district buses to any individual, group or organization which in the sole discretion of the Board or the Board’s designee has not provided adequate or appropriate assurance of liability insurance, ability to safely operate or supervise operation of the bus, or, ability to care for persons or property.

Term of bus rental—

No bus may be rented for a term which would interfere with use of the bus for District purposes.

Risk management approval required—

No bus shall be rented by the District unless such rental has first been approved by Utah Risk Management and the District has determined that it has insurance coverage with respect to liabilities that may arise from rental of the bus to third persons or entities.

Amount of rent—

The amount of rent charged by the District shall be at least equal to the amount necessary for maintenance and to cover overhead and costs of renting the bus. In no event shall the District charge less for rent of buses than is charged by any commercial carrier for similar vehicles who are located and have a place of business within the District.

Bus driver—

If a District employee shall drive the bus for a private entity or association or private person, then that employee must sign a release acknowledging that he or she does not look to the District for compensation for such services and that such activities are not in the scope of employment with the District.

[Note: The District’s liability for incidents arising from unauthorized use of school buses or for non-school district purposes is not covered by state Risk Management. It may be prudent to contact state Risk Management to determine the risks assumed by the District when renting buses.]