School bus by country

As a part of student transport, buses play a key role in transporting students to and from school, coinciding with their high seating capacity and a higher degree of safety compared to other modes of transportation. The usage of buses in student transport varies worldwide, ranging from the usage of public transportation by students, transit buses set aside to transport students, or purpose-built school buses owned and operated by school systems.

Yellow school buses are most commonly associated with North America, where federal and state/provincial regulations have influenced its design characteristics, including its yellow color. When loading or unloading students, yellow school buses are given traffic priority. Their red warning lights and stop signs allow them to stop traffic.

Asia

China

In China, purpose-built vehicles for transporting schoolchildren are not commonly used. The earliest professional school bus in China appeared in October 2008. Compared with many developed countries, Chinese schools have a relatively short history of providing transportation services. It was not until 1990 that the first private schools began to offer bus services.

Due to a lack of buses, it is common for buses to be overloaded with schoolchildren. According to a 2011 article by ''Beijing Evening News'', there are around 90 million students in China who need to ride school buses, which amounts to requiring over 1 million legally safe school buses. However, in 2010, the number of safe school buses just eclipsed 10,000, far below the recommended threshold. Consequently, accidents happen frequently, and 18,000 children die from traffic accidents every year. Furthermore, legally safe school buses that are manufactured in China are largely exported and rarely seen in China, further contributing to a lack of supply of safe school buses.

The frequency of school bus-involved traffic accidents has raised concerns throughout China. In 2011, 41 primary and middle school students were killed in school bus accidents, including a collision between a kindergarten bus and a coal van in Gansu province. The nine-seat minibus was carrying 64 people: the driver, a teacher, and 62 children. Both adults and 19 children were killed, and all surviving 43 students were injured. Following this, 15 children were killed when a school bus overturned into a ditch in Jiangsu province. In a third incident, two schoolchildren were killed and 20 injured when a carriage carrying students collided with a truck in Yunnan province. Three days later, in Yunnan province, five junior high school students were killed when a bus fell off a cliff.

Legislation

On September 1, 2007, the national standards committee issued a national standardization amendment titled "Motor Vehicle Operation Safety Technical Conditions". China began to implement the school bus operation mandatory standards. The same day, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, and ten other committees jointly issued the implementation of the "Primary and Secondary School Students Kindergarten Safety Management Office Law". Between September 1, 2007, and September 31, 2010, the Ministry of Public Security, in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Operation Safety Technical Conditions amendment, carried out school bus operations in various areas of the country. The social demand of school buses has attracted attention from all levels of government. The related management departments have been in the process of researching and discussing the most feasible ways to develop school bus industrialization in China.

In the twelfth Chinese five-year plan (2011–2015), the State Administration of Work Safety stressed the need to establish and improve the legal and safety management systems of school buses, clarify the right of way for school buses, strengthen the supervision of school buses, and ensure the safety of school buses. Each school bus must have satellite positioning and speed-limit devices installed.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has released the following safety guidelines for school buses:
# School bus appearance: School buses are uniformly marked with eye-catching colors (e.g. yellow) and can be equipped with warning lights and sirens.
# Inside the school bus: School bus safety regulations are higher than ordinary vehicles (e.g. anti-collision). GPS and real-time monitoring systems of the vehicle's running routes and speed are to be installed. A speed limiter should also be implemented to prevent speeding. The upper and lower doors are to be equipped with cameras to monitor personnel in real time. Buses are to be equipped with emergency hammers.
# Crew: Drivers must have professional licenses and conduct regular spot checks. If there are issues, including driving violations, they should be corrected in a timely manner. The organization of training is mandated, and repeat offenders should be disqualified from driving school buses. Vehicles should be strictly restricted and one or more teachers should be assigned to maintain order.
# Right of way: The school bus has the same right of way as a conventional bus. In case of emergency, the use of lights and alarms is required.

Models

Some Chinese bus manufacturers have developed school bus models to be purchased by Chinese schools. Yutong, for example, designed the ZK6100DA model, which was described as a "big-nose school bus" with a "classic western-style appearance" and "the highest safety rating of all school bus products in China" in a 2011 ''China Daily'' article. FAW Bus and Coach has developed a similar model, the CA6750, which can hold 37 students. In addition to large school buses, minibuses are produced by various manufacturers. Chengdu Automobile Factory produces the "Chendu School bus", and Maxus produces the "Maxus V80 School bus". The models can hold 24 and 16 students, respectively.

In February 2012, the potential of American-imported school buses was explored as several American manufacturers, including Blue Bird Corporation and Navistar International, displayed buses at the Beijing International School Bus Exhibition.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, younger students are transported between their homes and schools by "nanny vans". These vehicles are typically van-based and are smaller than a minibus. When nanny vans originated, they were regulated primarily by the schools and the van drivers. Today, in the interest of safety, nanny vans are government-regulated vehicles that run on fixed routes.

Philippines

School buses in the Philippines is also called as ''School Service'', it used for both public and private schools, while the larger School Buses version in the Philippines is used mostly in a large big private schools anywhere.

Singapore

In Singapore, student transport by bus is usually provided by local scheduled public transport bus services, such as the 31, 72, 88, 179 and 199 services, as well as various train services. Dedicated bus services for school students are usually contracted out to local bus companies, using ordinary buses which are used for other purposes when not in use for school journeys. The Singaporean Ministry of Education has created the Information Notice Board for School Bus Services (IBSB) platform, on which different bus operators can submit bids for the opportunity to provide school bus services.

The school bus fares in Singapore are paid by the students' parents. Under the newly introduced 9-month payment schedule, parents can spread the yearly amount over 9 equal payments. This schedule has been implemented to reduce the financial strain put on parents from having to pay fees in advance in January, May and October. Even though the monthly fee under the 9-month payment schedule is higher, parents only need to pay for the 9 months of which the school year is comprised.

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has its own internal shuttle bus system that is operated by ComfortDelGro.

South Korea

South Korea attaches great importance to student traffic safety. Over the years, laws and regulations have specified the school bus and vehicle management rules for picking up students. The research and development of educational projects and facilities has gradually formed a student traffic safety management system.

Current status of Korean elementary and middle school cars

South Korea has a 12-year compulsory education system. Primary and secondary schools are compulsory. Most kindergartens and primary schools in Korea are private schools. Because schools are located near residential areas, most Korean students go to schools on foot. Therefore, people can often see a group of students walking to the school in the morning. Students who live further away from school uses public transportation like subway or bus. There are limited number of private schools who need school buses.

The status quo of Korean university bus

Korean university school buses are common, and almost every university has its own school bus. These school buses vary in color with yellow buses being rare and are distinguishable from other buses by a yellow school zone sign or a sign that reads "School Bus" on the top rear end of the bus. Private and public schools often have 'activity' style buses, sometimes in a color matching the 'school colours' although more commonly with just the name and logo of the school on the side and/or front of the bus. Moreover, these buses commonly also being used for normal scheduled routes as required. These school buses are generally convenient places from school stations to subway stations or some supermarkets or hospitals. The school bus has a fixed schedule. These buses are mainly designed to provide convenience to students from all over the world. Increasingly, jurisdictions are requiring new buses purchased for use on school routes to be fitted with seat belts and 'compartmentalisation' features, or even requiring students to use seat belts at all times.

Korean school bus style

The school buses in South Korea are basically directly converted from commercial vehicles. Among them are the modern Hyundai Starex and Staria, Kia Carnival, Ssangyong Korando Turismo and so on. These school buses are all painted in yellow and add with headlights. There are few internal changes. Schools with good economic conditions will prefer modern business vehicles as school buses. The car will be painted with a cartoon image that is fascinating. If the economic conditions are not very good, they will use the old models like Hyundai Grace and Kia Pregio, Ssangyong Istana