July 18, 2007 -- North Colonie's fleet of approximately 73 school buses log about 800,000 miles of travel each year. Each of these buses, as well as all school buses in New York State, are inspected every six months by the Department of Transportation (DOT) for everything from cuts in the seat upholstery to ensuring seatbelts and headlights are working properly.

"Our DOT inspector is very diligent and our mechanics work very hard to meet the state and the inspector's expectations," said North Colonie Director of Transportation John Myers. "Our mechanics have the tools, the time, the space and the spare vehicles available to keep up on our preventative maintenance program."

Ratings above 90 percent are considered excellent by the DOT. For the past several years, the district's transportation department has maintained a passing rate of more than 95 percent. In 2006-07, more than 140 inspections were completed on the district's fleet of buses; receiving a 96.5 percent passing rate.

"Every year, I thank the mechanics for a wonderful job. They are a group of highly motivated and highly qualified individuals," said Myers. "The result of their hard work is not just reflected in our excellent DOT rating, but also in our general preventative maintenance program."

In addition to eight mechanics and a fleet maintenance supervisor, the transportation department employs an office staff, 54 full-time bus drivers and 20 substitute drivers.