Why do large school busses have such hard suspension while standard transit busses are smooth to ride in?

Question

I know they're rough by design, but why not make a school bus with a smooth ride? Seems unnecessary.

Answer 1

Well maybe cheap material. Kids don't pay for it taxpayers do.

Answer 2

Most school buses are built on a truck chassis which usually has metal springs for a suspension. It is the cheapest suspension capable of carrying a heavy load. Most schools buy their buses through competitive bidding, so the lowest price usually wins, and that means metal springs.

Public transit buses are designed from the ground up to be relatively comfortable. They almost always have an "air big" suspension. It produces a softer ride for the people who are actually paying (at least partially) for the ride. Air suspension also slightly reduces the maintenance costs of the transit bus since "things" don't shake apart as much.

So to sum it up, the answer to your question is that its just a matter of money.

Answer 3

Your ride to and from school is supposed to be an memorable adventure. Ha Ha!
The answer in short is money. School Bus technology is ancient and cheap. In the military mass transit is sometimes called a "Cattle Car". Near death experiences with every ride.
Tour buses are designed to be comfortable so that after 300 miles everyone isn't standing up due to broken tail bones and raw booties. This comfort helps curtail any knife fights and gun battles between the pasengers while driving down the Interstate at 70 MPH.

The school bus is a primitive form of torture and death like the Iron Maiden of medieval times. This insures that the students get off quickly at their stop and it almost guarantees imminent fear of death in the students as the ride drags on for miles in searing Summer temperaures and kids get stir crazy and start throwing insults, and later fists, around.

God bless our little ones who take their own lives in their hands when boarding an American School Bus!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

They are not rough by design. It's all about money.

School districts don't have the funds to put air-ride suspensions on school buses - they barely have enough money for the buses themselves and the drivers. And air-ride suspensions require costly upkeep - a steel spring lasts about "forever".

The city buses are usually subsidized out of highway funds or some other federal program.

Tour buses - you get what you pay for - and the tour operators are going to make sure you are comfortable.

Answer 5

because the city is willing to spend money to comfortly transport taxpayers and not willing to transport children comfortably