Sunday, July 12

Location: Sorrento 3

Instructors:  David Roper, Clean Cities

Description: This all-day seminar provides school bus technicians with an understanding of basic electrical principles, common electrical components, circuit construction, digital multimeter operation and testing, wiring schematics, circuit tracing and troubleshooting of common circuit malfunctions. Emphasis is placed on circuit diagnosis using wiring schematics and digital multimeter data, enabling technicians to quickly and accurately solve electrical issues in light- and medium/heavy-duty vehicles. 

Limited pre-registration capacity of 20 seats. For Inspection Training Participants ONLY. To register contact events@stnmedia.com

Location: Capri Ballroom

Speakers: Tony Corpin & Ryan Gray

Location: Capri Ballroom

Speaker: Jason Yan

Description: Jason Yan shares a high-level perspective on where RIDE has been, where the future of battery-electric school buses may be headed, and the student transportation opportunities ahead for school districts and communities alike.

Location: Capri Ballroom

Moderator: Stephen Whaley

Description: As school districts evaluate future fleet investments, understanding the long-term impact of powertrain choices is more important than ever. This session will compare electric, propane, gasoline, and diesel school buses, exploring how each option effects emissions, operating costs, maintenance requirements, vehicle performance, and long-term fleet planning. Attendees will also gain insight into upcoming 2027 diesel regulations, the latest advancements in propane autogas technology, and how districts are reducing fuel and maintenance expenses while improving air quality and reliability. School district transportation leaders and powertrain experts will share real-world experiences and lessons learned.

Location: Naples 6 & 7

Description: As powertrain choices continue to expand, fleet leaders are navigating more complexity than ever. In this blended presentation and panel discussion featuring Cummins, attendees will gain a clear understanding of how today’s diesel technology has evolved—and address common misconceptions that no longer reflect current reality. The session will explore the latest advancements in the B7.2 platform, examine the role of modern diesel as a clean and sustainable option, and introduce emerging gasoline solutions like the B6.7 Octane engine. Focused on performance, maintenance, and operational fit, this discussion will equip transportation leaders with practical insights to confidently evaluate powertrain options for their fleets.

Location: 1 & 2

Speaker: Zachary Moren

Descriptions: This course introduces how utilizing tablet-based technology with Transfinder supports more efficient school bus operations by improving communication, reducing paperwork, and connecting drivers, technicians, and transportation staff. Participants gain a practical understanding of how tablets and onboard hardware are used to support daily operations.

Location: Naples 3 & 4

Speakers: Doug Campbell & Tara Chawla

Description: The need for safer school buses has never been more urgent. Act now to prevent stop-arm violations and protect students on the road. First Light’s Illuminated School Bus Sign™ and Fully Illuminated Stop Arm™ are setting a new standard in school bus safety. Don’t let another day pass without protecting your students.   

What you’ll learn

• Why Illumination Matters for School Bus Safety: Learn how full illumination can make a school bus visible from more than 1,000 feet away, giving motorists more time to react and better protect students.
• Proven Results in Reducing Illegal Passings: Review findings from a 15-month study showing measurable reductions in stop-arm with an average decrease of 88% in low-light conditions.
• Affordable Safety Upgrades: See how districts can significantly reduce stop-arm violations with a cost-effective upgrade that is less than 1% of the price of a new bus.
• Understanding the Benefits of Proactive Visibility: Discover how First Light improves visibility in any condition and helps transportation leaders make confident, informed safety decisions for their districts.

Don’t wait! Explore how First Light solutions are changing school bus safety. Every second counts when it comes to keeping kids safe. Join us to learn how easy it is to implement First Light’s life-saving solutions in your district.

Location: Naples 6 & 7

Speakers: Scott Bradley, Douglas Dagan, & Nikita Mishra

Description: Many school districts are interested in electric buses but face a familiar barrier: the grid is not ready. Utility upgrades can take time, depot power may be limited, and charging infrastructure can delay fleet plans before the first bus even arrives.

This panel will explore how propane-supported mobile charging, backup power, and temporary infrastructure can help districts pilot or deploy electric buses while permanent charging solutions are planned and built. Leaders from Suburban Propane, Pioneer eMobility, and ABB will discuss practical ways to evaluate grid readiness, charging needs, route fit, resiliency, and lower-emission fleet strategies, with lessons from a recent mobile e-charging activation at NASCAR San Diego.

Location: Naples 1 & 2

Speakers: Mark Dittrich & Roger Fusco

Description: Are you leaving recovery dollars on the table?   Discover how APD and Loss of Use recoveries can unlock significant, often missed dollars within your fleet operations.  Collision recovery alone often leaves meaningful dollars uncollected. Pursuing LOU alongside physical damage claims helps capture the full financial impact of vehicle downtime.

Through real case studies, we’ll demonstrate how effective subrogation strategies directly improve financial outcomes and drive meaningful bottom-line results.

Learn practical approaches to identifying, documenting, and maximizing recovery opportunities across your organization.

Walk away with practical tools to enhance your recovery process and improve financial performance.

Location: Naples 3 & 4

Speaker: Craig Berndt

Description: Safety isn’t a place you visit. It’s a way of life. In this session, we will show you how AI can support you.Turn data into insights.Turn insights into coaching.Turn coaching into rewards.  Drivers who a safe and happy use less fuel.AI takes care of the tasks along the way that you would do yourself if you had unlimited time and staffing.Geotab can show you how to take raw data and get to the things you really care about: safer driving with fewer collisions, more efficient fuel use and happy drivers who stay. With a complete end to end telematics, camera, AI analysis and driver rewards program, Geotab can be the partner you need, with a procurement process you’ll love. 

Location: Capri Ballroom

Speaker: Karoon Monfared

Description: Student safety is entering a new era. Join BusPatrol CEO Karoon Monfared to learn where the future is headed so you don’t get left behind. Discover how your team can move to a more connected, proactive approach to student transportation safety.

Location: Capri Ballroom

Speakers: Camryn Engle, Joel Feldhan, Mario Genovese, & Denise Newton

Description: Once you’ve identified the right powertrain, the next question is how to fuel it affordably and reliably. This session explores why propane autogas fueling remains one of the simplest and most affordable infrastructure solutions available to school districts. Attendees will learn how fleets can deploy fueling systems with little or no upfront capital investment, secure predictable fuel pricing, integrate fuel management across multiple energy sources, and scale fueling capacity as adoption grows. Infrastructure experts and school district transportation leaders will share practical insights from both newly deployed and long-running propane autogas fleets.

Location: Naples 1 & 2

Speaker: Scott Jobe

Description: In student transportation, the cost of a single incident far exceeds the repair bill; it impacts student well-being and community trust. Many districts struggle with limited visibility into the moments that matter, leaving them in a reactive posture when safety incidents occur. By modernizing operations with AI dash cams, transportation leaders can move from guessing to knowing.

Location: Naples 3 & 4

Speaker: Kekoa Lopez & Liam Sullivan

Description: BusRight helps transportation departments do more with fewer drivers by improving routing visibility, reducing daily disruptions, and simplifying communication. Real time GPS tracking, turn-by-turn navigation, and route management tools help drivers stay on schedule and confidently cover unfamiliar routes when substitutions are needed.

Location: Naples 6 & 7

Speakers: Will Cleworth & Matt Reich

Description: Join this session to hear from industry experts and learn more about advancing stop-arm enforcement through automation and real-world insights.

Location: Naples 1 & 2

Speaker: Michael Hout

Description: Illegal passing of school buses is a persistent and serious safety threat, yet much of what the industry relies on today rests on incomplete data and intuition rather than rigorous science. In this session, Dr. Michael Hout, Ph.D., of New Mexico State University brings the tools of visual cognition and attention science to a deceptively simple question: How do we actually know what we think we know about illegal passing? Drawing on research into “look but fail to see” errors (the same perceptual failures studied in radiology, airport security screening, and more) he’ll explore why a motorist can look directly at a stopped bus and never register it, and why measuring the true scope of the problem is far harder than it sounds. The session weighs the value and the limits of current counting methods, asks what a genuinely rigorous investigation would require, and invites attendees to help build one. Come with questions, opinions, and the intent to participate.

Location: Naples 3 & 4

Moderator: Grant Jones

Panelists: Ernest M. Epley & Rudi Halbright

Description: Electric school buses have the potential to support a more resilient grid, while earning revenue for fleets. This session explores Fremont Unified School District’s vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project. Hear from Fremont USD’s Transportation Director, Ernest Epley, and PG&E’s vehicle-grid integration expert, Rudi Halbright, as they walk through how the project came together, what the day-to-day reality looks like, and what they’ve learned along the way. We’ll also cover the range of options available to districts exploring fleet electrification: from straightforward rate optimization to demand-response programs and bidirectional charging.

Location: Naples 6 & 7

Speaker: Keba Baldwin

Description: What does it really take to lead a modern school transportation operation?
Beyond buses, routes, and schedules, today’s transportation director manages a complex system of people, procurement, technology, safety, communication, and public trust. Every decision has a ripple effect: a routing change can affect staffing, a staffing shortage can affect communication, a procurement decision can affect training, and a technology rollout can affect family confidence.
This interactive session invites transportation leaders into a practical and candid conversation about the decisions that shape daily operations and long-term success. Participants will explore how directors move from constant reaction to strategic leadership, how procurement choices can strengthen or strain an operation, and how leadership remains the foundation of every transportation system.
Rather than a traditional lecture, this session will use probing questions, shared experiences, and real-world scenarios to examine common challenges, including staffing shortages, vendor decisions, route reliability, employee morale, parent expectations, technology implementation, and operational accountability.
Attendees will leave with practical questions to take back to their teams, a clearer framework for decision-making, and tangible action items they can apply in their own transportation departments.

Location: Naples 1 & 2

Speaker: Denny Coughlin

Description: Performance Evaluations are one of the best tools to recognize good performance and improve poor performance. Unfortunately, evaluations are often not on a scheduled basis and are used universally for multiple positions. You will understand how to make effective performance evaluations to constructively improve the culture and performance of the work force. We will explore the elements to include in the evaluation and the process to acquire data and accurate information. We will discuss the benefits and methods of receiving feedback during the process. You are assured you will conduct performance evaluations different in the future than you have in the past.

Location: Naples 3 & 4

Facilitator: Ryan Hahn

Description: The post-COVID financial safety net is gone and for school transportation departments, the reckoning is here. Federal relief dollars have dried up, bus prices have ballooned from $130,000 to well over $500,000 for electric vehicles, and fleet replacement cycles that once ran 12 years are quietly stretching to 18 or 20. Meanwhile, fuel costs, driver wages, parts, and the pressure to modernize with routing software, cameras, and telematics show no sign of slowing down.

In this session, former transportation director and chief business officer Ryan Hahn of Strategic School Consulting will help attendees understand the full scope of today’s budget environment — and what to do about it. Ryan will walk through how the cost squeeze compounds across fleet, staffing, and technology; how to frame deferred maintenance in terms leadership will actually hear; and how to make smart prioritization decisions when every dollar is spoken for. Whether your district is urban, suburban, or rural, you’ll leave with a clearer picture of what’s coming and practical strategies for managing through it.

Key takeaways:

• How to explain the budget cliff to administrators and board members in plain, compelling terms
• A framework for prioritizing technology investments when resources are stretched
• How to weigh the electric bus push against near-term fiscal realities
• What deferred maintenance actually costs — and how to quantify it before it’s too late

Location: Naples 6 & 7

Speakers: Alex Robinson

Description: School buses are the safest form of ground transportation, but often the consistency of that safety is challenging with the needs of our youngest aged and most fragile riders with disabilities. This session will explore the training, communication and operational techniques required to ensure safety across the board no matter the age.

Sunday Evening Outdoor Experience at the Peppermill Resort – North Parking Lot, Reno, Nevada

Join us for an unforgettable evening under the Reno sky as we kick off the Green Bus Summit and Bus Technology Summit with an all-in-one outdoor experience blending innovation, connection, and fun. 

Explore the latest in clean transportation at our Ride & Drive showcase, where you can experience cutting-edge electric, propane, and low-emission school buses from Blue Bird, IC Bus, RIDE, Thomas Built Buses and the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC). 

At the same time, dive into the Bus Technology Showcase—a dynamic, hands-on opportunity to see live demos and connect directly with experts from Zonar, BusPatrol, Transfiner, and Tyler Technologies. Ask questions, explore solutions, and get a closer look at the tools transforming student transportation. 

The evening also features a vibrant networking atmosphere with tabletop displays, delicious food and drinks, interactive games, and a live DJ. It’s the perfect way to learn, connect, and celebrate with peers—all in one exciting outdoor event.