Round and round: the wheels and the buses go Robinson Transport gets students from point A to B

It takes a lot to keep a fleet of school buses running, said Tara Bowers, manager with Robinson Transport, contractor for Cape Central schools' bus fleet.

Bowers said the Cape Girardeau district has 26 routes with about a thousand students total.

In addition to regular student pick-ups and drop-offs, Robinson's buses also take students on field trips and other special excursions -- student clubs such as the Honorable Young Men's Club, Tiger Lilies, speech and debate team or any number of others, said assistant superintendent of support services with Cape schools Josh Crowell.

"Most buses get about 9 miles to the gallon," Bowers said, and travel between all buses, including midday runs but not field trips, totals about 1,400 miles per day, she said.

Based on 174 days of travel, "once you figure that up, you're looking at quite a bit," Bowers said -- about 27,000 gallons, in fact.

Cherie Wren, assistant manager of Robinson Transport, sits inside of a Robinson Transport bus Aug. 22 in Cape Girardeau.KASSI JACKSON

Cape Girardeau isn't Robinson's only contract, Bowers said: the company also handles routes in Illinois, including Cairo and Harrisburg.

Bowers said she hopes people will use caution around buses, as the school year gets underway and beyond.

"Watch for children standing at bus stops, and be patient, especially during the first few weeks of school, as we're trying to get them home as safe as possible," Bowers said. "Some new kids haven't ridden ever...Never understimate where a child might run."

Before she was a bus driver, Bowers said, she'd get irritated, but now, "I am more cautious with my everyday driving," she said.

Crowell said the district has a contract with Robinson, awarded after bids went out about three years ago, and the contract will be up again in two years.

Austin Roubidoux

"There are companies, including First Student, who take our requirements we bid out and give us a price to perform those," Crowell said. "Then we go to our school board, do an analysis of the offers and we decide to award our contract."

Robinson employs a full-time mechanic to service the buses, Crowell said, and the company also handles route planning using computer models.

"It's like a logistic trucking company," Crowell said, in that the models predict the best route and incorporate history from year to year.

"We do occasionally tell them we need a new route because more children are living on this street, or there might be construction so we would need to re-route for a time period," Crowell said. "They've always been very accommodating with us."

Weather is another big concern, he said.

Allison Brown

The district watches for snow and ice during the winter, but flooded roads year-round are another piece the district watches, he said.

"We have a great relationship with the city of Cape Girardeau and road crews," Crowell said, adding that the city grades and treats roads quickly, and communicates with the district.

"We want everybody safe coming and going from school," Crowell said.

Ribbon cuttings

Kidd's Inc. will hold a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. Tuesday at 1325 Broadway in Cape Girardeau.

One City will celebrate their grand opening with a ribbon cutting at 2 p.m. Tuesday at 610 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau.

People on the Move

Southeast Missouri Regional Port Authority will hold an open house and retirement celebration for Dan Overbey, who is retiring as director, at 11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 31, at 10 Bill Bess Drive in Scott City. The open house will include an addition to the office building and a new maintenance building.

Saint Francis Medical Center recently announced the addition of nurse practitioner Austin Roubidoux, APRN, FNP-C, to the Emergency Department. He joins 14 other emergency providers in Saint Francis' Emergency and Trauma Center, the region's only state-designated Level III Trauma Center.

Roubidoux earned his Master of Science degree in nursing from Cox College in Springfield, Missouri, and is board certified from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, according to the release.

Nurse practitioner Allison Brown, MSN, FNP-C, recently joined the hospitalist department at Saint Francis Medical Center, according to a news release. She joins 19 other providers.

Brown comes to Saint Francis from University of Missouri Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. She earned her Master of Science degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati and is board certified from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.