Use of Vans for Schoolchildren May Be Decided in Court

Angered over a recent confrontation with the California Highway Patrol over transportation of schoolchildren, Orange County Transit District board members voted Monday to take the CHP to court if necessary to get a judge to say who’s right.

The board members said they would consult with the CHP and state Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp’s office to determine the “best way to get the issue into court and get it resolved once and for all.”

The issue involves the CHP’s claim two weeks ago that the Transit District violated a 1983 directive to stop transporting schoolchildren in its dial-a-ride vans. About 1,700 pupils are carried in the vans daily during the school year. According to the CHP, it is illegal to transport pupils in such vans because they lack such school bus safety equipment as a rear emergency escape door.

However, OCTD officials contend that the vans, which carry about 5,000 people daily and are limited to short, neighborhood trips, have a flawless safety record. They also claim that the vans are exempt from state school bus safety requirements because they carry mixed loads of students and nonstudents.

A pending bill by Assemblyman Gary Condit (D--Ceres) would permit dial-a-ride vans to carry students, but only if the vans are retrofitted to meet school bus safety standards, the drivers receive school bus training and the vans carry school bus signs.

OCTD officials are trying to have the bill amended so that only vans that carry 19 passengers or more would be forced to meet school bus standards.

Transit district board members discussed the dispute and the pending legislation Monday in closed, executive session. Later, in open session, they voted to take the dispute to court if Condit’s bill is not modified to their satisfaction.

Such court action could involve a “friendly” lawsuit against the CHP, in which OCTD would seek “declaratory relief” from a judge, officials said.

OCTD Chairman Ralph Clark said it was ironic that a dial-a-ride van can carry schoolchildren to an ice cream parlor next to a school, but not to the school itself.

He said, “We want to carry students,” and added that dial-a-ride transportation is safer for them than making them walk to school or riding in private autos.