Transporting more than 100,000 students across more than 20 million miles every school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools operates one of the largest school transportation systems in North Carolina. 

And a dedicated team of technicians in five shops across the district work diligently behind the scenes to ensure the buses operate smoothly on the road.

“Our main goal is to keep the buses safe for the kids every day,” said Bobby Liggett, maintenance service supervisor at the shop off Downs Road in Pineville. “We want to make sure students get where they’re going safely, and we treat them like our own kids are on the buses. Our team is committed because they care about the students on the bus and getting to school safely.”

Liggett said buses go through checks daily, looking at everything top to bottom, from under the hood to the tires. Buses also go through monthly inspections where technicians go back through to take deeper looks at the bus, checking the brakes, suspensions, the seats, the steering components, etc.

“In addition to state requirements, supervisors also perform weekly audits on buses where we’ll select three random buses from each mechanic and we’ll go through ourselves and check out everything,” said Liggett.

It’s thorough and it takes time, but Liggett said they stay well organized to keep buses moving.

“Our work is not always public, and a lot of people don’t always know what we do, but we know that this work is critical,” said Liggett. “The team is focused. We’re committed. We want to do a good job and make sure that all buses are ready for our students.”