ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County showed off their newest school buses Tuesday.
The 108 buses cost $11 million. According to school officials that money bought more than just the buses, they say it also bought new safety equipment that should bring parents some peace of mind.
The distributor says the new bus design is the biggest overhaul of the school bus since the 1960s.
"There is more technology on a school bus today than there was on the original Apollo mission," said Steve Huckeba, senior administrator of operations and transportation for Orange County Public Schools.
Three surveillance cameras on each bus can see every single section.
"It solves all the questions about who did what," said Mike Barnett, transportation manager for the school system.
A GPS system tracks where each bus is at all times.
"If a parent calls and wants to know what time the bus got there, with the GPS system we can tell them what time the bus was there," said Huckeba.
The buses will replace some of the older buses in the schools system's fleet of 1,300.
In addition to more safety features, the district said the buses will increase fuel efficiency by as much as 50 percent compared with some older buses. They also said exhaust from the buses is much cleaner than that from the older fleet.
The buses have air conditioning in the front and the back.
There are seat belts, and seats that are four inches higher. Experts say that will keep children safer in a crash.
Bigger windows around the cab will help drivers see students outside the buses better.
The district said it will put the new buses on the longest and most occupied routes in order to take advantage of their fuel efficiency.