The school buses were all owned by a private company and by the time anyone figured out they needed them, the buses were already flooded.
The flooding we had in Port Jervis back in '05. This area is where the school busses are parked. Unlike New Orleans, 24 hours before this area was under water, the school district's transportation supervisor called in the drivers and mechanics to
MOVE the busses to higher ground. No rocket science needed here.
Unlike New Orleans, 24 hours before this area was under water, the school district's transportation supervisor called in the drivers and mechanics to MOVE the busses to higher ground.1. In New Orleans, we don't have "higher ground".
2. School bus drivers are not first responders. They are not trained or paid for stressful, hazardous duty requiring capacity for independent thought and quick decisions. They certainly have not signed up for it. A day before Katrina's landfall, school bus drivers were taking care of their families and property and considering their options like everyone else. The notion that such people are available on short notice to man a mass evacuation (to where?) are, to put it mildly, unrealistic.