Defense Department schools across Japan starting new year with new buses

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — The familiar yellow school bus that carries the children of servicemembers to school and back is getting an upgrade, an official with the Department of Defense Education Activity in Japan said recently.

DODEA is replacing its fleet of about 120 Fuso buses on the main islands with new Hino-brand touring-style buses.

The new buses will be white in color, not yellow, and will display a yellow triangle with two silhouettes of children inside, said Kevin Hassin, DODEA Pacific East transportation supervisor.

The new white buses come with collision-avoidance technology, essentially a radar linked to the brakes that slows or stops the bus based on what it senses in traffic ahead, he said. They also come equipped with seat belts, including three-point belts in the front row.

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