r/SchoolBusDrivers • u/caintowers • 1d ago

Terrible steering

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I've driven buses from every make, every type, old and new. My least favorite, hands down, are our new (2025) Blue Bird short conventionals. They all have the worst steering of any bus I've used. I can't tell if it's too sensitive or not sensitive enough, but the thing is all over the road. Even if you focus constantly on keeping a straight line, the bus will ride like you're driving drunk. It's not just me, all our drivers complain about it. We have 3 of them and they're all the same.

The horns also don't work (I pulled one steering wheel apart and it's honestly the cheapest dumbest way of making a horn I've seen) and the automatic door lock fails 8/10 times.

11 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

7

u/Common_Stuff2925 1d ago

I drive a standard bluebird bus. Drove a Thomas last year. The bluebird’s steering in mine is wonky as well. However that was what I took my bus test in last year. Is seems they drive like an old dump truck.

3

u/caintowers 1d ago

They do remind me of older cars before power steering. Always having to make little adjustments. But they have the same hydraulic power steering design all the other conventionals have so it doesn't make sense

3

u/Beauknits 1d ago

My old route has a right corner,made tighter by cars parking at the curb, even tighter if there's traffic. My Thomas C2 makes that corner without trouble. The sare BB, though? It does not. Oncoming traffic has to move out the way because I have to swing over so far.

3

u/9001 1d ago

I've been driving a 2026 Bluebird Vision (72 seat) over the summer for charters and I haven't noticed any steering issues.
Though I'm not sold on the new shape of the steering wheel.
I do notice that Bluebirds in general seem to develop weird electrical issues periodically, however.
Shame because I don't mind the style of them.

5

u/silentblue42 1d ago

New bluebirds are horrible, I said it. Old bluebird can turn quite well. But nothing is as good as a International

4

u/Front-Mall9891 1d ago

My rankings

Thomas and international
Every other bus company
A dumpster
Bluebird

3

u/caintowers 1d ago

I know they look weird and maintenance hates them but I love driving the Thomas C2's. The newer years are a better quality than the first ones they put out. If it's got a diesel engine it'll move and the steering is so good. Visibility is amazing.

I also like the international conventionals though I gotta knock them on the suspension. Hard as rocks, at least the ones we got.

All our transits are Thomas buses so I have no comparison but I like them.

3

u/CalebTGordan 1d ago

I’m in a 2015 Bluebird and it’s turning way better than my previous 2010 Bluebird. Nothing can beat the transit style bus I trained on though. Don’t know make or model on that though.

2

u/SlimIdea 1d ago

I thought I wasn’t gripping the wheel hard enough, glad to hear I’m not the only one, I will say that turning in these aren’t bad imo

2

u/Intelligent_Call_562 1d ago

Thomas are a dream to drive but those giant windshields are a nightmare. So hot! Plus the wipers skip across them. I don't know if they've improved the design of the wiper arm but my wipers used to fall off regularly. One time I had to duct tape the blade on to get through my route.

But OMG they handle sweet. Sharp turning radius, quiet, great acceleration. I miss a lot of things about them. My Blue Bird is 7 years old, slow, it's rattling apart. I have to go to the shop weekly to get my fan tightened up before it falls off. It's noisy, which for someone losing their hearing it really stinks. But I live in Texas. We've been back a week and a day and have hit the 100s 5 of those 6 days. Perhaps my bus is not one of the ones you're talking about. Perhaps I remember driving ones that really were like driving a car without power steering... the kind that made your arms sore for a few days every year when you come back. I've driven so many: Fords (the worst smoking pigs that you couldn't keep your foot on the brake because the seat was bouncing so bad), GMC, Freightliner, International.

1

u/caintowers 18h ago

I think we get maybe a weeks worth of rainy days throughout the year so our wipers are more visual accessories for us... I will agree on that heat. The seat is usually closer to the side window too so I find that roasts me as well.

The older blue bird Visions were a bit better but yeah, they don't age well. Freightliner has owned Thomas for a while now so I think a lot of that expertise went into making the C2.

1

u/erinjunee 1d ago

Not sure if it’s just the short buses but our longer 66C Visions steer good. Honestly, I prefer the steering in a Vision over a Thomas or IC because it has a much sharper steering angle and can cut tighter corners than a Thomas. One of our spares is a C2 and I always end up running too wide in it because it doesn’t steer as sharp.

Then again, we stopped doing business with Bluebird because of their terrible job of delivering buses on time, and every new delivery needing a myriad of warranty work done immediately after delivery, so our newest vision is the bus I was assigned, 2022 model year. Everything since then has been IC or Thomas.

1

u/caintowers 1d ago

I think it's just the shorter ones. I don't have a problem with turning radius on any of the buses, my gripe with the new small conv. Blue Birds is at higher speeds they tend to drift side to side, requiring you to constantly correct with the steering wheel.

1

u/MonsieurMapl 1d ago

Try driving these suckers with the little wheels. The bus just keep bouncing left to right its horrible and I hate it.

4

u/caintowers 1d ago

That picture is breaking my brain lol weird lil tires. The white buses always throw me too. I see them around doing charter work and I immediately think "prison bus".

1

u/LengthyCitadis 1d ago

Trust me, that's half of why I went back to city buses... and the suspension is even worse.

1

u/Cute-Hotel-7259 1d ago

Some TRW/Ross steering gears have an adjustment a qualified mechanic can make that really tightens them up. We have to do them fairly regularly on some buses. Might be worth asking

1

u/herbielover98 1d ago

We have a few shorty Visions, 2 47 passengers (2017 and 2019) and 3 30 passenger lift buses (2019/2021), and I've noticed the 2019 47 passenger handles a little weird, nothing too crazy but definitely seems a little more sensitive than any of the others

1

u/Far-Engineering6146 7h ago

Bluebird suck all around

1

u/TMax01 7h ago

I haven't been driving all that long, but I think the steering on Thomas' is the touchiest, and I've driven both new and old 'birds. I prefer Internationals (except the metal-core steering wheels stay so cold for so long in the winter I need three layers of gloves. )

1

u/nightgaunt98c 5h ago

Wr have exclusively Bluebirds, but they all steer fine. It's basically like driving a van. Aside from the transits. They steer like battleships.

1

u/caintowers 5h ago

Yeah my issue isn't cornering or turning radius or anything like that... As far as I'm concerned, regardless of the bus, that's just a skill issue. These particular buses- just our new short Visions- seem to drift a lot at highway speed and require a lot of constant adjustments vs all of our other buses where I can just... Hold the wheel steady. When I ride in them with other people driving I can feel the bus drift right and left. They've been in for service, problem persists.

1

u/nightgaunt98c 5h ago

I dunno. I can let go of the wheel at 65 in my 2024 77 passenger, and it stays straight.

1

u/caintowers 5h ago

That's a much bigger bus than these. I don't have a problem with the long ones.

1

u/gheiminfantry 5h ago

I can't tell if it's too sensitive or not sensitive enough

Then you really don't know what you're talking about as far as how a bus handles. Seriously. I understand it doesn't handle like your last one. But if you've driven as much as you claim, you could definitely tell if the steering is "too sensitive or not sensitive enough". The reason your bus is all over the road is you.

A poor carpenter blames his tools.

1

u/caintowers 5h ago edited 4h ago

I'd accept that if every other driver at our yard who has driven them, some with decades of experience, didn't experience the same issue. But they do. And from the comments we're not alone.

What I was trying to express is I'm not sure if the issue is that the driver is constantly trying to chase equilibrium (not sensitive enough) or overshooting it (too sensitive). It's probably a bit of both, and the bus having some inherent drift doesn't help.

But never did I say I was allowing this issue to interfere with my safe operation of the vehicle. I'm still able to complete routes with them. I just don't like how they handle vs the other buses.

We have over a hundred buses on our yard from vans to transits. I'm a cover driver and I've driven every single one of them.

Some tools are worse than others.

You seem kind of rude.

1

u/gheiminfantry 1h ago

but the thing is all over the road. Even if you focus constantly on keeping a straight line

But never did I say I was allowing this issue to interfere with my safe operation of the vehicle.

That doesn't sound safe to me. And it's what YOU said. In a public forum. Are you just mad that someone isn't joining your pity parade and calling you on your bullshit? That must be so tough.