"Why do school buses have white roofs?"

Ever ridden on a school bus?

I’ll bet you did! The most prominent thing about them (at least in the U.S.) is that they’re yellow. But their roofs are usually a different color – white.

"Why do school buses have white roofs?"

So why is that? 
Let’s find out! There are, in fact, several reasons. The first one is obvious if you remember that not many school buses are equipped with AC. Now imagine a super-hot day right before summer break and a bunch of kids in a metal box on wheels.

This ride would be anything but comfortable, right?
That’s why keeping the interior temperature of a bus lower becomes an important issue.

Why do we tend to wear light-colored clothes during the summer?
Yup, because these colors absorb less solar heat, reflecting it instead. And thanks to that, you don’t feel like bacon in a frying pan. But the same trick works with other things besides clothes. The white roof of a bus makes the temperature inside drop an average of 10 degrees during warm seasons and only 3 to 4 degrees in wintertime. And even if a bus has AC, the white top helps reduce fuel consumption by 20%. That’s great, both from a financial and ecological point of view. But white-topped buses are also much easier to spot from afar by the drivers of other vehicles, which makes the trip to school safer. Besides, in the case of an emergency, a bus will be noticed faster by a rescue helicopter. Finally, not painting the roof the same yellow color as the rest of a bus is just cheaper, since the material most bus manufacturers use is already white. And while the iconic yellow school buses are common around the world (except for the color, which can vary) there are school buses that are anything but ordinary. Just look...Monster Truck The owner of this vehicle turned a vintage 1956, school bus into a real giant! The size is impressive: it’s 13 feet high, 22 feet long, has 25-inch-rims, and weighs 19,000 pounds.

Would you want to take a ride?
Let me know! As you can guess, this truck doesn’t bring kids to school daily, but they can still get a ride. It's owner modified the bus back in 2002, and since that time, it’s served different purposes like being a means of transportation for a youth center, a school district, and a children's hospital. Pikachu Bus The US chose the sunny color in 1939, creating national standards because it makes a vehicle highly visible on the road. However, in Japan, school buses don’t have a standard color. But they don’t have problems standing out and letting all the other drivers know that this vehicle has kids on board. An Osaka kindergarten bus design was inspired by one of the most famous anime characters ever – Pikachu. Actually, using anime characters for modifying school buses is pretty common for this country. There, you’ll find Hello Kitty and Totoro Neko on the buses, plus more! Rickshaw Bus Imagine a metal box secured to a bike and you'll get an idea of what a rickshaw is. This mode of transportation is still used for school children in different parts of India. This vehicle doesn’t provide much space; that’s why kids’ bags usually travel on the roof. Though the government is concerned about the safety of these rides and has tried to phase them out in favor of buses, rickshaws are still used since the drivers don’t want to lose a big part of their income. School Yellow Boat Getting to school in this village in the Philippines, used to be no easy feat. Kids had to wade more than 1 mile in chest-deep water, holding their books over their heads to reach a school in Zamboanga City. But everything changed when the Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation took the matter into their own hands and gifted the village community with a boat. Now kids arrive at school safely and dry. Later, the foundation raised funds that allowed communities from other areas in the Philippines to get large motorized boats, plus 120 smaller vessels for commuting. Topsy-turfy Bus This one looks as if you’re seeing double and, strictly speaking, it’s not an official school bus in New York. But since this radically transformed vehicle runs on vegetable oil, (yum!) it tours the whole country to educate kids about eco-friendly alternatives and explain to them how important it is to look for renewable energy sources. Bicycle Bus Almost 50% of the Netherlands’ population rides a bike every day to go to work. So, the government came up with the idea of a bus for kids ages 4 to 12 that will carry them to school the same way. This bus can fit a driver, 8 students who must pedal, and 3 other students who can sit on a bench in the back. The bike can go as fast as 10 miles per hour, and there’s also a motor installed that helps it gets uphill, or when kids feel too tired to pedal. The company that invented them believes it’s a great way to both keep kids physically active and teach them the importance of green transportation. Yeah, these buses are impressive but there are other weird modes of public transport that will make you say “Wow!”.For example,…The suspension monorail. This is the oldest electric elevated railway with hanging cars. It started operating in 1901. More than 85,000 passengers use it every day to get around Wuppertal in Germany. This strange railway runs a route of more than 8 miles at a height of about 39 feet. Moving footpath If you’re ever in Hong Kong, you’ll appreciate the world’s longest outdoor escalator that connects the city's central district with the higher-lying residential neighborhoods. It stretches for over 2,600 feet and allows you to hop on and off whenever you want, and explore the city without exhausting walks uphill. The whole journey will take you 20-25 minutes. The cost of this escalator comes close to $31.2 million. However, anyone can take a ride since it’s free. Maglev Train Shanghai boasts one of the fastest trains in the world. The Maglev – short for “magnetic levitation” – runs at a speed of 267 miles per hour and covers 21 miles in only 8 minutes, making it a breeze for passengers to travel between the airport and downtown.

"Why do school buses have white roofs?"

Why is it so fast?
Levitation magnets on the underside of the guide way are positioned to attract the opposite poles of magnets at the bottom of the maglev. Thanks to this, the train floats over the guide way. Toboggan A toboggan is a wicker basket attached to two wooden runners that glide on greased up rags. It’s one of Madeira, Portugal’s most famous attractions, and takes tourists for a 1-mile journey down a curvy road. The two runners, or “Carreiros”, are usually dressed in white and wear straw hats. They also have special, rubber-soled shoes that help them steer and brake the toboggan. The trip will take you around 10 minutes.

Gotham Air In a hurry to get to JFK or Newark Airports from Manhattan island?
Then take a helicopter ride! The helicopter service, Gotham Air, launched in 2015 and allows its clients to save tons of time. Since on-the-ground traffic is rather congested in the city it’ll take you up to 2 hours by car. But if you’re willing to pay from $199 to $219, you won’t have to worry about missing the plane – the helicopter ride will only last for about 6 minutes! Just a hop, skip and a jump, and hey, you’ll also be 200 bucks lighter!

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