Short bus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For the Filter album, see, Short Bus (album).
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For the film directed by John Cameron Mitchell, see Shortbus.
A short bus is a school bus that is, as the name implies, shorter than a normal-sized bus; it is usually van-sized. Short buses can be used by smaller school districts on routes with few students to pick up. However, a more prominent use is to transport small numbers of children to and from vocational school, or schools for children with emotional disorders or mental disabilities.
The buses are the standard eight feet width and average a twenty-four foot length. The buses are capable of carrying ten to twenty children, as opposed to the regular 77. Some have automated elevator lifts to safely lift wheelchair-using children into the bus without the use of stairs.
Because of this second use of the buses, "taking the short bus" or other phrases to that effect has become a pejorative slang term used to imply that someone has a mental retardation or emotional problems. Short buses themselves are also sometimes referred to in a derogatory manner as "retard carts," "syndrome trucks", "tard carts", "sped sleds", "sped-ex"
