Students innovate with school bus bill

RICHMOND, Va. (WDBJ) - Many of the bills in the General Assembly start with lawyers, lobbyists and public officials, but how about a middle school robotics team?

Students at St. Bridget Catholic School in Richmond were studying innovation, and they came up with an idea: Why not use school buses for package delivery when they aren’t carrying students?

The plan requires a change in state law, and this week the students traveled to Capitol Square to push their proposal.

“63 percent of the drivers are interested in our idea, and the opportunity to earn more money by our idea,” one of the students told members of a Senate subcommittee. “That’s wonderful,” said Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond). “I’m so impressed that you already sent out a survey and you collected good data. That’s excellent.”

Senator Siobhan Dunnavant (R-Henrico Co.) introduced the bill, and the full Senate approved it.

The legislation is now headed to the House of Delegates.

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