School buses in North Carolina come in a variety of colors, depending on the district and purpose of the vehicle. However, the vast majority of traditional school buses across the state are painted a familiar shade of yellow.
Yellow
The standard color for school buses in North Carolina, as in most other states, is National School Bus Glossy Yellow. This specific color, matching Federal Standard 595a Color 13432, has been required for school buses in North Carolina since the 1950s.
There are several reasons why this bright yellow hue has become the standard:
- Increased Visibility – The yellow color stands out against most backgrounds, making the buses easy to see for other drivers and pedestrians.
- Safety – Studies have shown the yellow buses are involved in significantly fewer accidents compared to other vehicles.
- Uniformity – Using the same yellow color helps identify the vehicles as school buses across the state.
- Tradition – Yellow has been associated with school buses for generations in North Carolina and across the country.
The yellow paint used on NC school buses contains a reflective agent to make them even more visible. Buses are repainted every 3-5 years to maintain the brightness of the color.
Black
The other standard color seen on North Carolina school buses is black. This appears most prominently in the form of the iconic “NC School Bus” lettering on both sides towards the rear of the bus.
The black lettering clearly identifies the vehicle as a school bus belonging to the North Carolina public school system. It stands out well against the yellow background of the bus. Many buses also have the name of the school district or county printed in black letters on the front and/or rear.
Other Colors
While yellow and black are by far the most common, some NC school buses deviate from this familiar color scheme:
- Orange – Some activity and alternative fuel buses are painted orange instead of yellow. This helps distinguish them from standard school buses.
- White – Some smaller buses used for special transportation are white with black lettering.
- Blue – Private school buses may use alternate colors like blue.
However, these non-standard colors represent only a very small percentage of the approximately 14,000 school buses operating in North Carolina.
Legal Requirements
The yellow and black color scheme is not just tradition – it is mandated by law in North Carolina.
According to § 20-217 of the state statutes:
The State Board of Education shall adopt standards and specifications applicable to school buses. […] Standards and specifications relative to the paint color and insignia to be used on school buses shall be developed by the State Board of Education.
And according to the NC Board of Education requirements:
All school buses (including service vehicles) will be painted National School Bus Glossy Yellow (NSBY), except that the hood may be lusterless black or flat black.
So yellow and black are not just tradition in NC, but specifically required for public school buses transporting students.
Uniformity
Having a standardized yellow and black color scheme provides an important level of uniformity across the thousands of school buses operating statewide each day.
This uniformity provides the following benefits:
- Improved safety and visibility
- Instant recognition of the vehicles as school buses
- Consistency across county lines
- Equality of districts with less funding to afford customized buses
Minor differences exist between districts in terms of logos and specific stylization, but the overall yellow and black appearance is universal. This consistency is important with an average of over 700,000 NC students transported on school buses each day.
History
The school bus yellow color has an interesting history dating back to the early 1900s.
One of the first documented uses of yellow for school buses was in Mason City, Iowa in 1939. Frank Cyr, known as the “Father of the Yellow School Bus”, oversaw the very first national conference on school transportation that same year. This led to many standardizations, including the adoption of yellow with black trim or lettering as the uniform color.
Previously buses had been a variety of colors, often red or blue. But studies found yellow to be the most visible color in dim light, fog, rain, and other reduced visibility conditions. Yellow was also a color not widely used on other vehicles at the time.
By 1945, all states had adopted the dedicated yellow color for school buses. It has continued as an enduring tradition and legal requirement since then.
Psychology
The yellow school bus color has even more meaning than simply safety and visibility. The color yellow has strong psychological associations, especially related to caution and children.
Studies have shown the color yellow can evoke the following feelings and traits:
- Happiness and warmth
- Optimism and positivism
- Caution and warning
- Children and youngness
Yellow is most associated with caution in relation to traffic – yellow street signs, road lines, hazard signs, etc. So the use of yellow on school buses triggers an instinctive sense of needing to be cautious.
Yellow is also strongly associated with children, likely because it is cheery and energetic. Fast food, toys, baby products, and childhood imagery often use yellow tones.
So the yellow school bus seems an ideal fit – a color that represents both child-friendly warmth and traffic-related caution.
Future Alternatives
While the traditional yellow is well-established for NC school buses, there are some explorations of possible future alternatives.
With increased focus on alternative fuels, some schools are switching to compressed natural gas (CNG) or electric buses. Since these vehicles have different engine components, some districts paint them in alternate colors like orange to distinguish them from traditional diesel-fueled buses.
Safety green is one color that has been proposed as a potential future replacement for yellow. This bright greenish-yellow hue provides similar visibility benefits. It also fits the psychological association with caution that yellow portrays.
But any wholesale change from the traditional yellow would be difficult and unlikely in the near future. Yellow has been the school bus color for over 75 years, and is engrained in generations of tradition. Any switch would also require large-scale coordination between districts and updated legal specifications.
So for the foreseeable future, school buses across North Carolina will continue rumbling down the roads coated in their familiar shade of National School Bus Glossy Yellow.
Famous School Bus Paint Schemes
While most NC school buses follow the standard yellow and black paint scheme, some districts get creative with special designs on individual buses.
Here are a few of the famous and creative school bus paint schemes from North Carolina districts:
- Hornets Bus – Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has a bus painted with Charlotte Hornets colors and logos
- Polka Dot Bus – Cumberland County has a bus decorated with colorful polka dots
- R2-D2 Bus – Edgecombe County has a bus painted like Star Wars droid R2-D2
- Garfield Bus – Transylvania County has a bus featuring the cartoon cat Garfield
- Smoky Mountains Bus – Haywood County has a bus showcasing the Great Smoky Mountains
These specially-designed buses promote school spirit and showcase local pride. They add unique character to the otherwise uniform yellow fleet.
Conclusion
In summary, the vast majority of school buses servicing North Carolina’s public school systems are painted school bus yellow. This color provides excellent visibility and aligns with psychological associations of children and caution.
While minor deviations exist, the iconic yellow with black trim or lettering is a statewide tradition codified in law. It helps create a uniform fleet of easily recognized buses transporting North Carolina students safely each school day.
The familiar shade – Federal Standard 595a Color 13432, matched to the eye as National School Bus Glossy Yellow – will likely continue transporting generations of students into the future.
