Patent ID: 7158014

Claim:
A bus comprising: a motor that propels the bus and that is turned on and off by an ignition switch that is selectively operable to at least OFF, IGNITION, and ACCESSORY positions; a bus body comprising an interior and an exterior; a driver's seat at one side of the interior at a front of the body; an entrance/exit door at the other side opposite the driver's seat that, when open, allows passengers to board and exit; an aisle running rearward from the front; passenger seats adjacent the aisle; an electrical system comprising signaling devices on the exterior of the bus body that, when activated, signal that the bus is stopping to allow passengers to enter or exit, one or more alert devices for giving alerts within and immediately surrounding the bus, and an electrical system controller (ESC) that processes data from various sources to provide output data for performing certain functions incidental to operation of the bus via various virtual controllers in the ESC, one of which virtual controllers: controls the alert devices by processing data indicating status of the entrance/exit door, data indicating status of the signaling devices, data indicating status of the ignition switch, and data indicating status of a disarming device disposed proximate a rearmost passenger seat; is set from an UNARMED state to an ARMED state upon processing data disclosing concurrence of the ignition switch being in IGNITION position, the entrance/exit door being open, and the signaling devices being activated; is set from ARMED state to a TRIGGERED state upon processing data disclosing concurrence of the ignition switch being operated out of IGNITION position and the signaling devices not being activated; and is rendered capable of being reset from TRIGGERED state to UNARMED state upon processing data disclosing concurrence of operation of the disarming device and of the ignition switch being in ACCESSORY position.