“Great Day Express” makes its first trip to the American Dream Mall

“I drove a school bus for 10 years,” Crumble said. “This is bigger; you have to take wider turns.”

It’s also much more comfortable and “very smooth” to drive, she said.

Shortly after 10 a.m., about 34 students in grades 7 through 12 and six adult chaperones made their way to the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, Bergen County, where the Big SNOW ski jump is located.

When asked to raise their hand if this was their first ski trip, most did.

Some planned to ski, others snowboarded and skied down the artificial hills in the indoor ski area.

“They are making history here in Atlantic City as the first group to ride the Great Day Express. Give yourself a round of applause,” Small said to the children, who cheered on cue.

“Under Small government, youth and seniors are our two most valuable resources, and you are clearly a priority,” Small told them. “We won’t sacrifice a dime to give you all the tools to succeed, be it programming, equipment or transportation.”

Some city residents criticized Small’s decision to purchase the bus, saying it would require an expansion of the transportation department and costly maintenance, and that the city should have continued to rent buses as needed.

But Small said the city spent hundreds of thousands of dollars renting the bus, and after the state funded most of the bus, the city only had to contribute $289,000.

According to Small, additional grants were also paid for the purchase of two school buses and a handicap-accessible minibus.

The trip is free for those who have signed up, said Christina Noble, director of youth services. It includes transportation, entrance fees, rental equipment and lunch — which adds up to about $100 per student, she said.

“We want to provide all sorts of opportunities for our youth, and some of them require us to leave these 48 blocks. Surprisingly, many of our student youth were not outside our city limits or not too far beyond,” Noble said. “The trip there and back takes two hours, so we can travel comfortably.”

It will also save the city money, she said.

“We take our kids on a lot of trips… and that’s always taken up a lot of our budget – transportation,” Noble said. “Since we have our own bus, we can take them to more places.”

Crumble is one of about 10 city employees who will drive the bus, Small said. Those without a bus driver’s license were trained at the Ernest Trans School of Trucking in Bader Field.