Well, the school bus itself is painted yellow, if you can't see it you're blind. Therefore, the strobe would be VERY useful at night (which is why it's a law in some states to have it) and white shows up the best in dark settings.
And technically, there is a spectrum of colors available for emergency vehicles. Many states allow the public use of white and green lights along with the almost nationwide public acceptance of amber lighting.
If by lift station you mean elevator, damn right better send a radio or telephone message. How dangerous is that?? Being stuck down there praying for someone to read the sign and call in would suck...
In a camp in Mentone, AL I went to they had a large sewer system which contained of 6 sewer manhole covers with (a) box(es) on a pole next to the cover. The boxes had a red light on top (not sure if it was strobe or steady/flashing, but it wasn't rotating) which nobody knew what it was for (forgot to ask the administrative people). One of the boxes had it lock off so I was planning to open it to find out what it was but it seemed to be glued shut. I almost broke the wooden pole trying to get the box open!
EDIT: Robert, two things unrelated to this conversation: why do you always have vibrant colors in your posts, and why is your karma less than -100 and you're still a member? Just get a new account or something.