A management & maintenance magazine for school transportation fleets
Issue link: https://sbf.epubxp.com/i/334511
34 S C H O O L B U S F L E E T • J U L Y 2 0 1 4 companies have 350 buses. Quality Bus Service LLC of Sparrow Bush, N.Y., has 181 units, bringing it in at No. 49. S CHOOL BUS FLEET's 2014 Top 50 Contractors rank- ing refects some substan- tial changes compared to last year. The total number of buses in the list is 112,943, which is 6,619 fewer bus- es than in 2013. This is the lowest total number of buses since 2008. Several companies reported a large decrease in the size of their feets this year, which contributed to the drop. For example, First Student reported a loss of 4,450 buses, and National Ex- press Corp. reported a loss of 500 bus- es. Overall, 26% of the 46 companies returning to the Top 50 have a smaller feet, up from 20% in 2013. However, more than half (52%) grew their feets, compared to 43% last year. Island Charter Inc. had the biggest gain in buses by percentage. The company's feet grew 94%, from 175 buses to 340 buses. Island Charter also made the biggest move in the ranking, jumping 11 spots to No. 36. Changes to the top 5 This year also saw a change in the top fve companies for the frst time since 2011. First Student still has the No. 1 spot, with 50,000 buses, and Na- tional Express Corp. follows at No. 2 with more than 20,500 units. Student Transportation Inc. (STI) continues to hold the third spot; its feet comprises 10,500 buses. However, Atlantic Express Transpor- tation Corp., which was at No. 4 from 2009 to 2013, shut down at the end of last year. Illinois Central School Bus Co. is now No. 4 with 3,000 buses, and George Krapf Jr. & Sons Inc. joins the top fve with 2,464 units. Of the frst fve companies, only STI reported growth, adding 1,000 buses to its feet. This is due, in part, to the acquisition and integration of Atlantic Express' California operations by STI and its subsidiary Student Transporta- tion of America Inc. (See news story at Schoolbusfeet.com/july14f for more de- tails.) New to the ranking Four companies joined the Top 50 in 2014. North Reading Transportation of Methuen, Mass., comes in at No. 13 with 1,100 buses, and Gibsonia, Pa.- based Monark Student Transportation Corp. takes the No. 29 spot with 403 school buses. Selby Transportation Corp. of New York City joins the list at No. 33, tying with AA Transportation Co. Inc. Both There are 6,619 fewer buses in this year's Top 50 Contractors ranking compared to 2013, but of the companies returning to the list, 52% report growth in their feets, up from 43% the previous year. The top fve contractors change for the frst time in three years, and four new companies join the group. BY KELLY AGUINALDO Big Changes for Big Fleets Not on the list? Each year, we attempt to contact every school bus company that might qualify for the Top 50. However, we realize that there are probably still some large contractors out there that we aren't aware of. If your company or another that you know of isn't on this list but should be, please let us know. Send an e-mail to info@ schoolbusfeet.com or a fax to (310) 533-2512. Include contact information and the current number of school buses in the company's feet. TOP 50 CONTRACTORS