First Student, Inc.
FormerlyRyder Public Transportation Services Inc.
(1985–1999)
ParentEQT Partners
Founded1999
(through acquisition of school bus business of Ryder)
HeadquartersCincinnati, Ohio
Service areaUnited States
Service typeSchool bus, charter service
Fleet44,050
Websitewww.firststudentinc.com

First Student, Inc. is a North American provider of school bus services. The company works with districts in 38 states and 7 Canadian provinces, carrying approximately 5M students daily.[1] In addition to its regular routes, First Student also provides special-needs transportation, field trip services, and charter bus rentals.

With a workforce of 50,500 employees, and a fleet of 44,050 vehicles, the company's fleet of buses drives over 550M miles every year.[1] Formerly a division of FirstGroup, First Student was sold to EQT Infrastructure on 21 July 2021.[2]

History

Ryder Public Transportation acquisition

In 1999, Ryder sold its school bus division to FirstGroup for $940 million, in order to focus on its truck leasing and rental business.[3]

Laidlaw acquisition

By 2007, FirstGroup had built the First Student network into one of the largest school bus contractors in the United States; in the same year, the company acquired Laidlaw for $3.4 billion, taking over its school transportation operations as well.[4]

FirstGroup breakup

Logo until 2022

FirstGroup, the parent company of First Student, announced that it would consider a sale of its North American school bus and transit divisions in December 2019. The North American division was valued at $3.5 billion at the time of the announcement.[5] In April 2021, FirstGroup agreed terms were to sell the business to EQT Partners. The deal closed on July 22, 2021.[6]

Safety features

In 2010, First Student installed Zonar on all 60,000 of its school buses. These features include the EVIR Inspection System for verified pre-trip, post-trip and child-check inspections; the V2J Vehicle Diagnostic Device for tracking and managing assets and real-time transmission of vehicle subsystem data; and Ground Traffic Control, a Web-based data and fleet management application.[7]

First Student Canada

First Student Canada is a major contractor of school bus services and public transit systems. The company provides services in Canada comparable to those delivered by First Student in the United States. The component parts of the operation consist of the former Laidlaw services and subsequent new acquisitions by First Canada.

Operating subsidiaries

Laidlaw

Laidlaw Transit Ltd., is a Canadian registered subsidiary[8] which operates former Laidlaw school transportation services throughout Southern Ontario.

Farwest Group

The Farwest Group of companies provides transportation services in various communities in British Columbia. These companies were acquired by First Canada in 2004[9] and are contracted to operate public transit services for BC Transit in Chilliwack,[10] Kamloops, Kelowna Region and the Central Fraser Valley.[10]

Cardinal

Several companies branded as "Cardinal" operated school buses in different locations across Canada. In 2005, Firstbus Canada acquired 471136 B.C. Limited and Cardinal Transportation B.C. Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia and Cardinal Coach Lines Limited and Focus Capital Inc., Calgary, Alberta and Cardinal Coach Lines (Ont.) Ltd., North York, Ontario.[11]

King Transportation

King Transportation Ltd., is a Winnipeg based company that provides school bus transportation, special education transportation services,[12] charter and maintenance services. The company was acquired by FirstBus Canada in 2008.[13]

2014 Calgary controversy

In February 2014, the company was subject to criticism after it fired Kendra Lindon, a school bus driver after she used her own vehicle to pick up children from her route after her bus failed to start. Due to the extremely low temperature (-26 degrees Celsius), and due to the failure of her dispatch to send replacement buses on the previous day, Lindon decided that "it wouldn’t be right" to leave children out in the cold and feared they might suffer frostbite, since many were not properly dressed for such cold weather. Upon learning of Lindon's actions, the company immediately terminated her employment, on the grounds that it was "against company policy to pick up children in a personal vehicle." Lindon defended her decision, stating that "I was not acting as a bus driver at that point but as a concerned parent...I saw these kids I’ve known since they were five. I was acting as a parent and a concerned neighbor and friend. I couldn’t just drive past them and leave them to freeze."[14][15][16][17][18][19][20]

When contacted by Licia Corbella of Postmedia News, the assistant location and safety manager, Mike Stiles, declined to comment and referred her to the First Student's Cincinnati headquarters, which did not return any calls for an inquiry.[15] Three lawyers, who have offered to represent Ms. Lindon pro bono, have suggested that she may have a case against First Student for wrongful dismissal.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 "About First Student". First Student, Inc. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Sale of First Student and First Transit". www.firstgroupplc.com. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  3. ↑ News, Bloomberg (22 July 1999). "COMPANY NEWS; RYDER IN DEAL TO SELL BUS UNIT FOR $940 MILLION". New York Times. Retrieved 30 April 2020. {{cite news}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  4. ↑ "FirstGroup closes Laidlaw acquisition". schoolbusfleet. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  5. ↑ "FirstGroup Puts U.S. School Bus, Shuttle Units Up for Sale". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "EQT Infrastructure Closes Acquisition of First Student and First Transit". First Student, Inc. 22 July 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "First Student to outfit 60,000-vehicle fleet with Zonar". schoolbusfleet. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  8. ↑ FirstGroup Annual Report and Accounts 2008
  9. ↑ Investment Canada Act, March 2004 Decision
  10. 1 2 "Transit Management Company Approved". BC Transit. 6 February 2008.
  11. ↑ Investment Canada Act, March 2005 Decisions
  12. ↑ Winnipeg School Division, Student Transportation Archived 2010-02-28 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ica-lic.nsf/eng/lk-30801.html Investment Canada Act, Notifications - Acquisitions
  14. ↑ Calgary bus driver Kendra Lindon was fired for using her SUV to pick up children rather than let them freeze by Michael Platt, Calgary Sun, March 03, 2014.
  15. 1 2 ‘It’s disgusting’: Outrage in Calgary after bus driver gets fired for picking up stranded kids in SUV by Licia Corbella, Postmedia News (reprinted in the National Post), March 5, 2014.
  16. ↑ Corbella: Driver thrown under the bus for protecting kids by Licia Corbella, Calgary Herald, March 5, 2014.
  17. 1 2 Public support floods in for fired school bus driver by Amy Glass, Calgary Herald, March 4, 2014.
  18. ↑ Calgary bus driver fired after picking up stranded teens in her SUV, CBC News, March 04, 2014.
  19. ↑ Kendra Lindon, Calgary School Bus Driver, Fired For Picking Up Kids In Her Car, Huffington Post, March 5, 2014.
  20. ↑ Driver dismissed for good deed, Colleen Schmidt, CTV Calgary, March 4, 2014.

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