LAKE OSWEGO, Oregon — Student Transportation of America (STA) has been awarded a new $3 million annual contract to provide transportation services to Lake Oswego School District.

This will be the first operation in Oregon for STA, which is a subsidiary of Student Transportation Inc. The initial five-year contract provides for customer-shared fuel costs and includes a five-year option to extend.

"We are enthusiastic about expanding our operations into Oregon, where the Lake Oswego School District saw the value in our proposal, which did not include the lowest bid for services, and decided to take advantage of all that STA has to offer," Senior Vice President Don Kissell said. "We have already started to begin our new partnership with the community with a vigorous effort to recruit and hire a full team of drivers and other personnel."

STA will provide 60 new vehicles, 52 of which will run on propane autogas. Safety and communications equipment on the vehicles will include GPS tracking systems, digital three-camera surveillance systems, two-way radios, front bumper crossing arms and Child Check-Mate systems. Also, STA will install and use new routing software.

The buses will also allow for the opportunity to utilize the SafeStop mobile application, which connects parents and school officials with vehicles transporting their students.

"The safe and dependable transportation of our students is a priority for the district and our families, and the district looks forward to Student Transportation of America providing that for us on a daily basis," said Stuart Ketzler, executive director of finance at Lake Oswego School District. "STA's new fleet of propane autogas buses will not only reduce carbon emissions within our community, but will also be up-to-date and more reliable.”

STA will be holding informational sessions with current drivers and personnel, who will be given the first opportunity to work for the company, officials said.