OAK CREEK, Wis. — Go Riteway Transportation Group has acquired Indiana motorcoach company Cardinal Buses Inc.

Bridgewood Advisors, a Milwaukee-based investment bank, represented Go Riteway in the transaction.

Go Riteway, headquartered in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, has 1,475 employees in 22 locations with over 1,250 passenger transportation vehicles, including school buses, motorcoaches, mini coaches, black cars, and airport shuttles. Cardinal Buses is based in Middlebury, Indiana, and has satellite offices in Mishawaka, Indiana, and Holland, Michigan. The company has 120 employees and operates over 50 vehicles.

When the companies are combined, the Go Riteway /Cardinal Bus operation will become one of the largest, most diverse fleets in the Midwest, according to a news release from Go Riteway.

 “We have been looking to grow the geographic footprint of our motorcoach business for years, but it was important for us to find a company that shared our family values,” said Ronald Bast, chairman of Go Riteway. “We respect the business the Shoup family and their valued employees have built. We plan to keep the Cardinal name in the markets where they operate.

Bast added that Go Riteway plans to retain all Cardinal employees and anticipates future career opportunities as it looks to grow the business regionally.

The owners of Cardinal Buses were nearing retirement age and were looking for a business partner who would maintain the company legacy, according to Go Riteway.

Cardinal Buses was started in 1923 when Branston Shoup purchased Middlebury Bus Lines. Branston’s son John took over the business in 1954 and today the company is owned by John’s sons, Matt and Dan Shoup.

Go Riteway was founded in 1957 by Rollie and Pearl Bast with four school buses in Germantown, Wisconsin. Today, it is co-owned by four members of the Bast family: Ronald, Rochelle, Wendy, and RJ. Over the following 60-plus years, it has continued to expand, pledging to “Be More than a Ride, Be a Solution.”

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