First Student officials say the company will advance student safety, expand its fleet of electric school buses and make the most student transportation trips in North America. This school year, First Student expects to: 

• Complete 1 billion student transportation trips. 

• Transport 5.5 million students every school day. 

• Drive 525 million miles. 

• Serve more than 19,000 schools. 

• Operate student transportation services in 43 states. 

• Employ nearly 50,000 drivers. 

"Back to school is one of the best times of the year for our team because we get to help students start their school year off the right way," said First Student CEO and President John Kenning. "We are ready to deliver exceptional service with our biggest, safest and most electric school year ever.” 

First Student is transitioning 30,000 diesel buses to electric by 2035. The company has been awarded more than $400 million in rebates from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Program.

This school year, First Student expects to: 

• Deploy 110 new electric school buses in 10 school districts. 

• Pass 6 million miles driven on electric school buses. 

• Complete 167,400 trips on 465 electric buses. 

• Reduce carbon emissions by 12,550 tons. 

FirstServes, the company's student behavior improvement and special needs student support program, recently announced the program is reducing disruptive incidents on school buses by as much as 27% year-over-year.

FirstServes provides planning and support to deliver training for driving staff and on-vehicle monitors. First Student has expanded FirstServes as a standalone option to school districts. 

FirstAlt, First Student's alternative transportation service, also expects to expand this school year. FirstAlt provides safe and reliable transport for students with unique transportation needs and students experiencing homelessness.