The top five largest school bus contractors this year include First Student, National Express, Student Transportation of America, Beacon Mobility in Massachusetts, and North America Central School Bus in Chicago.
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The results are in from this year’s annual contractor fleet operations survey! With no further ado, they are …
Top 5 School Bus Contractors
Rank
Company
Fleet 2024
Fleet 2023
Loss/Gain
District Contracts
Students Transported
1
First Student (Cincinnati)
45,000
43,000
+2,000
1,250
2,700,000
2
National Express (Lisle, Ill.)
20,000
20,500
-500
400
1,200,000*
3
Student Transportation of America (Wall, N.J.)
16,000*
16,000
N/A
300*
1,250,000*
4
Beacon Mobility (North Reading, Mass.)
7,000*
7,000
N/A
500*
400,000*
5
North America Central School Bus (Chicago)
5,700
5,402
298
100
400,000
* Latest data available.
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This year’s results mimic the same top five compared to those of 2023.
Average Contractor School Bus Fleet Size: 214
Average Number of School District Contracts: 33
Average Number of Students Transported Daily: 48,363
Average Annual Salary for Terminal Managers: $62765
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The driver shortage was marked as largely mild to moderate this year:
None: 11%
Mild: 28%
Moderate: 44%
Severe: 11%
Desperate: 6%
Additionally, there was a decent spike in driver pay this year:
Did you miss the bus on participating in this year’s contractor fleet survey? Be sure to come along for the ride in 2025. Watch for emails and announcements on our website to make sure your voice is represented! Your insights are invaluable when it comes to understanding the challenges, successes, and innovations within the industry. Your input helps identify areas for improvement, highlights best practices, and fosters collaboration among fellow contractors. Whether your fleet is small or large, your perspective is crucial.
Stop bidding everything and try a simpler way. Here's how cooperative purchasing can streamline purchases while maintaining compliance. Sourcewell breaks down the process in this episode of The Route, sponsored by IC Bus.
The alternative transportation company expands its services to traditional yellow buses with the launch of a new division focused on helping school districts optimize their routes.
Roberts, 35, serves as the lead IT application engineer for vehicle electrification at First Student, where he helps shape scalable, real-world EV infrastructure to support student transportation.
Swazer, 29, serves as director of transportation at Puyallup School District, where he champions student wellbeing and inspires the next generation of industry leaders.
Dubas, 38, serves as sales manager and safety advocate at IMMI, where she advances school bus occupant protection through industry education, OEM collaboration, and proactive safety policy efforts.
Moore, 32, grew up around the school bus, leading him to the classroom and eventually inspiring high-performing teams while bringing operations in house (twice).
Baran, 38, serves as transportation supervisor at Odyssey Charter School in Delaware, where he leads daily operations with a focus on safety and professional growth.
Maybee, 36, leads transportation operations for Denver Public Schools, where he is advancing equity, efficiency, and cross-department collaboration to improve student access.
Higgins, 38, serves as director of industry engagement at TAT (Truckers Against Trafficking), where she equips school transportation professionals with the tools to recognize and report human trafficking.
