Last April, North America’s second-largest contractor announced new ownership when National Express was acquired by I Squared Capital, an infrastructure investor. 

The official changeover was complete in Q3 2025 and involved all brands under the former National Express umbrella. Now that the company is operating under its new structure, we checked in with Tim Wertner, CEO of Summit School Services, in this Q&A to learn key details about the deal — and what to expect from the new brand moving forward.

Q: Walk us through your recent company acquisition. What was the strategic rationale behind it?

Wertner: This acquisition by I Squared Capital is a fresh start for our company that will enable us to invest more in our services, expand our footprint, and add even more best-in-class safety and operational technology to our fleet. 

We have several well-known, legacy brands under our belt and a proven history of operational success and strong community ties that have been forged over the last 108-plus years since we’ve been in business. Further, we are always looking for ways to grow and further solidify those brands so we can live up to our legacy and push our brands to even greater heights. To better reflect this notion, we have rebranded to a new corporate brand name that has replaced National Express School – Summit School Services, LLC. 

Our subsidiaries such as Durham School Services, Stock Transportation, Petermann Bus, and others will continue to operate and serve their communities normally with no changes or disruptions to services or our customers. Just as was the case with our previous name, National Express School, all subsidiaries will live under the new overarching name, Summit School Services.

Q: What has changed and what is staying the same?

Wertner: Local management support will continue on as business-as-usual with no changes to operations for our subsidiaries. Safety is and will always be one of our top priorities. We continually look for new ways to implement safety and operational technologies, helping to ensure we provide safe and reliable service.

Further, in the first quarter of this year, we are preparing for a major milestone: the powerful launch of our technology platform named Catalyst — our next-generation Innovation Hub designed to bring the most advanced, future-ready technologies directly to our customers. This platform represents a significant evolution in how we approach safety, efficiency, and fleet intelligence. With a focus on seamless integration and real-time insight, our upgraded suite will truly be best-in-class, delivering smarter, fully connected, and data-driven solutions that will transform every aspect of fleet management and elevate school operations to an entirely new level. From enhanced visibility and predictive analytics to improved communication systems and operational automation, Catalyst will empower districts with tools that are intuitive, modern, and built for the challenges of tomorrow. We are excited to introduce it, so please look forward to it! 

Q: What are the company's priorities moving forward and corresponding strategy?

Wertner: Our priorities are safety, growth, expanded technology use, and greater operational efficiency. To achieve these goals, our teams are working diligently to identify areas where we can confidently expand our footprint. Our IT team is also continuously researching and exploring various operational and safety technologies for possible implementation. 

We started this school year with staffing at 104% and have been extremely successful in maintaining a fully staffed team. This is all due to the efforts of our recruiting team and the new recruiting methods they utilize. We believe we have one of the best recruiting teams in the business. Once we onboard team members, our goal is to provide a fantastic working environment so our employees stay with us for years to come. 

We are working on several fleet electrification projects with our customers in Florida, Louisiana, Michigan, and others anticipated to be completed in the first half of 2026 and beyond. Our team has also continued to seek out funding opportunities for our customers to further electrify their fleets. 

Q: What’s your message to districts that may be uncertain about contracting with a newly acquired company? 

Wertner: The acquisition itself is the strength we can bring to our partners. I Squared possesses a vast spectrum of expertise, funding, and experience in the transportation sector that we can utilize to elevate our services for both new and existing customers. We demonstrated our team’s determination and success in growth even before being acquired. I Squared witnessed what we could do with the limited resources we had, and as a result, recognized our efforts and confidently committed to investing in our future. Our partners should look to that for reassurance. We are in a confident place financially and operationally.

Q: What's your vision for the future — both for the company and for the industry?

Wertner: Our vision is to continue to prove ourselves as a premier student transportation provider. Our commitment to providing safe, reliable service to our students and communities remains true and unwavering. 

This is an exciting new beginning for us, so we hope everyone will follow us as we reach new heights as Summit School Services and continue to contribute to the safety, improvement, and growth of student transportation and the communities we serve. 

Please follow along on this new journey via our newly launched Summit School Services LinkedIn page, as well as our individual company pages for Durham School Services, Stock Transportation, and Petermann Bus. 

We will soon be launching our website for Summit School Services and will formally introduce the new corporate brand name. Please stay tuned.