The 20 Largest School Bus Contractors in 2026

See which private school transportation providers made the list of the largest contractors in 2026, with location, fleet sizes, district contracts, and number of students served.

Amanda Huggett・Executive Editor

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May 28, 2026

Row of yellow school buses parked in a lot, lined up bumper-to-bumper with mirrors extended, photographed outdoors in daylight with trees and buildings in the background. — Once again, First Student transports more students than anyone else, with STA just behind them.
Credit:
Student Transportation of America

2 min to read

Let's take a look at the companies that partner with local school districts to make sure students get to school safely!

First Student remains the largest contractor in North America, with an upset for second place this year as Summit School Services’ (formerly National Express) fleet decreased by 3,000 buses.

We saw some more consolidation this year as Cook-Illinois Corp. dropped from the top 10 after its acquisition by First Student.

This annual ranking based on School Bus Fleet survey data highlights the largest privately owned school bus companies in North America based on fleet size, students transported, and districts served. Together, these national and local operators transport millions of students every day.

Want to know which public school districts are the largest? Check out our November 2025 list here!

The 20 Largest School Transportation Contractors

Rank	Company	Yellow Fleet Buses	Non-Bus Vehicles in Fleet	Total Vehicle Fleet	District Contracts	Students Transported Daily
1	First Student (Cincinnati, OH)	47,000	5,000	52,000	1,300	4,600,000
2	Student Transportation of America (Wall Township, NJ)	18,000**	1,000**	19,000	750+	1,250,000
3	Summit School Services (Warrenville, IL)	17,000	1,500	18,500	360+	1,000,000**
4	Beacon Mobility Corp (Akron, OH)	14,650		14,650	700	40,000
5	North America Central School Bus (Chicago)	5,950		5,950	100+	500,000
6	Landmark Student Transportation (Aurora, ON)	4,961	1007	5,968		260,000
7	Logan Bus Company (Ozone Park, NY)	2,790	18	2,808	21	57,000
8	Krapf School Bus (West Chester, PA)*	2,400		2,400	45	110,000
9	Switzer-Carty Transportation Services Inc. (Burlington, ON)	2,400	100	2,500	20+	105,000+
10	American Student Transportation Partners	2,100	1,500	3,600	70	200,000
11	Sharp Bus Lines Ltd.***	2,000		2,000	14	120,000
12	Suffolk Transportation Service, Inc. (Bay Shore, NY)	1,800	10	1,810	24	50,000+
13	Dattco, Inc. (New Britain, CT)***	1,700		1,700	30+	110,000
14	Dean Transportation (Lansing, MI)	1,617	31	1,648	60	60,000
15	Lamers Bus Lines (Green Bay, WI)	1,410	70	1,480	59	40,725
16	The Trans Group, LLC (Spring Valley, NY)	1,357	120	1,477	19	72,000
17	Minnesota Coaches (Hastings, MN)	950**		950	36***
18	Kobussen Buses Ltd (Little Chute, WI)	833	100	933	33	34,500
19	Metropolitan Transportation Network (Fridley, MN)***	695		695	10	100,000
20	Palmer Bus Service (North Mankato, MN)	616	330	946	28	32,000

^{*Latest available data | **Estimate | ***From publicly available reports | Blank indicates data unavailable}

^{Note: All data was compiled from qualified survey respondents at private contracting companies collected from February though May 2026.}

Did we miss you on this list? Please email info@schoolbusfleet.com with your company's name, fleet size and other numbers as detailed above, and we’ll include you in the 2027 Contractor Survey.

Topics:Contractor Fleets contractors survey Data Management

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