City buys private bus company, saving district $2M
The city of Pekin has been providing school bus transportation for local school districts for decades, but now it will expand service to rural areas outside the city, as well as special-needs students, through the purchase of Hoyle School Transportation.
PEKIN, Ill. — The city of Pekin has been providing school bus transportation for local school districts for decades, but now it will expand service to rural areas outside the city, as well as special-needs students, through the purchase of Hoyle School Transportation.
Owner Frank Hoyle is retiring at the end of the 2009-10 school year and has agreed to sell his business and its vehicles to the city for $300,000, according to a story in the Peoria Journal Star.
The acquisition will increase the city’s 70-bus fleet by 56 vehicles and will increase the number of students transported daily from 2,400 to 3,000.
City officials say the move will generate revenue for the city and save money for the school districts and taxpayers. The combined service is expected to save one of the two districts an estimated $2 million over the life of a five-year contract.
The expanded service, which will include extracurricular trips, will begin in the fall of 2010.
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