Durham School Services recently acquired business from Atlantic Express Transportation Corp. in Philadelphia, and it will operate student transportation services for the School District of Philadelphia.  

The acquisition adds 364 buses, 320 routes and more than 500 employees to Durham’s existing operations.

To welcome the newly hired team members, Durham held an employee kickoff event, which included a barbecue lunch and distribution of new safety vests.

“Safety is embedded in our culture at Durham and is a core value that we truly live by,” said Charlie Bruce, vice president of the Northeast area. “The safety vests are just one facet of our comprehensive safety program, which covers everything from hiring to employee recognition to ensuring daily protocols and procedures are followed. These measures are enforced to ensure students are safe at all times when in our care.”

Durham’s new operations officially took effect on March 4 after a transition that officials said was completed in just three weeks. It involved screening, hiring and onboard training, as well as taking over maintenance and facility responsibilities.

“We are very happy to expand our Durham family with this acquisition,” Bruce added. “It takes an entire team to provide safe and reliable transportation. We look forward to getting students to school safely, on time and ready to learn."

Atlantic Express announced that it would shut down at the end of 2013, as SBFpreviously reported.