First Student has announced the launch of two brand-new services: First Services, as well as First Charge, for a double dose of new service offerings to help schools with their transportation needs.

First Services is a new division at First Student that will focus on helping districts incorporate technology, electric school bus charging, routing, fleet maintenance, and behavioral training programs to improve student transportation.

For districts interested in electric school bus charging, First Charge is a new above-ground trenchless charging infrastructure solution that enables efficient deployment of electric vehicles.

First Services: All-Encompassing Transportation Solutions

First Services allows school districts to build and bundle stand-alone services to suit their needs. This can help them realize greater cost savings while allowing for partnerships in specific areas instead of requiring a full-service model.

“First Services leverages our industry-leading experience providing safe, reliable transportation and our team of experts to aid districts with their needs from technology to training, from fleets to maintenance,” said First Student CEO John Kenning. “Helping districts improve transportation and lower their costs, will allow them to focus on education while we provide support to ensure every trip to and from school is an exceptional one.”

To get started, First Services will help districts identify where they need help meeting goals including optimizing school bus routes, keeping buses running efficiently, managing maintenance programs, revamping operations, electrifying school bus fleets, and improving the student experience.

Once areas for improvement are identified, First Services experts can provide insights, analysis, recommendations, training, and turnkey-solutions that allow the district to focus on other priorities.

First Services will also be handling First Student's FirstServes program.

A New Approach to Charging

First Charge is an innovative new approach to electric vehicle charging that was designed to simplify the electrification process for all school districts. The program eliminates the need for trenching, even in cold weather climates, and can support medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles.

The company estimates the First Charge system can save districts up to 50% on construction costs. The system is optimized for every electric school bus deployment to provide confidence to school administrators that their fleets will be ready to safely and reliably serve students and families.

Featuring an expansion-ready design, First Charge allows for easy scaling of infrastructure and is helpful for districts that want to grow their electric school bus fleets over time. The system can support up to 25 electric school buses per power management module.

“First Charge is a game changer in our industry because it allows school districts to focus critical resources on what matters most: educating students,” said Kenning. “For school districts who want to or need to electrify their bus fleets without spending years building infrastructure or constraining their capital budgets, this kind of modular approach is faster, more affordable and handles expansion better than existing systems. What makes us most proud of this system, however, is that it provides a better experience for students by putting more electric buses on the roads, creating a safer, more enjoyable ride that’s healthier for kids and better for the environment.”

How the Two Services Work Together

First Charge is paired with a comprehensive energy management solution called Charging as a Service (CaaS). CaaS handles energy procurement, charge management, and fleet maintenance.

Combining this with the new First Services division allows First student to manage the charging infrastructure while districts focus on transportation operations.

First Services also offers Fleet as a Service and Maintenance as a Service programs to provide additional support for a school’s transportation department.

First Services also have programs to help with electrifying school bus fleets. Districts interested in switching to electric school buses can receive help with grant applications, infrastructure design, hardware and software selection, site assessments, construction, and deployment.

First Student has more than 360 electric school bus deployments across the United States and Canada.