CATAWISSA, Pa. — Transportation provider Fullington has won a five-year contract to operate school bus services for the Southern Columbia Area School District.

The five-year contract includes an option for a three-year extension. Fullington will operate and maintain school bus services for Southern Columbia Area School District, which has three schools (elementary, middle and high school) and caters to the districts of Catawissa along with Cleveland, Franklin, Roaring Creek, Locust and Ralpho counties.

The service transports some 1,500 students daily with a fleet of more than 30 vehicles, traveling a total of more than 400,000 miles per year.

“We are delighted to have won this latest contract that demonstrates the recognition of our professionalism in school bus services and our excellent local expertise,” Fullington CEO Jonathan Berzas said.

Southern Columbia Area School District officials said that as students return for the 2015-16 school year, “they will be greeted by many of the same bus drivers who have transported them safely through the years.” However, the fleet of school buses and vans used to transport the district’s students will be updated in the coming months.

Fullington, which was established in 1908, provides inter-urban, school bus and charter services with a fleet of 250 vehicles, including 150 school buses. The company is a subsidiary of RATP Dev.

“The new contract will further consolidate the presence of RATP Dev in the USA, which already accounts for 10% of our activity, and will help the group continue to grow in this key territory for our development,” said Catherine Chardon, CEO of RATP Dev America.

RATP Dev, itself a subsidiary of Paris-based RATP Group, operates transportation services in 14 countries on four continents.