LISLE, Ill. — IC Bus has launched "The Next Stop," a new initiative aimed at imagining the needs of the bus industry's future.

Through a collaborative approach, IC Bus plans to bring together the brightest minds of the pupil transportation industry to map out the road ahead.

"This initiative reflects our commitment to lead, innovate, and revolutionize the bus industry as a leading manufacturer of school buses," said Trish Reed, vice president and general manager at IC Bus. "As technology advances the pace of change, IC Bus is a value-driven company poised to cultivate and model the best solutions to the current and future demands of the school bus industry. We hear what people say — that they want safe, renewable technology driven transportation solutions for their buses — and the fact is, we agree."

The Next Stop initiative includes an Imagination Contest for students in grades K-8 and an Innovation Summit to generate collaboration among industry thought leaders and innovators.

•    The Imagination Contest will ask today’s students "What will the bus of the future look like?" Details on the contest, which will launch on Sept. 15, will be posted on ICBus.com/TheNextStop.

•    For the Innovation Summit, IC Bus will convene a cross section of industry thought leaders in early 2017 at the Navistar headquarters in Lisle for a conference to cultivate and bring to market imaginative, challenging, and big ideas, with the goal of demonstrating the future of the school bus industry.

"The Next Stop initiative facilitates dialogue with all the stakeholders in pupil transportation: parents, students, customers, and transportation partners alike," said Mark Johnson, vice president of marketing at Navistar. "We are committed to engaging these stakeholders through events, social media, and other new marketing vehicles to collectively chart the path of the industry over the next decade."