Mike Martucci, a New York-based pupil transportation veteran who previously operated his own school bus company, has won a seat in the state Senate.

Martucci is the former owner and founder of Quality Bus Service and past president of the New York School Bus Contractors Association (NYSBCA).

Martucci will become the state Senator for the 42nd district. He ran against incumbent Sen. Jan Metzger, who conceded on Tuesday, according to the Daily Freeman. As School Bus Fleet previously reported, in July, Martucci called on Metzger and the state to reallocate funds for political campaigns to help schools pay for COVID-19-related health and safety protocols. In particular, he asked state lawmakers to provide $100 million in funding for a variety of initiatives designed to help students get back to school safely.

“I am honored and humbled by the support and trust given to me by the voters of the district,” Martucci said in a news release from Martucci’s campaign, Friends of Mike Martucci. “We built a multi-party coalition of families and community advocates, farmers and law enforcement, laborers and business owners, who recognized that Albany must change its practices and priorities to better meet the needs of New Yorkers during these most challenging times. It’s time to harness the resources of Albany to help forgotten upstate communities and rebuild the Empire State. There is much more to New York state than New York City and I plan on making sure Albany is made aware of it.”

“I would also like to thank Sen. Metzger for a spirited campaign and for her years of service,” he added. “My staff and I look forward to working with Sen. Metzger and her team as we facilitate a transition focused on the needs of the 42nd state senate district.”

Martucci started his school transportation company by purchasing a school bus at the age of 22 with his life savings, a small business loan, and his grandmother by his side. He later drove the same school bus for his first customer: Greenwood Lake Union Free School District in Orange County. Martucci eventually grew Quality Bus Service to over 500 employees and 350 school buses serving school districts throughout the area. In an interview with SBF in 2017, Martucci discusses efforts to crack down on illegal passing of school buses and expand random drug and alcohol testing for school bus drivers in the state, and his approach to recruiting drivers.