Check Out: June 2025 SBF Digital Edition!
Now Online: School Bus Fleet's June/July 2025 Contractor Issue
From our Contractor of the Year interview to 2025 survey results on the state of contracting, natural disasters, alternative transportation, and electric buses, don't miss these articles.
June 12, 2025
Check out the Contractor of the Year profile in the June 2025 issue of SBF!
Photo: School Bus Fleet
2 min to read
The latest issue of School Bus Fleet is now available, and it's our annual contractor edition! Plus, this edition is a dual issue on disaster preparedness! After you're done reading SBF on the front, flip it over to learn tips to navigate natural disasters.
In this issue, you'll find:
How a Life Change Changed Lives: Michael Brown, 2025 Contractor of the Year: How one unexpected "yes" turned Michael Brown, a former insurance agent, into a transportation trailblazer with a family-run, employee-owned bus empire from a single form and a whole lot of heart.
Fleets in Flux: Adapting to Changing Student Transportation Needs: School transportation is no longer just yellow buses. Explore how rising demand, shrinking driver pools, and more innovative tech are reshaping school bus fleets into multi-modal, student-first systems.
The State of School Bus Contracting [2025 Survey Results]: Why are school bus contractors facing a perfect storm of higher costs, uncertain funding, and shifting tech? Get the 2025 trends shaking up the yellow bus world here.
What To Do When Natural Disaster Strikes: Tips & Stories from School Transportation Teams: Do you know what to do when disaster strikes? Learn how real districts faced floods, fires, and hurricanes head-on, and the lifesaving lessons they learned to prepare for the next time.
Rethinking the Route: A Deep Dive into Alternative Transportation for School Districts: As school buses face limits, see how a growing network of alternative transportation providers is stepping in to meet the needs of students who fall outside the norm.
Key Outcomes from the 17th Annual NCST: Although the 2025 National Congress on School Transportation returned after a 10-year pause due to COVID, delegates brought passionate debate, major updates on alt transportation, and ground-breaking safety standards that will shape the future of student transportation nationwide.
5 Questions: Blue Bird's John Wyskiel on Safety, Innovation, EVs, Partnerships & Plans: Join us for a conversation with Blue Bird's president and CEO as we talk all things EV leadership, fresh safety tech, and a long-term vision that honors the company's 100-year legacy.
Editor's Note: Helping Others through Natural Disaster
NSTA Advocacy in Action: Annual NSTA Bus-In Produces Two Bill Introductions
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5 Questions: How CharterUP Brought a Marketplace to Student Transportation
What does it take to bring a transportation marketplace into K-12? Hear firsthand what CharterUP has learned about the unique needs of schools and bus operators.
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EverDriven Expands TripCentral Transportation Management Platform to All Partner Districts
The platform provides school districts with real-time trip tracking, student transportation scheduling tools, and pickup and drop-off management capabilities.
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6 School Transportation Trends to Watch: 2026 District Survey Results
School bus buying is up, fuel choices are shifting, and driver shortages persist. This and more in the latest K-12 public school survey, plus the largest fleets in the U.S.
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The 100 Largest School Bus Fleets in America: 2026 Rankings
Which public K-12 school districts are the largest in the nation in terms of bus fleet size? Here are the new standings of the top 100 district fleets.
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EverDriven Launches Route Consolidation Calculator to Estimate Diesel Savings
As diesel prices hit record highs, the largest alternative transportation provider says a 10% route consolidation could save a 120-route district more than $78,000 a year in fuel alone.
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Zum Secures Continued Financing Support for School Bus Expansion
Generate Private Credit has financed approximately $75 million in school bus deployments across three states, supporting more than 500 buses as Zum expands across the county.
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Beyond Discipline: A Different Approach to Student Behavior on the Bus
After implementing a dean of students program in Oregon, North Clackamas is seeing positive improvements. Here’s how it worked. The Route is brought to you by IC Bus.
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A Dean of Transportation's Different Approach to Student Behavior on the School Bus
After implementing a dean of students program in Oregon, North Clackamas is seeing positive improvements on the bus. Here’s how it worked.
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Inside NAPT ACTS 2026: Highlights from Louisville
From federal updates and student behavior strategies to new school bus technology and industry awards, see highlights from NAPT ACTS 2026 in Louisville.
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Meet the 2026 School Bus Driver Hero Winner: Annette Brown
We caught up with Wa-Nee Community Schools' Annette Brown on site at SBFX, where she was named the 2026 School Bus Driver Hero Award winner. Hear about her reaction, what she loves most about being a school bus driver, and more!
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