OAK CREEK, Wis. — Go Riteway Transportation Group has partnered with an organization that educates members of the busing and trucking industries on preventing human trafficking.

Busing on the Lookout (BOTL) is a program overseen by Truckers Against Trafficking, and is designed to encourage more transportation professionals respond to human trafficking.

GO Riteway is using material provided by BOTL to train employees on the necessary skills to identify and report signs of human trafficking, according to a news release from the operator.  

“Safety is one of our core values and GO Riteway is eager to join this fight by educating our employees on how to identify the signs of human trafficking and how to properly report a suspected crime,” said Wendy Bast, one of Go Riteway’s owners, who is closely tied to the BOTL project.

Bast told School Bus Fleet that the company’s school bus drivers will be trained on the program in 2019. Approximately 1,400 drivers and other staff members will receive the training.

“With half of America’s schoolchildren riding the bus every day, school bus drivers are in a critical position to play an integral role in combating the domestic sex trafficking taking place throughout the country,” said Annie Sovcik, director of BOTL. “As a leader in school bus transportation, Go Riteway has taken an important step toward improving student safety by equipping its drivers with education and tools that may help save a child’s life.”

As SBF previously reported, the Iowa Department of Education began using BOTL in August. The state expects to have all 9,000 of its drivers trained by June 2019.