HIGH POINT, N.C. — Officials in 13 Kentucky counties have purchased a total of 58 Thomas Built Buses Saf-T-Liner C2 school buses.

“For us, safety is the No. 1 concern and the C2 has great visibility for seeing children in front and [near] the side of the bus,” said Jim Cleaver, transportation director for Bourbon County Schools in Paris, Ky. “Plus, it has a great ride, the driver controls are easy to access and it has a quiet Mercedes-Benz engine.” The county tested a C2 during a pilot program and purchased two units for the upcoming school year.

Thomas Built officials said that the company has been gaining market share in Kentucky over the past decade and is now providing about 30 percent of the new buses purchased by the state.

With the addition of Kentucky, the C2 is available in all 50 states in the U.S., and in all of the Canadian provinces.