Once again, the National School Transportation Association (NSTA) held its annual meeting and convention to help North American school bus contractors learn from and celebrate each other, meet with vendors, and explore one of the nation’s most historic cities together. Held July 20-23, 2025, at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, about 200 member businesses convened to talk shop and kick back. Save the date for the 2026 event, July 19-22, in Denver!
Highlights & Takeaways from the 2025 NSTA Annual Meeting [PHOTOS]
It's hard not to talk about AI these days! This group brought in Bill Westerman of Tyler Technologies, Andrew Boyce of Safe Fleet, and GP Singh of Bytecurve, to talk about how AI is enhancing its products and the industry at large, from routing and trip management to camera technology. A question from the audience on safeguarding your data prompted the panel to remind the audience that ChatGPT and similar tools are meant to aid humans, not replace them, so don’t input confidential information, and always take its suggestions as just that.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Digging into alternative fuel options for school bus operators, Dan Kobussen moderated a discussion with John Benish, Jr., Robert Friedman of Ingevity, and Todd Mouw of ROUSH CleanTech. Together, they presented their experiences with and benefits of non-electric green fuels, including propane, CNG, and biodiesel. Look for more on the latter two topics soon on SBF!
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Inside the overlook at Fenway Park, local band Honey Train played smooth tunes over dinner and dancing. Following that was the annual Tricky Tray auction with multiple winners taking home prizes from NSTA members and over $7,000 raised for NSTA's PAC.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
NSTA’s lobbyist Becky Weber of Prime Policy Group, presents a report from NSTA’s legislative efforts in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
NSTA ensured that its event celebrated its host city. Over lunch, Dr. Kanisorn of the Massachusetts Historical Society, presented "Boston and the Dawn of Revolution." His passion for the City by the Bay was evident as he shared interesting timelines and fun facts about the American city. Did you know that Boston was the first U.S. city to have a public library, a public school, police force, subway, smallpox inoculation, historical society, and the first place in which a telephone call was made?
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Curt Macysyn, Patrick Dean, and Carina Noble shared the presentation that NSTA recently hosted for a school board association on the benefits of and best practices in outsourcing student transportation, as well as gathering feedback from members.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
We thank the NSTA for recognizing the loss of former SBF Publisher Frank Di Giacomo in its in memoriam segment.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
In the vendor/OEM speed networking segment of the event, contractors spent about 10 minutes each with multiple suppliers to learn about new tools and tech available to them. Here, Beacon Mobility meets with Q’Straint.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Casie Daugherty, managing director of Prime Policy Group, presented a session called "Trump, Tariffs & Tea Leaves." It touched on the complexities of U.S. tariff policies and President Trump’s view on them. She explained sector-specific tariffs like sections 232 and 301, and the newly legislated International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Daugherty believes that the vast majority of the new reciprocal tariff rates will go into effect in August , with “a true bifurcation of countries that are negotiating with the White House and countries that are not” by then. And for certain items from certain countries that are subject to stacking rates, “you’re approaching 100% tariff on a part that used to only have 50%, so those carve outs and those little nuances to what the administration chooses to extend or not extend can become really important really quickly.”
Her best advice for operators? “Understanding your supply chains and where your parts and supplies are coming from is key here,” Daugherty said.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Event sponsors each received a minute at the mic to address attendees. Here, Tim Weaverling of RWR Insurance/Keystone Group takes the podium.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
The event’s welcome reception brought attendees to View Boston, offering a 360-degree view of the city atop one of the tallest buildings in New England. Here, NSTA executive director Curt Macysyn and Jenna Van Harpen, representing sponsor Blue Bird, say a few words from the 52nd floor.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Dan Kobussen of Kobussen Buses, welcomes attendees in his last address as NSTA president. On the last day of the conference, Patrick Dean of Dean Transportation took the reins as new association president.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Night three was the NSTA awards dinner that honored member individuals making noteworthy contributions to the industry. Here, Glenn Brayman, shop manager at First Student in Plymouth, Massachusetts, receives one of the six Golden Merit Awards for outstanding achievements in safety and service. He stands with John Benjamin of Benjam Bus out of Minnesota and Brooke Garcia of 4 Seasons Transportation out of Canada, who served as awards ceremony emcees.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
On day two, the president's dinner shuttled attendees to the iconic Fenway Park, where we mingled over a great view of the Red Sox field before dinner, dancing, music, and the annual auction.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
In the legal update session moderated by SBF editor Amanda Huggett, Rich Kelly and Matt Jandrisavitz, both of RC Kelly Law Associates, held an open forum on contract renewals. They answered FAQs on negotiating and planning new contracts, including terms, bidding on RFPs, payments, fuel clauses, employee wages and bonuses, and more.
Photo: Jordyn Ewing-Anderson, NSTA
Molly McGee-Hewitt, executive director and CEO of the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT), reported on the association’s growth in state affiliates and learning opportunities, upcoming events, and its two pillars of professional development and advocacy.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
NASDPTS’ Executive Director Ronna Weber gave NSTA attendees an exclusive first-look at the results of the association’s 2025 illegal passing survey. Find our summary and the report here!
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Jenna Fromm from Palmer Bus and GP Singh from Bytecurve pose for a photo during the cocktail and networking hour prior to the awards dinner.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Michelle Atwell, chief at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) presented Tuesday's breakfast session with updates from the federal agency. NHTSA reported a 3.8% decrease in traffic fatalities, with 39,345 lives lost on U.S. roads in 2024. The agency also combined its safety and enforcement offices, and released new reports and tools, including a data visualization tool and a comprehensive toolkit for rural communities and another for law enforcement. Check out www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov for more resources and social media graphics to share!
Photo: Amanda Huggett
The OEM panel featured Jenna VanHarpen of Blue Bird, Shane Cauble of IC Bus, and Jason Yan of RIDE, to share updates from each school bus manufacturer. Blue Bird is introducing new instrument clusters in 2026 and reported that 60% of its sales are non-diesel now. They also are doing a “pain share” when it comes to tariff price increases, taking on some of the additional financial burden. RIDE’s rep discussed its V2G tech and ADAS technologies, plus the range increase for its Type A model and new Blade battery for its Type C bus. At IC Bus, enhancements are coming to its collision mitigation system and pedestrian detection tech from Bendix.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Also at the awards dinner was the installation of new officers, with NSTA board members assuming new positions for 2025-28. Pictured is (L to R) John Benish Jr. of Cook-Illinois Corp. as region 3 director, and the following at-large positions: Donnie Fowler of Fowler Bus, Carina Noble of Durham School Services, Chloe Williams of B.R. Williams, Shane Johnson of Palmer Bus, and Corey Muirhead of Logan Bus.
Photo: Amanda Huggett
Brittany Barrett, WRI’s deputy director, implementation and operations for the Electric School Bus Initiative, offered an update on its website’s funding clearinghouse, technical assistance and trainings through collaboration with the Clean Cities coalitions, V2G and V2X pilots in California, Colorado, and New York, and its air quality studies with the University of Michigan in both Michigan and in Cherokee, North Carolina. “There are still challenges, but the foundation is stronger than ever,” she said.
Photo: Amanda Huggett