School Bus Company Ready to Begin Serving Marion County Schools Immediately

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Student Transportation of America, Inc. (STA), the company recommended by a selection committee of the Marion County School Board several weeks ago to provide transportation services to the district, reacted today to the announcement by the district that the matter has been tabled.

Senior Vice President of Operations Glenn Needler said, "We, like many others in the school and business community, are extremely disappointed in the Superintendent's decision to table the transportation issue for the meeting tomorrow night.  We are ready to begin work immediately to upgrade the County's school bus fleet and to welcome school district transportation employees to the STA family."

In the proposal, STA provided creative and progressive transportation solutions to the districts upcoming $24 million budget shortfall with immediate cash and annual savings plus an investment in new vehicles totaling more than $27 million over the initial five-year contract agreement.  Among the budget-friendly items included in the proposal were:

• A check to the district in the amount of $6 million for the purchase of the district's school bus fleet and an additional $1 million for a direct budget reduction.
• A resulting cash savings of $2.6 million per year in transportation operating cost for the district over each of the five years of the agreement.
• 100 brand new state-of-the-art school buses on order for August delivery to replace the older portion of the fleet at an investment of another $7 million dollars; saving the district $2.5 million already budgeted for vehicle replacements.
• Outreach to the bus driver's Union with a proposal to enter into an agreement that includes pay increases for this coming school year. The drivers would be eligible for many other benefits as explained to the district in the proposal.

"Our experienced operations team is ready and excited to get started. We will work around the clock to be ready," Needler said. "We believe the drivers and staff will welcome the changes and the new equipment, and the pay increase we have offered is in stark contrast to the current series of pay freezes. A number of concerned residents have reached out to us expressing their disappointment in a lack of interest on the district's part. Raising taxes and cutting programs with this much cash on the table is hard to understand. The plan we presented is good for the district, the drivers and the taxpayers."

Needler said that company representatives will be present at tomorrow night's Board of Education meeting in case the item is put back on the agenda.

"We understand the difficult budget issues facing Marion County and school districts throughout Florida and we want to be part of the solution," he said. "There is a better way to run school transportation and we have offered it to the district.  We are ready and willing to step up and write the check, as well as to provide the most efficient and safe transportation this district has ever seen. We urge the school board to reconsider our proposal and act on this measure immediately."

About Student Transportation

Founded in 1997, Student Transportation Inc. (STI) is North America's third-largest and fastest-growing provider of school bus transportation services, operating more than 7,000 vehicles. STI's family of local companies delivers safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation solutions to school districts throughout the U.S. and Canada. Services are delivered by drivers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, terminal managers and others who are caring members of their local communities. For more information, please visit www.rideSTA.com.

SOURCE Student Transportation Inc.