CINCINNATI — School districts across North America have a new transportation solution for students with unique needs. First Student, the industry leader in providing safe, reliable student transportation is introducing van service. The alternative to yellow bus transportation provides an innovative way to care for students.
First Student vans offer increased efficiency and flexibility to customize and cover school transportation routes for special education, students experiencing homelessness and students in remote locations.
The Norristown Area School District (NASD) in Norristown, Pennsylvania, is one of the first school districts to utilize First Student vans. The company worked with NASD to consolidate transportation routes and eliminate the need for multiple contractors. First Student is operating, maintaining and managing more than 80 vans for the district.
“By partnering with First Student, we have been able to streamline our transportation services and provide more consistency for families,” said Norristown Area School District Superintendent Christopher Dormer. “Vans combine a personalized experience, which is ideal for students with unique needs, with all the peace of mind First Student delivers as the recognized experts in student transportation.”
First Student van drivers meet the same rigorous hiring requirements as the company’s school bus drivers. They also receive extensive special needs training with classroom, hands-on and in-the-van instruction.
“Providing safe and reliable transportation offers all students the chance to succeed,” said Claire Miller, First Student senior vice president of strategy, business development, marketing and communications. “First Student has long been on the forefront of developing and implementing tailored transportation solutions that make a real difference for school districts and their families. Transporting students with unique needs requires experience, specialized training and compassion. Our new van service represents a forward-thinking approach to meeting the evolving needs of every student everywhere, ensuring a trusted ride to and from school.”
First Student vans are state-of-the-art with 3-point safety belts, GPS tracking systems and interior cameras. School districts also have access to the company’s exclusive technology suite, which includes FirstView® and FirstFeedback™.
The FirstViewDistrict Dashboard and Parent App allows school administrators to streamline daily decision-making through centralized, real-time fleet reporting. They can efficiently alert parents about school delays or issues through the secure bus-tracking app. FirstFeedback, a web-based communications tool, collects, addresses and tracks various comments from parents, school district officials and the community.
First Student vans are maintained by more than 3,000 technicians certified by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE).
About First Student, Inc.
As the leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide the best start and finish to every school day. First Student completes five million student journeys each day, moving more passengers than all U.S. airlines combined. With a team of highly-trained drivers and the industry’s strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, route optimization and scheduling, maintenance, and charter services for 1,100 school district contracts. For more information, please visit firststu.wpengine.com.
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