CINCINNATI — More students and families in Iowa will be trusting First Student to provide the best start and finish to the school day. Ankeny Community School District has awarded the company a five-year contract to provide safe and reliable transportation for the 2022-23 school year and beyond.
Nearly 5,800 students will be riding brand new, state-of-the-art school buses beginning in August. First Student is replacing the district’s entire fleet of 70 buses. All will be equipped with the latest technology, including GPS tracking systems and DriverHub. The onboard tablet technology provides drivers with advanced views of bus routes, turn-by-turn directions and real-time traffic updates.
“We appreciate First Student’s strategic approach to improving transportation services for our students,” said Ankeny Community School District Superintendent Dr. Erick Pruitt. “We were looking for a dynamic partner with comprehensive solutions to meet the needs of our district and believe we have found that in First Student. We look forward to partnering with First Student to provide high quality, safe and consistent service that will positively impact every student’s journey to and from school.”
Over the course of the contract, First Student will introduce the company’s full industry-leading technology suite. Families will be able to better manage the before-and-after school rush with the FirstView® District Dashboard and Parent App. School administrators can streamline daily decision-making through centralized, real-time fleet reporting and efficiently alert parents about school delays or issues through the secure bus-tracking app.
Ankeny Schools will also have access to two innovative web-based communications tools, FirstActs and FirstFeedback. FirstActs helps manage the process of tracking student conduct on the bus. FirstFeedback collects, addresses and tracks various comments from parents, school district officials and the community.
“We understand the importance of developing and maintaining strong operational standards that set us apart from other transportation providers,” said First Student Region Vice President John Billigmeier. “At First Student, we weave our promise to care for students into every practice, demonstrating a clear commitment to lead the industry when it comes to driver training, safety and technology. We are excited to grow our operations in Iowa and look forward to working closely with Ankeny Schools to enhance the bus-riding experience for students and families.”
Ankeny Schools also will utilize First Planning Solutions. The company’s dedicated routing division will develop bus routes to improve efficiency and reduce operating costs.
First Student has more than a century of experience safely and dependably connecting school districts with communities. The company is the most chosen school transportation provider in North America.
About First Student
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 with a fleet of about 40,000 buses. For more information, please visit firststudentinc.com.