Hattiesburg, Miss. – The Hattiesburg Public School District will trust First Student to provide safe and reliable transportation to nearly 4,000 students through the 2023 school year. The decision marks the first time the district has partnered with a transportation provider for busing services.
“Working with First Student will allow us to significantly enhance our ability to provide students with safe and efficient transportation,” said Hattiesburg Public School District Superintendent Dr. Robert Williams. “We were impressed by their industry-leading safety record, rigorous driver training programs and adoption of new technologies. We are confident First Student has the expertise needed to drive the district forward.”
First Student will install additional safety features to the district’s school buses, including Child Check-Mate. The electronic reminder system is designed to ensure no child is left unattended on a bus. Each bus also will be equipped with GPS systems, allowing staff to pinpoint the exact location and speed of each bus.
“We are proud to become an integral part of the Hattiesburg community,” said First Student Area General Manager Tony Vidrine. “The district is seeking new solutions to improve transportation services, and we can deliver. We look forward to providing thousands of children in the community with the safest ride to and from school.”
First Student has more than a century of experience providing student transportation. The company’s hiring, training and ongoing development programs for drivers and monitors help deliver the safest ride in the school transportation industry.
For this upcoming school year, more school districts have chosen First Student than any other provider. To date, more than 30,000 additional students across North America will receive safe, reliable transportation from First Student in the 2019-20 school year.
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, visit firststudentinc.com.