School Bus Fleet Magazine

FEATURED ARTICLE
June/July 1998

 

SBF's 1998 Top 50 Largest Contractors in North America

By Steve Hirano, Executive Editor
SCHOOL BUS FLEET

A move by regional carriers like Atlantic Express and Bruce Transportation Group to boost their marketshare highlights this year's Top 50 contractor fleet survey.

Atlantic Express, based in Staten Island, N.Y., extended its presence across the country by winning large contracts in St. Louis and Los Angeles. Overall, the company grew its fleet by 1,173 buses, or 37 percent, from last year's 3,200 to 4,373 in 1998.

Another New York-based contractor, Suffolk Transportation Service has seen healthy growth in the past year. The Bay Shore contractor expanded its fleet by 150 buses, or 27 percent, from 550 to 700. Bruce Transportation Group in Hudson, N.H., also made a dramatic move in its Northeast territory, bolstering its fleet from 771 to 926 buses, a 20 percent increase.

 

Giants gain ground

Meanwhile, the industry's two largest contractors - Laidlaw Transit Inc. and Ryder Student Transportation Services - showed less dramatic shifts in their fleet sizes. Laidlaw, headquartered in Burlington, Ontario, added 120 buses to its fleet, pushing it from 38,180 to 38,300. Ryder added 500 buses to its fleet of 9,000, for a 5.5 percent increase. Earlier this year, St. Louis-based Ryder acquired Medicine Lake Bus Co., an operator of approximately 275 school buses in Golden Valley, Minn.

Looking at the overall loss/gain for this year's Top 50, the balance sheet comes out ahead by more than 2,100 buses.

A few contractors posted significant losses in their fleet size. Village Bus Co. in Lafayette, N.J., dropped from 260 to 199 buses, a 23.5 percent reduction. Action Transit Enterprises in Pittsburgh had its fleet trimmed from 150 to 115 buses in the past year. That's a 23.3 percent decline.

In terms of sheer numbers, the largest loss was posted by Durham Transportation in Austin, Texas, which had 123 fewer buses on the road. Its fleet dipped from 3,370 to 3,247, or 3.6 percent.

New kid on the block

In the past year, Student Transportation of America Inc. of Howell, N.J., has entered the student transportation contracting scene with an aggressive acquisition campaign. The company, piloted by former Laidlaw executive Denis Gallagher, solidified its position as a strong contender by acquiring Santa Barbara Transportation, which operates 423 school buses in California. Overall, the contractor has built its marketshare to more than 850 buses.

Rank

Company

City

State

Fleet 1998

Fleet 1997

Loss/Gain

Small buses

Small buses

Large buses

Large buses

Contracts

Pupils Daily

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(with lifts)

 

(with lifts)

 

(one way)

1

Laidlaw Transit Inc.

Burlington

Ontario

38,300

38,180

120

6,800

1,500

31,500

1,600

1,100

2,100,000

2

Ryder Student Transportation Services

St. Louis

Mo.

9,500

9,000

500

800

70

8,700

350

425

550,000

3

Atlantic Express

Staten Island

N.Y.

4,373

3,200

1,173

1,150

330

3,223

237

77

155,000

4

Durham Transportation Inc.

Austin

Texas

3,247

3,370

-123

1,680

399

1,567

233

109

215,000

5

School Services & Leasing Inc.

Shawnee

Kan.

2,090

2,099

-9

951

150

1,139

9

23

82,640

6

Stock Transportation Ltd.

Aurora

Ontario

1,550

1,500

50

657

205

893

5

28

80,000

7

Crabtree-Harmon Inc.

Belton

Mo.

1,224

1,195

29

240

98

984

140

84

53,040

8

Cook Illinois Corp.

Oak Forest

Ill.

1,200

1,200

0

450

30

750

7

n/a

75,000

9

We Transport Inc.

Plainview

N.Y.

951

968

-17

709

96

242

6

n/a

n/a

10

Bruce Transportation Group Inc.

Hudson

N.H.

926

771

155

107

26

819

21

73

65,900

11

Student Transportation of America Inc.

Howell

N.J.

858

n/a

n/a

150

45

708

22

n/a

58,000

12

Septran Inc.

Bloomington

Minn.

790

775

15

638

63

152

8

55

24,200

13

Suffolk Transportation Service

Bay Shore

N.Y.

700

550

150

450

55

250

15

12

35,000

14

George Krapf Jr. & Sons Inc.

Glen Moore

Penn.

678

636

42

261

69

417

5

7

41,200

15

Caravan/Evergreen

Long Island

N.Y.

630

587

43

230

130

400

0

n/a

20,000

16

DATTCO Inc.

New Britain

Conn.

600

n/a

n/a

161

50

439

10

13

60,000

17

School Services & Leasing of Massachusetts

Shawnee

Kan.

554

n/a

n/a

193

6

361

0

11

27,000

18

A&E Transport Services Inc.

Oswego

N.Y.

450

n/a

n/a

412

40

38

10

20

10,000

19

Briggs Bus Lines

Edmonton

Alberta

445

445

0

115

40

330

6

9

15,000

20

Helweg & Farmer Transportation

Shawnee

Kan.

438

n/a

n/a

63

6

375

32

4

50,266

21

Mid Columbia Bus Co.

Pendleton

Ore.

421

378

43

107

25

314

5

26

12,839

22

Johnson School Bus Service

West Bend

Wis.

407

407

0

139

15

268

2

10

n/a

23

Birnie Bus Service Inc.

Rome

N.Y.

405

n/a

n/a

130

15

275

35

10

17,000

24

Dean Transportation Inc.

Lansing

Mich.

350

350

0

250

200

100

50

40

3,000

25

Beck Bus Transportation

Mt. Vernon

Ill.

297

283

14

33

8

264

17

20

20,000

26

Independent Coach Corp.

Inwood

N.Y.

266

276

-10

90

6

176

0

7

9,000

27

Ridge Road Express Inc.

Lockport

N.Y.

255

239

16

95

10

160

0

6

n/a

28

Palmer Bus Service Inc.

St. Clair

Minn.

210

210

0

11

5

199

4

12

12,500

29

Cemcor

Randolph

Mass.

200

n/a

n/a

15

10

185

25

10

10,000

30

Village Bus Co.

Lafayette

N.J.

199

260

-61

41

20

158

0

22

10,000

31

T-N.T. Bus Service Inc.

North Tonawanda

N.Y.

198

197

1

45

14

153

1

14

15,500

32

Van Lear Equipment Inc.

Reading

Penn.

172

161

11

37

5

135

0

6

12,000

33

Safe-Way Bus Co. Inc.

Inner Grove Heights

Minn.

170

n/a

n/a

19

10

151

0

4

15,000

34

Rick Bus Co.

Trenton

N.J.

163

140

23

68

5

95

2

10

9,000

35

John T. Cyr & Sons

Old Town

Maine

150

n/a

n/a

12

10

138

2

6

3,500

36

Safety Bus Service

Pennsauken

N.J.

144

n/a

n/a

25

6

119

0

9

10,500

37

Krise Bus Service Inc.

Punxsutawney

Penn.

142

135

7

20

2

122

0

8

7,100

38

Lenon Bus Service Inc.

Lake Geneva

Wis.

132

129

3

13

8

119

0

29

9,000

39

Davidsmeyer Bus Service

Elk Grove Village

Ill.

130

n/a

n/a

90

40

40

2

10

n/a

 

Rachel's Bus Co.

Chicago

Ill.

130

122

8

20

0

110

3

1

n/a

41

Verona Bus Service

Verona

Wis.

126

n/a

n/a

10

3

116

2

6

8,000

42

W.T. Holmes Transportation Co.

Norfolk

Mass.

125

n/a

n/a

0

0

125

0

10

n/a

 

Goffstown Truck Center Inc.

Goffstown

N.H.

125

107

18

24

2

101

1

5

n/a

44

Kobussen Buses Ltd.

Kaukauna

Wis.

120

130

-10

20

8

100

0

2

5,000

45

Action Transit Enterprises

Pittsburgh

Penn.

115

150

-35

0

0

115

0

3

5,000

 

Royal Coach Lines Inc.

Thornwood

N.Y.

115

140

-25

46

7

69

0

11

3,750

47

Albany Yellow

Albany

N.Y.

114

n/a

n/a

53

5

61

0

4

6,000

48

George M. Carroll Inc.

Newburgh

N.Y.

111

114

-3

62

13

49

0

8

2,640

49

Transportation Services Inc.

Franconia

Penn.

110

n/a

n/a

11

3

99

0

1

6,800

50

Storer School & Contract Service

Modesto

Calif.

102

n/a

n/a

99

28

3

0

29

1,495

 

Reichert Bus Service

Baxter

Minn.

102

n/a

n/a

14

8

88

4

2

6,000

 

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