Contractor Profile
DURHAM SCHOOL SERVICES th
Anniversary 100 Happy
Growing Like a Tree? Apple Bus converts a rural business model into a national success
P
erhaps no student carrier personifies the growth of private contrac- tors more than Apple Bus. The carrier marks its 17th
year in student transportation by expanding from the company’s genuinely humble
beginnings in rural Missouri to becoming a major student transportation player in the Midwest, the South and, now, Alaska. Reid Oyster, executive vice president for Apple Bus, said that while nation-
al stature didn’t happen overnight, the opportunity did come somewhat as a surprise. “We sort of woke up one morning and became a national contractor,” Oyster recalled. “I don’t think we intended that to be the case.” Oyster said that starting this month, Apple Bus provides transportation to
21 communities in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, one of Alas- ka’s largest, covering just under 25,000 square miles. Ninety buses, shipped by barge, were dispatched from three locations within the district. The move represents a $10 million investment. The contract is for 10 years, an agreement Oyster said was necessary given
School Districts Nationwide
Fueling
the circumstances. “We would not have been interested in a five-year contract,” he said. “The sheer cost of buying and transporting 90 school buses can’t be recovered in just five years.” Oyster explained that school districts in Alaska wanted to increase com- petition in the state, so they offered longer term contracts to attract more student carriers. The buses are equipped with Zonar’s GPS and new Connect tablet, which functions as a pre-trip tool and an RFID student tracking scanner. The tablet can also take photographs of vehicle parts and forward the images directly to the repair shop as well as create work orders. Seon video cameras are also installed on the buses and TransFinder provides the routing platform. Oyster said the three systems are compatible. “This is the most technology we’ve ever deployed in a single contract,” he said. The technology represents about $500,000 in hardware, according to Oyster, who added that the company is in the process of creating a central command
Find out why school districts across the U.S. choose Mansfield.
678.207.3138
www.mansfield.energy
50 School Transportation News • JULY 2017
Some of the 90 new school buses to be operated by Apple Bus in Alaska leave the dock for their new home at one of the state’s largest school districts.
CELEBRATING25YEARS
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
