Contractor Profiles
MV-Reliant Total Fleet: 1,520 Buses School District Customers/Contracts: 8 Number of Bus Drivers: 2,700 Students Transported: 43,000 Per Day
MV-Reliant was founded in 2001 as the parent com-
pany to MV Transportation, which originated as a family owned business in 1975. MV operates in New York City, Alaska, California, Illinois, Texas and Colorado. Tom Egan became president and CEO in April.
On the Driver Shortage: “First, culture is probably the largest, single factor im- pacting driver retention and engagement—even more than compensation. If all else is equal, a company with a strong employee-centric culture will retain and attract employees. To help mitigate driver shortage, MV-Reliant has rolled out a program that provides attendants a promotional path to become operators. Any attendant who gets a [school bus and passenger endorsement on the CDL] can enter into a training program to become a driver. In New York City, this
program has already netted over 30 new drivers for Reliant.”
On Going Green: “We are not seeing an increase in school boards requesting the use of alternative fuels. However, we do see an increase in general interest from our cus-
tomers and prospects—but not in any specific fuel type. There is quite a lot of interest being generated by parent groups related to electric vehicles. … [They] want to elim- inate the potential impact of emissions exposure on their children. Due to the cost of conversion, we believe that some level of state and/or federal grant monies should be available to help school districts and service providers fund the conversion of their fleets. For example, MV-Re- liant has partnered with Unique Electric Solutions and Con Edison on a pilot electric vehicle program. [This would] convert a portion of our fleet to demonstrate the feasibility of revenue service with the New York Depart- ment of Education and New York State Department of Transportation. We have applied for available grants to help support this pilot.”
National Express Group Total fleet: 15,000+ Buses School District Customers/Contracts: 400+ Number of Drivers: 15,144 Students Transported: 1 million+ Per Day
Durham School Services started in 1917 in the San
Gabriel Valley of Southern California. It is now one of several brands that operates under the National Express Corporation banner in North America, along with Petermann Bus and Stock Transportation. Gary Waits, pictured, assumed the CEO role of the school bus business two years ago.
On Technology Implementation: “Over the last 10 years, the technology revolution has
transformed the busing industry. Current technolo- gies, such as GPS, telematics, pre- and post-trip vehicle inspection reports, cameras, active monitoring, and DriveCam, will continue to shape the industry. But the real innovation lies in how a company uses the data that is captured by these tools. With the great volume of data available, we now have an opportunity to spot trends and address behaviors. When one monitors speed, for instance, we have learned it is relatively easy to do this
56 School Transportation News • JUNE 2019
one instance at a time. For monitoring continuous speed, however, it requires one to do something with the data, processes, systems and procedures, to be able to use that data in an efficient matter to manage the business. DriveCam is another technology
solution we use to see events as they tran-
spire on the road, but then have to apply the learnings through coaching our drivers. We now have a process to use the information to make our drivers better and safer on the road, as a result of the way we use the data available to us. What I see happening going forward is continued evolution. [We have to figure] out how to use this valuable data that the technology revolution has provided, to better and more actively manage our business. To me, this is a fascinating evolution in our industry.”
On Service Partnerships: “We have pockets where we utilize this option; how-
ever, it is on rare occasions. We will work with schools and districts to diversify our offerings. If it is a situation where a van or a small bus makes more sense than a conventional school bus, we work with the school district to modify our offering in what makes the most practical and efficient sense for them.”
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