School district decision sends bus carriers in different directions

Rome City School District students won’t be riding with Birnie Bus Services, Inc. starting this fall, and will instead be getting their rides to and from school by Ohio-based company, First Student.

 

Birnie Bus Service, Inc., which had contracted with the district for approximately 70 years to transport its students and company officials issued a statement Tuesday saying they were “disappointed” with Rome City Schools’ decision to opt for a contract with First Student. The company, which was founded in 1947 and employs more than 1,400 with a fleet of over 900 school buses, did not answer questions regarding the impact of the decision on its local operations or employees.

 

“We take great pride in our experience and dependability. Birnie Bus transports over 2 million passengers and covers more than 700 million miles annually,” said Rocky Corigliano, vice-president of operations for Birnie in a statement. “This makes Birnie Bus the 18th largest bus company in the United States enabling it to be one of the most experienced, dependable and reliable providers. Birnie Bus also takes pride in hiring locally and is a major employer in New York.”

 

Birnie Bus is headquartered at 248 Otis St., and Corigliano said the company is a “good neighbor” and has enjoyed being part of the vital community.

 

“This spring, the Rome City School District issued an RFP (Request for Proposal) for transportation for its main student busing services,” the vice-president explained. “The current contract expires in June and is with Birnie Bus, which has been the district’s main busing provider for about 70 years, winning a contract renewal about 10 years ago.”

 

Corigliano said, “Unfortunately, the district opted for another provider at this juncture. We were profoundly disappointed to learn of the Rome School Board’s decision to award their school bus services to another contractor after our over 70 years of faithfully serving the Rome School District and the surrounding community. We can nonetheless be counted on to continue to work with the district to ensure a smooth transition. It has been an honor to serve our community’s children and their families.”

 

First Student company representatives gave a presentation at last week’s Board of Education meeting, outlining its services and plans to open a headquarters in Rome.

 

Rome City Schools Assistant Superintendent for Operations & Management Robert Mezza said the contract with First Student being worked on now isn’t for a specific dollar amount, and therefore he could not yet provide a monetary figure. Currently First Student charges by the service — or specific type of bus run — and the district is working with First Student in figuring out what those needed services will be before a specific monetary contract is negotiated.

 

Once the contract is finalized, it will come back for a vote by the Board of Education. The district receives 90% state aid on its transportation services. Mezza said categories are priced per run, by excess hourly rate, after-school programs, extracurricular activities, BOCES, Supported Learning transportation, Pre-K transportation and monitor rates. 

 

“The school district received proposals from three transportation vendors,” explained Mezza. That included Birnie Bus and Illinois-based Durham School Services, which was contracted by the Utica City School District. “The district evaluated those proposals in accordance with the scoring criteria mandated by Section 156.12 of the Commissioner’s Regulations,” he added.

 

Those criteria are:

The previous experience of the contractor in transporting pupils;

The name of each transportation company of which the contractor has been an owner or manager;

A description of any safety programs implemented by the contractor;

A record of accidents in motor vehicles under the control of the contractor;

The driving history of employees of the contractor;

Inspection records and model year of each of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor;

Maintenance schedules of the motor vehicles under the control of the contractor;

A financial analysis of the contractor;

Documentation of compliance with motor vehicle insurance requirements; and

Total cost of the proposal.

 

Of the three vendors, First Student received the highest score using the above criteria.

 

“First Student received higher scores than other vendors in several categories, including record of accidents in motor vehicles under the control of the contractor, the driving history of employees, etc.,” Mezza said.

 

Board of Education President Paul Hagerty said Tuesday the contract with First Student is progressing, and that First Student would be using a combination of current bus drivers as well as their own employees.

 

“Drivers in general are in demand, so they will be trying to hire local people,” said Hagerty. “They have people of their own, but have other sites within New York State and have locations along the Route 81 corridor. They will look at the salary scale, and be competitive” as far as pay range for drivers.

 

Over the weekend, Board of Education members were first made aware that First Student, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, was bought by an international transportation company, EQT Infrastructure. EQT acquired First Student, as well as First Transit companies, for a total $4.6 billion, according to reports. Both First Student and First Transit are North American subsidiaries of the United Kingdom publicly-listed company, FirstGroup, PLC.

 

First Student is the largest student transportation service provider in North America, providing more than 900 million student journeys a year to approximately 1,000 school districts. EQT is headquartered in Sweden.

 

“We did go through a situation over the weekend where we were first informed that First Student was the subject” of purchase by “a large company, FirstGroup. It’s a Swedish company interested in transportation and electric buses,” Hagerty explained. “First Student won’t change in any material way as far as the sale goes, so the effects shouldn’t be immediate. It is one of the things to be concerned about, and it will be a factor in on-going negotiations.”

 

In this latest round of transportation contracts for the school district, the board president said they have become more aware of upgraded technology concerning GPS systems and bus operations, and that First Student is equipped to serve the next generation of students and families.

 

“Hopefully there will be improvements going forward by taking advantage of that, and that will be a side of the new contract — newer buses and more aides on them,” said Hagerty. “As far as more technology, it will be better for students and parents moving forward — we certainly hope so.”

 

Jim Woods, director of business development at First Student, said as for retaining current bus drivers, the company plans to retain drivers and hire more from the area.

 

“We will do that by setting up a local presence in Rome, hiring a local workforce and bringing in a brand new fleet of school buses, all equipped with the latest in technology,” said Woods. “We value the commitment and experience of the local team who have dedicated themselves to providing school transportation services for the students of Rome.”

 

Woods said First Student will provide an opportunity for all of the incumbent employees — drivers, aides, office and maintenance staff — to join the First Student team and continue to contribute to RCSD’s mission to prepare students for their future.

 

“We’re committed to providing our local team with the tools and resources they need to be safe and successful in their jobs,” the director of business development said. “To be perfectly clear, we want to hire 100 percent of the current workforce.”

 

He said, “We will be holding a number of employment events in Rome to meet with the incumbent employees and give them the first priority in applying for a position. As you would expect with a company that is entrusted with the care of school children, employees will have to meet certain requirements and background checks. But we assume the current workforce will have no issues meeting those qualifications as they are already employed in that capacity.”

 

As for a competitive pay range for its drivers and staff, Woods said First Student has developed a special package for current drivers who come to work with the company during the transportation transition.

 

“We anticipate that the current drivers, on average, will be getting a 20 percent increase in hourly wage rate,” he said. “We will start new drivers at $18 per hour. We will implement a four-step scale so that drivers can reach the top step in only four years.”

 

Current drivers who come to work for…