BOSTON, July 18, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Veolia Transportation officially assumed responsibility for operational management of school bus service in the City of Boston on Monday July 1, 2013 with the launch of summer school service. Boston Public Schools awarded Veolia a contract earlier this year, to manage operations and maintenance for the school district's large fleet. The five- year contract which began on July 1, 2013 has multiple contract extension options.
"We are very pleased that the first two weeks of service have gone so smoothly", said Carl Allen, Director of Transportation for Boston Public Schools.
Veolia operated 80 buses the first week, transporting students to year round schools, summer school and day camps throughout the city. Last week service increased to 238 buses as more schools went into summer session.
"This launch was truly a team effort with employees from both Veolia and Boston Public Schools working around the clock to ensure buses were ready for the July 1 st launch", said Ken Westbrook, President for Veolia's Transit Division. "And we could not have done this so efficiently without the full cooperation of all of our employees and union leadership from the United Steelworkers, Local 8751, United Auto Workers, Local 1596, and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 25." Veolia hired all qualified existing employees and is honoring the terms of the existing collective bargaining agreements including salary and benefit packages.
Boston Public Schools is one of the largest school districts in the nation, ranked 35th of 13,800 total U.S. school districts. During the regular school year, it transports about 33,200 students to and from 228 public and parochial schools, with 762 school buses. Veolia Transportation will have all school buses operating in time for the beginning of the school year in September.
Under the contract, Boston Public Schools maintains ownership of the district's school bus fleet. Veolia is responsible for all aspects of operations, including safety performance, training, hiring and management of employees, and vehicle maintenance. Veolia has implemented a variety of real-time dashboards to monitor performance and to ensure transparency for BPS staff, and will enhance safety training and sustainability practices for BPS.
About Veolia Transportation
Based in Lombard, IL, Veolia Transportation is the largest private-sector operator of multiple modes of transit in North America, including bus, rail, paratransit, shuttle, and sedan and taxi services. Veolia Transportation is committed to setting the standard in safe and sustainable mobility solutions through partnerships with cities transit authorities, airports and universities.
Visit the company's Web sites at: www.veoliatransportation.com and www.veoliatransdev.com
Valerie Michael 702-425-8419
