OTTAWA, Ont. Canada — First Student, North America’s leader in student transportation, announced on Jan. 17 that it signed an agreement to acquire the Campeau Bus Lines locations in Ottawa and Bowmanville.
The deal is subject to school boards and consortia approvals to transfer contracts. The acquisition is expected to close in February. Terms were not disclosed.
Campeau is an Ontario-based provider of school and charter transportation services.
The deal extends First Student’s operations in Ontario, where the company currently has nearly 40 locations. More than 200,000 Ontario students ride First Student buses each school day.
“First Student continues to grow through acquisitions, and Campeau Bus Lines is a longtime, well-respected transportation provider. They have a great team of drivers and staff who share in our mission to provide safe and reliable transportation,” said First Student President Paul Osland. “We will continue to execute our growth strategy and search for opportunities to use our resources, insight and expertise to benefit school systems, students and families across North America.”
Campeau Bus Lines was founded in 1961. Its Ottawa and Bowmanville locations serve five school consortia with a fleet of more than 500 buses.
“First Student is the clear industry leader, and we are confident they can build on our success in Ottawa and Bowmanville,” said Campeau Bus Lines President Jacques Campeau. “Our employees and customers will benefit from First Student’s ability to leverage best practices, technologies and processes to deliver forward-thinking transportation solutions.”
The acquisition is the second for First Student in four months. In October 2019, the company acquired Hopewell Transportation, a Chicagoland-based provider of school transportation services for special needs students and their families.
About First Student, Inc.
As the leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide the best start and finish to every school day. First Student completes 5 million student journeys each day, moving more passengers than all U.S. airlines combined. With a team of highly-trained drivers and the industry’s strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services. Those include full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, route optimization, scheduling, maintenance and charter services for 1,100 school district contracts. www.firststudentinc.com
