JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Student Transportation of America (STA) issued a notice for parents of all Duval County Magnet School students, confirming that the school bus company will be serving all magnet schools in Duval County and is ready to add routes where needed to assist families whose routes were dropped by Durham School Services this week.
In June, as a result of budget shortfalls, Duval County Public Schools cut all bus service to and from magnet schools leaving parents and students to find alternative means of transportation.
Chris Ingold, operations manager at STA’s Jacksonville location, said parents wishing to reserve seats for their children simply need to call STA toll-free at 855-884-2720 or sign up online at www.schoolwheels.com.
“They can sign up anytime before or after the school year begins, even as late as the night before, and we encourage them to call us if they have any questions,” she said. “Parents appreciate the reliable, high quality services we offer and the family atmosphere in our company. STA is just plain easy to do business with and parents like that.” STA created the new website in direct response to Duval County’s magnet school transportation situation. The site allows people to sign up and pay securely online. As part of its service-oriented approach, STA is giving people the freedom to choose to pay upfront and receive a 10% discount on the overall cost or pay the full rate of $1,125 in four installments using a credit card.
Ingold said the company already has registered many families who have been dropped by Durham in addition to the hundreds of paid applications they have processed in the past few weeks.
“Even though Durham dropped some routes, STA is ready to cover them and assist parents who have been left stranded by the last minute cancellations, ” Ingold said. “With 30 STA magnet school routes already in place, we have the ability to accommodate more riders and can adjust to meet changing demands. When school starts Monday, STA buses will be ready with signs on them to indicate the school and the route number the company has assigned.” STA, the nation’s third largest school transportation provider, currently serves the Duval County school district and has a fully staffed maintenance and operations facility along with a modern fleet of over 250 vehicles in the area.
While carpooling may be heavier at the start of the school year, STA expects that more families will opt for school bus transportation as traffic issues build with additional cars on the road during peak travel times.
“The yellow school bus is the safest way to get to school,” said Ingold. “Studies show that riding a bus to school is 13 times safer than riding in a passenger vehicle and a single school bus also can eliminate as many as 36 cars. Every STA driver is a highly trained and fully licensed school bus professional whose first priority is to get children to school safely and on-time.” Ingold said the company also is exploring premium ride amenities such as on board Wi-Fi Internet access to keep students connected as they ride to and from school. STA also plans a new EasyRide Program, which will notify parents of any scheduling or route changes via e-mail or mobile phone. Instant alerts and messaging will allow better communication between parents and the company.
About Student Transportation
Founded in 1997, Student Transportation Inc. is North America’s third-largest and fastest-growing provider of school bus transportation services, operating more than 7,000 vehicles. Student Transportation’s family of local companies delivers safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation solutions to school districts throughout the U.S. and Canada. Services are delivered by drivers, dispatchers, maintenance technicians, terminal managers and others who are caring members of their local communities. For more information, please visit www.ridesta.com.
