Reid Oyster’s first job out of college was working with school buses.
He joined his father Mike Oyster, the co-founder and president of Apple Bus at the time, and oversaw significant growth beyond the company’s Missouri roots. The school bus contractor’s expansion to serve 80 school districts with 1,500 school buses operating out of 33 locations in eight states—as far away as Alaska—resulted in First Student acquiring the Apple Bus in 2022.
The younger Oyster thought his days working in school transportation were over, as he transitioned to investing and owning a medical services laboratory. STN EXPO West attendees in Reno, Nevada this summer thinking they saw Oyster hanging around the trade show were correct.
Canadian school bus contractor Switzer-Carty officially announced on Monday that Oyster joined the company in a business development role to help make inroads into the U.S. market. Oyster started with the company in June with the title of business development executive.
“Reid’s track record of treating people with dignity and respect, dedicated attention to customer service, and laser focus on student safety align with the core principles of Switzer-Carty Transportation,” said Jim Switzer, the company’s co-founder with Doug Carty and its president and CEO. “As Switzer-Carty continues to focus on growth opportunities across Canada and into the US, Reid will be an integral part of our success in U.S. market development and entry execution.”
Switzer also noted Oyster’s involvement with the National School Transportation Association, for which he served on the board of directors.
Echoing comments made to School Transportation News at STN EXPO West in July, Oyster posted on Linkedin this week that recent “rapid consolidation in the U.S. student transportation market” has resulted in what he deems “lost focus on delivering high quality, rider focused transportation services.”
“My goal in partnering with Switzer-Carty is to bring a best-in-class option back to the U.S. market by building an employee-first, customer-focused company that embraces change and progress, while still executing with precision on the things that made us great to begin with,” he added.
According to its website, Switzer-Carty currently operates 15 locations across Ontario.
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