On Friday, April 2 the Niles Township High School District 219 Board of Education awarded new contracts for the district’s bus transportation providers. The board awarded the three-year contract for regular education transportation to new provider First Student and a contract for special education transportation to Lakeview Bus Lines, Inc. Both were the lowest bids. The new bus transportation contracts become effective August 1 of this year.

“The new contracts we have negotiated and the procedures we have put in place with these new transportation providers should ensure the level of service our families deserve,” said Board President Bob Silverman.

So, what does this mean for bus transportation at Niles North? Well, it could mean a new age of bus transportation for our school. First Student is the largest independent bus contractor in North America, transporting nearly 4 million students every day. With this new contract, First Student will provide various technological enchancements that were requested in the bid requirements set by D219.

This includes the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology on all vehicles, which will track the location of each bus.  This will give students and parents the ability to track the location of their buses and give them an idea of when their bus will arrive at a given location. Families will be able to monitor their bus routes from mobile devices or desktop screens.

“Man, this sounds like a great improvement,” said freshman Kate Aanerud. “I’ve only been using the bus for less than a year and I’m really not happy with the services, especially when we have bad weather. Now I’ll be able to sit inside a bit longer when it’s cold and know when my bus is going to come.”

Another improvement being introduced in this contract is the use of propane-fueled buses opposed to the diesel-fueled ones of the past. Since propane doesn’t gel up like diesel fuel does, buses won’t have as much trouble starting up during inclement weather and will make bus transportation much more reliable. Door-to-door service will be available to special education students through the Lakeview contractor, eliminating the need for a bus tracking service in the contract.

The district will own and house the buses locally and will ensure that sufficient buses are available for D219 students. Through this contract, many are hoping problems with previous transportation providers will be gone and students will be able to use the bus with no techinical issues.