The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Canada's largest student-transportation company expects to employ about 20 people as it enters the local market. This fall, First Student Canada will take over the contract to provide bussing services to the Flin Flon and Creighton school divisions. Jen Biddinger, spokesperson for parent company FirstGroup America, said the company will have about 10 busses. Between drivers and office staff, she said the company expects to have around 20 employees. Biddinger said recruitment has been going well, with only a few more drivers needed to 'round out our team.' FirstGroup will base all of its local operations out of the former bus depot on Third Ave., which is now undergoing a major facelift. Biddinger said two-thirds of the building will be demolished, with the remainder to be remodeled. It will include a dispatch centre, office space and a maintenance shop. Owned building Speaking from her office in Cincinnati, Ohio, she said FirstGroup, which also owns Greyhound, has owned the building for several years. Local school bus services had long been provided by Flin Flon-based Northern Bus Lines. But in Flin Flon, at least, Northern did not bid on the school division's latest tender. First Student Canada's contract with the Flin Flon School Division runs from 2012-13 to 2016-17. First Student's bid cost about $150,000 less per year compared to the only other bid. Over the five-year span of the contract, that works out to a savings of about $750,000. On its website, First Student bills itself as the nation's largest student transportation company with over 10,000 vehicles and more than 10,000 employees. Headquartered in Burlington, Ont., the company operates in nine provinces and one territory with over 100 locations nationwide.
