School Bus Transportation News at STN Media

Blue Bird Corporation Will Supply Buses to Laidlaw Education Services

FORT VALLEY, Ga. (June 7, 2006) - Blue Bird Corporation announced today that it will provide its "All American" Type D school buses to Laidlaw Education Services, the largest private contractor of student transportation services in North America, through 2009. In addition, Blue Bird will supply Laidlaw with its "Micro Bird" Type A buses.

Laidlaw Education Services, a subsidiary of Laidlaw International, Inc., cited the combination of Blue Bird's products and services as driving factors in their relationship. "Blue Bird has a long-standing history of providing high-quality products to the school bus industry," said Don Mitacek, Senior Vice President, Fleet Operations, Laidlaw Education Services.

Blue Bird began negotiations with Laidlaw in fall 2005, and the delivery of initial orders under the new agreement began this spring with the shipment of more than 150 buses for Laidlaw's Alaskan operations.

"This important agreement with such a trusted and prominent partner is based on the quality of our products and our demonstrated achievements in process improvements and customer service levels," said Jeffry Bust, Blue Bird President & Chief Executive Officer.

About Laidlaw Education Services

Laidlaw Education Services, a subsidiary of Laidlaw International, Inc., is North America 's largest private contractor of student transportation. Headquartered in Naperville , Ill. , Laidlaw has a modern fleet of more than 40,000 school buses and a daily passenger load of more than 2 million school children. More information can be found at www.laidlawschoolbus.com.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird offers a complete line of Type A, C and D school buses in a variety of options and configurations. For nearly 80 years, Blue Bird Corporation has continued to set industry standards with its innovative design and manufacturing capabilities. Blue Bird has an extensive network of distributors and service-parts facilities throughout North America . For more information, please visit www.blue-bird.com.