First Student's Third Annual Safety Dog Bus Tour Goes Back to School

August 3, 2017 - Cincinnati - School transportation leader First Student shines a spotlight on safe school-bus behavior this back-to-school season by kicking off its third-annual Safety Dog Bus Tour. The nationwide Safety Dog Bus Tour uses fun, interactive activities to teach safe bus riding basics.

"Student safety is at the heart of everything we do," said First Student President Dennis R. Maple. "For the third year in a row, the Safety Dog Bus Tour provides an engaging platform to share valuable safety messages with thousands of students and their parents within the communities we serve. By making it fun, safety messages are delivered in a memorable way."

Students can explore a First Student bus; "Walk the Yellow Carpet" and pose for a photo with Safety Dog, the safety mascot for First Student; sign a safety pledge and leave with a bag full of goodies.

Parents have an opportunity to learn why school buses are the safest way to transport their children to and from school. They see firsthand how First Student buses are designed for safety inside and out.

The Tour will stop in eight locations:

Anoka-Hennepin Independent School District: Anoka, Minn.

Bristol Board of Education: Bristol, Conn.

Euclid City Schools: Euclid, Ohio

Ogden City School District: Ogden, Utah

Rochester City School District: Rochester, N.Y.

Springfield Public Schools: Springfield, Mass.

Springfield Public Schools: Springfield, Ill.

Windsor-Essex Student Transportation Consortium: Windsor, Ontario, Canada

The Tour also aims to remind motorists that they, too, have an important role in keeping bus riders safe by obeying the laws of stop arm safety. A recent survey suggests there could be more than 13 million illegal stop-arm passes during a school year.

Tour dates, times, locations, safety tips and downloadable activities for students and parents are available at safetydogbustour.com. Safety tips and tour updates also can be found by following First Student on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well as the #SafetyDogBusTour hashtag.

The 2017 Tour kicks off on August 17 in Ogden, Utah.

About First Student, Inc.
As the leading school transportation solutions provider in North America, First Student strives to provide the best start and finish to every school day. First Student completes five million student journeys each day, moving more passengers than all U.S. airlines combined. With a team of highly-trained drivers and the industry's strongest safety record, First Student delivers reliable, quality services including full-service transportation and management, special-needs transportation, route optimization and scheduling, and charter services for 1,100 school district contracts. For more information, please visit firststudentinc.com.

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