Atlantic Express was an operator of transit buses,

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

and school buses in the United States, specializing primarily in school bus service, while operating transit buses in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. At the time of its closure, Atlantic Express was the fifth largest school bus operator in the United States and Canada, behind First Student/

First Student Canada First Student is the largest provider of school bus services in North America. The company works with districts in thirty-eight states and seven Canadian provinces, carrying approximately five million students daily. In addition to its regular ...

Durham School Services Durham School Services is a school bus operator providing tendered pupil transportation throughout the United States, based in Lisle, Illinois, and currently operating in 32 states. Founded in 1917 with three buses in the San Gabriel Valley, it ...

Student Transportation of America Student Transportation Inc., doing business as Student Transportation of America (STA) and Student Transportation of Canada (STC), is a New Jersey-based school bus contractor that focuses on rural and suburban areas. It is the third-largest schoo ...

, and the New York City-area

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

's bus division (to which Atlantic Express had been a contractor).

Bankruptcy

In late 2013, Atlantic Express declared

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whe ...

. Part of the Bankruptcy was that Atlantic Express lost approximately 100 buses due to the devastating Superstorm Sandy on October 29, 2012. In order to help with replacing the damaged buses, Bird Bus Sales had a 100 bus emergency order that consisted of 100 2014 Blue Bird Visions that would be donated to Atlantic Express so they would not have to waste a single penny to pay for the buses. In New York City, Atlantic Express operated two express bus routes under contract to the

New York City Economic Development Corporation New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) is a nonprofit corporation whose stated mission is to "leverage the city’s assets to create beneficial jobs that drive growth. This ensures equitable and sustainable development across al ...

, the X23 and X24 from Staten Island to Manhattan, sharing the same fare structure as all express buses operated by the

. The operating rights to these routes were awarded to

Academy Bus Academy Bus Lines is a bus company in New Jersey providing local bus services in northern New Jersey, line-run services to/from New York City from points in southern and central New Jersey, and contract and charter service in the eastern United ...

in bankruptcy proceedings, although most of the coach fleet was excluded from the sale. Under the name

Hudson Rail Link The Hudson Rail Link is a feeder bus system operated by Logan Bus Company for Metro-North Railroad. It connects the Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil stations on the Hudson Line to the neighborhoods of the same name. Service began in 1991, and route ...

, Atlantic Express had operated ten bus-to-rail shuttle routes in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, under contract to

Metro-North Metro-North Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, is a suburban commuter rail service run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of the U.S. state of New York and under contract with the Connecticut D ...

, to Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil stations on the Hudson Line. The Hudson Rail Link contract was awarded to Logan Bus Company in bankruptcy proceedings.

School bus service

In addition to fixed route service, Atlantic Express also served approximately 104 school districts in five states with yellow school bus service, primarily in the Northeast. Atlantic Express at its peak had operations in twelve states, but had significantly downsized and had exited the mid-western and southwestern United States, and Florida well before its closure. Many school bus providers took over the contracts and bought the buses that Atlantic Express had serviced following its bankruptcy filing. These companies are, but are not limited to: * Adelwerth Bus Corp. * All American School Bus Corp. * Allied Transit Corp. * Baumann Bus Company * Bella Bus Corp. * Brooklyn Transportation Corp. * Consolidated Bus Transit * Educational Bus Inc. * Empire State Bus Corp. * L&M Bus Corp. * New Dawn Transit * Pride Transportation Services * Quality Transportation Corp. * Rainbow Transit * Suffolk Transportation Services

References

Defunct transportation companies of the United States Bus companies of the United States School bus operators Surface transportation in Greater New York Transportation companies based in New York City Bus transportation in California Bus transportation in Massachusetts Bus transportation in Pennsylvania Transport companies established in 1964 Transport companies disestablished in 2013 Defunct companies based in New York City Private equity portfolio companies {{US-bus-company-stub