Contracted student transportation · New Jersey
Route coverage for districts, charters and academies
Daily AM, mid-day and PM routes, emergency and temporary routes when a bus or a contractor falls through, late buses, and bid responses. NW Transport is a New Jersey school bus contractor based in Little Falls, running its own fleet with its own fingerprint-cleared drivers for 32 schools across 10 districts. Send a route sheet, an RFP or a quote request and a written response comes back within one business day.
Routes across Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Morris, Hudson, Union, Sussex, Middlesex and Monmouth counties.
What we run for districts
For public districts, charter schools and private academies that need routes covered, this year or by Monday.
Daily routes
Recurring AM, mid-day and PM runs planned around bell schedules, with a named driver and bus on every route and an aide when the district requires one.
Emergency and temporary routes
A contractor defaults, a driver shortage leaves a route uncovered, a placement starts mid-year. We quote the route in writing and start it as soon as a bus and driver are assigned.
Late buses and mid-day runs
Activity buses, early-dismissal runs and campus shuttles added onto the daily contract or quoted on their own. See late buses and after-school runs.
Out-of-district and special-services routes
Daily routes to placements, with wheelchair-accessible buses, aides and the plan written into the booking. See wheelchair-accessible buses.
Bid responses
Sealed-bid responses on the district's forms, and quotes through cooperative and consortium quote requests, answered on the cooperative's own paperwork and signed by the owner.
Trips for the whole district
Field trips and athletics on the same account as the routes, with one coordinator for the district from the first quote to the last invoice.
From route sheet to the first morning run
Whether the district has never contracted transportation or wants out of running its own fleet, coming on board is four steps.
1. Route RFP or request
Send schedules, bell times, student counts and any accommodation needs, as a formal RFP, a route sheet by email or the online form.
2. Route engineering
Dispatch builds the stop sequence, checks the timing against the bell schedule and sizes the vehicle to the group. The written quote shows every stop and time.
3. Driver and bus assignment
A named, vetted driver and an inspected bus are assigned to each route, with the driver's sheet and the paperwork sent to the school before day one.
4. Disciplined daily run
On-time departures every school day, dispatch on the phone the whole run, and a plan for the morning a bus or a driver can't go.
Compliance, on every route
The same standard on a one-week emergency route as on a five-year contract.
Vehicles
- New Jersey school bus inspection passed twice a year, with seat belts and the emergency equipment the state requires on every bus.
- Pre-trip and post-trip inspections by the driver every school day, recorded with the vehicle and the mileage.
- A preventive maintenance schedule on every bus, with the records to show for it.
- A documented walk-through of the empty bus at the end of every run.
- AI-enabled dual cameras and GPS tracking across the fleet.
Drivers
- State Police and FBI fingerprint background clearance before hiring, and the state's ongoing monitoring of every school bus driver's license.
- Random drug and alcohol testing and a current DOT medical certificate for every driver.
- CDL with the S and P endorsements, minimum age 21, and a commercial driving history reviewed before hiring.
- New Jersey's required school bus safety education, student management and anti-bullying training, and winter-driving refreshers before the season turns.
- Bus aides trained in student management where the district requires them.
The paperwork your business office needs
- Certificate of insurance naming the district as required by the contract.
- Driver and vehicle records for the district's file, on request and at renewal.
- A performance bond when a contract requires one, from our surety, written to the contract value.
- Trip sheets, inspection records and route documentation available to the transportation office on request.
How a route request works
Send the route
The route sheet or the RFP, the bell times, the student count and the start date. By email, on the cooperative's form, or through the online request.
Get the written quote
Within one business day, on your paperwork where the request calls for it, with the vehicle, the stops and times, and the term.
Start the route
Driver and bus assigned, paperwork delivered, and dispatch confirms the first-day plan with the school's transportation office.
Need a route covered this week? Call (973) 306-4838. Emergency coverage starts as soon as a bus and driver are free.
District transportation questions
How quickly can you cover an emergency route?
The written quote comes back within one business day, and the route starts as soon as a bus and a driver are assigned, often within the week. Call dispatch with the route sheet and the start date to check availability the same day.
Do you respond to sealed bids and cooperative quote requests?
Yes. Sealed bids are answered on the district's forms with the required bond and insurance documents. Quote requests from regional cooperatives and consortiums are answered on the cooperative's own paperwork, signed by the owner, in the same email thread they arrive in.
Can you take over routes from a district-run fleet?
Yes. Districts that want out of running their own buses send their route sheets and bell schedules; we engineer the routes, assign drivers and buses, and start on the agreed date. The same four steps apply whether it is one route or all of them.
Do you provide aides and wheelchair-accessible buses?
Yes. Aides ride where the district requires them, and lift-equipped buses with drivers trained in securement run daily routes to in-district and out-of-district placements. Note the requirement on the route sheet and it is staffed from day one.
What documents do you provide for the contract file?
A certificate of insurance naming the district, driver and vehicle records, a performance bond when the contract requires one, and inspection and route documentation on request. Renewal documents are sent before the contract date.
Which districts can you serve?
Districts, charter schools and private academies across Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Morris, Hudson, Union, Sussex, Middlesex and Monmouth counties. The depot is in Little Falls, which keeps early AM pickups across North Jersey practical.
Running your own buses, or routes nobody will bid on? We can take them off your hands.
Compliant, insured contracted transportation, with the paperwork your business office needs and a phone number that answers.
Contracted school transportation for districts, charter schools and academies in Paterson, Passaic, Clifton, Wayne, Newark, East Orange, Montclair, Bloomfield, Nutley, Garfield, Hackensack, Jersey City and Union City, and across Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Morris, Hudson and Union counties. Also see late buses and after-school runs, wheelchair-accessible buses and school bus rental in North Jersey.