Atlantic Express was an operator of transit buses,

paratransit Paratransit (also community transport in the United Kingdom, or intermediate public transport) is a type of public transport service that supplements fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. P ...

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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. 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, Inc. is a North American provider of school bus services. The company works with districts in 38 states and 7 Canadian provinces, carrying approximately 5 million students daily. In addition to its regular routes, First Student ...

First Student Canada First Student, Inc. is a North American provider of school bus services. The company works with districts in 38 states and 7 Canadian provinces, carrying approximately 5 million students daily. In addition to its regular routes, First Student ...

Durham School Services Durham School Services is a school bus operator providing contracted student 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 ...

, Student Transportation of America, and the New York City-area

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a New York state public benefit corporations, public benefit corporation in New York (state), New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York metropolitan area, New York Ci ...

'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, w ...

. Part of the Bankruptcy was that Atlantic Express lost approximately 100 buses due to the devastating

Superstorm Sandy Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as Superstorm Sandy) was an extremely large and devastating tropical cyclone which ravaged the Caribbean and the coastal Mid-Atlantic region of the United States in late October 2012. It was the larg ...

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 public-benefit corporation that serves as the official economic development organization for New York City. NYCEDC gives its mission as strengthening business confidence in New York C ...

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

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, under contract to

Metro-North The Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company , also branded as MTA Metro-North Railroad and commonly called simply Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service operated by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), a public authority of ...

, 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. * Guardian Bus Company 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