First Student

About First Student

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, First Student is dedicated to providing safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation services to school districts, cities, enterprises and their constituents. First Student is the clear market leader in student transportation and focuses on providing contracted services for home-to-school transportation, including for special education, homeless and other student populations.

Market trends and drivers

Student and public transportation are critical components of the US and Canadian educational and economic ecosystems, with student success metrics and funding directly correlated to student attendance, and millions of individuals across the socioeconomic spectrum relying on public transportation daily to get to work, access healthcare, and contribute to the broader economy. As a result of the essential nature of services provided, the public transportation end market is highly stable through economic cycle and benefits from favourable tailwinds including increasing demand for outsourcing and for safer, smarter and more environmentally friendly transportation options. The growing capital intensity and operational complexity associated with digitizing operations and electrifying the fleet will place greater demand across the value chain and favor large, resource-rich outsourced providers, such as First Student, who bring best-in-class safety, reliability, capital, and technological expertise to districts and governments.

Investment potential

EQT Infrastructure is committed to building upon the success First Student have achieved by making investments in organizational, operational, digital, and sustainability initiatives to further improve and differentiate the Company’s service offering. Most notably, EQT Infrastructure intends to help future-proof the Company by investing in the electrification of its fleet and accelerating its transition to renewable fuel sources in order to support passenger health and reduce environmental impact.