• Fleet Size – 21 Motorcoaches and 27 School Buses
Lamoille Valley Transportation is located in the mountains of northern Vermont . While serving the small town communities with school bus transportation , it ’ s surprising to find 21 beautiful motorcoaches tucked away in the trees behind the office on Route 15 in Morrisville .
That is what is happening now due to the pandemic although prior bustling business included transportation for college athletics and clubs , fall foliage tours , military movements , weddings , casino trips , various other pre-arranged tours across the U . S . and in Canada , and a thriving National Park Tour business based out of South Dakota in the summertime .
Josie ’ s parents , Norman and Noreen Prive established the business in 1986 by purchasing a small fleet of school buses , maintaining the vehicles , driving bus routes , and attending to all functions of the business themselves . In 1988 , they expanded their business and purchased their first over-the-road motorcoaches to provide transportation for local tour companies and military movements .
The company is still family owned and operated by two generations of the Prive family . In 1993 , son Joel joined the company after completing an Associate degree in Electrical Engineering from the Vermont Technical College , bringing his knowledge and mechanic skills from many years of growing up in the garage , and becoming a driver . In 2011 , daughter Josie joined the family business bringing her business and financial skills , and of course becoming a driver . Josie honestly never imagined she would be driving a 45 foot motorcoach , even though she grew up around the business .
At the end of 2018 , Noreen retired from the company with Joel and Josie taking on ownership of the company along with their father Norman . Joel now holds the position of President , overseeing marketing efforts and fleet maintenance . Josie is the current Vice President of the company , overseeing much of the financial aspects of the company , human resource tasks , and dispatching . Other members of the team include Amy who has been with the company for 7 years and wears the hat of
School Bus Coordinator where she oversees the school bus drivers , drives a regular route , and occasionally operates a motorcoach . Tracey has been working at the company for a year although arrived with 16 years of experience working for a transportation company in Colorado . She oversees driver qualifications and is the Safety Coordinator . Ed Prive , a cousin , has been with the company since 2004 , as a Vehicle Detailer . Zach Prive , Joel ’ s son , has now been with the company for 2 years and is the Fleet Coordinator . And , of our current 39 qualified drivers , 15 of them are women !
It was and still is hard to believe what happened in March 2020 , when the country and all operations of Lamoille Valley Transportation were completely shut down . From being a bustling $ 5 million business to $ 0 in one day was devastating . Let alone the emotions of it all . Financial challenges . Employee layoffs . Understanding PPP . Understanding the ever-changing environment of COVID . Unemployment . Pandemic family leave . All was overwhelming .
With the re-opening of the schools in the fall of 2020 , it was exciting to see some movement of the fleet . Slowly a few military movements were added . Some high school and college athletic trips are coming to fruition .
Now a year later , the motorcoach industry is literally at a standstill , which leaves us asking – what does the future hold ? Hopefully soon , with the Covid vaccination roll out , the wheels will start turning again and the 24 hour a day , 365 days a year excitement of operating a transportation business will return !
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