Press Release  AG Campbell Secures $2.4 Million Settlement With School Bus Company For Colluding To Allocate Government Contracts, Raising Prices For Municipalities

Boston — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today announced a $2.4 million assurance of discontinuance with student transportation services company Beacon Mobility Corporation, which operates through subsidiaries including Van Pool Transportation LLC and NRT Bus, Inc., (collectively, “Beacon”), to resolve allegations that the company colluded to allocate contracts—raising prices—and made false statements regarding school bus transportation contracts in the City of Lynn and Towns of Dedham and Saugus.  

In addition to the $2.4 million monetary payment, the majority of which will be distributed to the affected municipalities, the settlement requires Beacon to maintain an antitrust compliance program for at least five years, to notify the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) of any acquisitions of other transportation companies for ten years, to cooperate with the AGO in future investigations, and to notify the AGO of any efforts by a competitor to enter into or enforce any agreement to allocate contracts, fix prices, rig bids, or share competitively sensitive information related to student transportation contracts in Massachusetts.  

“When companies engage in unlawful collusion that increase costs for municipalities, it reduces their ability to fund other critical programs including our libraries, public safety agencies and schools,” said AG Campbell. “My office is committed to investigating and eliminating illegal anticompetitive agreements that harm our communities.” 

“This vendor’s corrupt exploitation of our district’s efforts to get some of our most vulnerable students to school is shameful,” said Lynn Mayor Jared C. Nicholson. “We very much appreciate the Attorney General and her team for holding them accountable and returning their ill-gotten gains back to our taxpayers.” 

“As have many of our peers in the Commonwealth, Dedham has struggled with unsustainable cost increases for many goods and services, especially since the pandemic. In order for us to provide safe and reliable services to our residents, we must have trust in our vendors and contractors, and this includes fair and transparent pricing because profits cannot come before people,” said Dedham Town Manager Leon I. Goodwin. “It is reassuring to see the Attorney General’s Office investigate one of the root causes of this issue and hold a company liable for their illegal actions.” 

Beacon is a student transportation services company registered in Delaware that provides special education transportation services to school districts in Massachusetts through its subsidiaries including Van Pool Transportation LLC and NRT Bus, Inc. 

Through the Assurance, the AGO alleges that in 2022, Beacon colluded with another student transportation services company in the region to raise prices on school districts by allocating contracts for the transportation of special education students in Saugus, Lynn, and Dedham. Beacon did so by agreeing not to compete with the other company for contracts in certain towns in exchange for not facing competition from that company in other municipalities. The AGO also alleges that Beacon made false claims for payment by concealing its collusion and signing a certificate of non-collusion in Lynn.  

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Katherine Krems and Division Chief Anthony Mariano of the AGO’s Antitrust Division.   

If you are aware of anticompetitive agreements to fix prices, allocate markets, rig bids, or share competitively sensitive information in restraint of trade, please reach out to the AGO’s Antitrust Division at antitrust@mass.gov or by calling (617) 727-8400. 

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