Taye Coles
Director of Transportation
Mr. Taye Coles comes to the district with thirteen years of experience in the school transportation industry. He has several years of experience as a commercial driver for public school systems as well as the Port Authority.
He holds numerous certifications that allow him to be a school bus trainer, drug and alcohol tester, and reasonable suspicion and accident investigator. He is currently being certified as a Third Party Commercial Driver’s License Skills Tester. Most recently, he has served as the Safety, Training, and Operations Manager for WL Roenigk Inc. Before that he worked with A.J. Meyers and Sons Inc. Both of which provide transportation services to a large number of public school districts throughout Western Pennsylvania so he brings a wealth of school transportation knowledge to the district. Mr. Coles’ commitment to safety for students and drivers along with his passion for continuous improvement makes him stand out in the field. He is well-versed in transportation laws, policies and procedures, and safety.
He is in the process of earning a degree in Operations Management with a focus on Transportation and Logistics. He is excited to bring open communications, training and development, performance management, and a focus on students and families to the district. As a former driver, he understands the importance and difficult task of safely transporting our most precious resource to and from school daily in all types of weather and road conditions.
The District is looking forward to Mr. Coles leading the transportation department review process. The focus will be to improve the efficiencies of our bus routes, satisfy our customers and community, and provide ongoing professional development.
Mission
Pupil transportation is a vital component of our public school system. The task of safely transporting children, to and from school, at consistent route times can be quite a daunting and challenging task. Due to the large geographical area of Plum Borough (28 square miles), scheduling and routing are critical to the success of the Transportation Department.
The Plum Borough School District operates, on average, 54 school bus runs and 15 mid-day runs, per school day. Additionally, we run extracurricular, sporting, and special bus run as required. The Plum Borough School District employs 56 regular bus drivers, 11 bus aides, and 3 mechanics, along with a list of substitute drivers and aides. Currently, there are 62 vehicles in the school bus fleet along with 7 other District-owned vehicles.
The Transportation Department provides its main services to 6 schools within the district, however, it also provides transportation services to 53 schools outside of the district. The buses will travel 800,000 miles (est.) this year, or over 4000 miles (est.) each day. The safety of the students during each and every mile is the Transportation Department’s utmost concern.