School and Employee Bus Transportation

Businesses and organizations in the School and Employee Bus Transportation industry (NAICS code 4854, part of the Transportation and Warehousing sector) received 3,328 PPP loans totaling $525.0M during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average loan for this industry was $157,753 — above the national PPP average of approximately $67,000. This reflects the relatively large size of many businesses in this sector, which tend to have higher payroll costs and more employees.

92.4% of loans in this industry were forgiven — totaling $502.8M. To qualify for forgiveness, borrowers had to demonstrate that they maintained headcount and compensation levels and used at least 60% of loan proceeds for payroll expenses.

Notable recipients in this industry include NORTH AMERICA CENTRAL SCHOOL BUS INTERMEDIATE HOLDING CO, LL of JOLIET, IL ($10,000,000); JOFAZ TRANSPORTATION INC. of BROOKLYN, NY ($6,008,453); and SCHMITTY & SONS HOLDINGS, INC. of LAKEVILLE, MN ($5,639,579).

The loan amount distribution for this industry shows a more even spread across loan sizes, suggesting a mix of small and mid-sized businesses. Because borrower names are withheld for loans under $150,000, a substantial portion of recipients in this industry may not appear by name in this dataset.

As part of the broader Transportation and Warehousing sector — air, rail, water, truck, transit, pipeline, and scenic transportation services. — businesses in NAICS 4854 were particularly reliant on PPP assistance to bridge the gap between declining revenues and fixed overhead obligations during the shutdown period.