
About Kiessling Transit
Our Story
Then…
Originally named Kiessling School Transportation (KST), Carl and Paula built their company from scratch, providing ride services in an era when everything had to be done manually. As you can imagine, this was quite a challenge for the Kiessling husband and wife team.
In these early years, company headquarters had no way to directly communicate with drivers on the road and vice versa. So, if there were any difficulties with a vehicle, a driver would have to find a landline, like a phone booth, and get word to Paula who was at home overseeing ride dispatch. However, to complicate matters, Paula then had no way of relaying to Carl, who was generally out on the road driving or monitoring a new employee, that she needed assistance with whatever issue had arisen, such as a broken-down vehicle, a driver stuck in traffic (remember, no iPhones or Waze apps back then), or an employee calling in sick.
With all that modern technology helps us with today, it’s difficult to imagine having to deal with these types of issues when you are trying to build a business based on providing the highest standards of customer service and care. And yet, the KST owners persevered, and out of these trials and tribulations, came many innovative solutions, including two-way radio communication and bright orange body belts for wheelchair vans, that would eventually propel their business into a leadership role in the transportation management and services industry.
These may not seem like very advanced ideas today; however, back then, Kiessling was at the forefront of implementing concepts to make public transit safe and reliable for all people.
…And Now
Kiessling Transit Inc. has grown exponentially since 1970, reaching the $20M revenue marker in 2009, and we continue on an upward trajectory today. This phenomenal growth is a result of our continuing expansion in the area of Human Services Transportation – in fact, we are now the largest HST vendor in the Worcester area – plus critical Fixed Route and Demand Response ride service contracts that we manage for GATRA (Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority) and the MWRTA (MetroWest Regional Transit Authority).
We operate out of two large transportation facilities in Norfolk and Framingham, MA and we manage hundreds of employees and vehicles daily.
Our company, now led by the Kiessling’s sons, Lars and Roger, remains forever committed to the same principles that Paula and Carl founded the company on. While our company has grown, and will continue to expand, we always want to remain true to the family atmosphere, to treating our employees, customers and passengers with great respect, and to always displaying integrity in all our business interactions. Our entire team works every day to ensure that the values KTI was built on never change.
