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Nov 28, 2023Bus service that transported Grand Forks athletes may have lacked required proof of insurance
Jul 17, 2023GRAND FORKS – A transportation service that was used to bus Grand Forks Public Schools athletes to competitions may not have had the required insurance to have done so.
According to U.S. Department of Transportation documents obtained by the Herald, the company – White Line LLC, based in Warroad, Minnesota – appears to not have had the bodily injury and property damage liability insurance on file required to transport passengers.
The Herald contacted Mike Biermaier, activities director for Grand Forks Public Schools, early last week. On Saturday, he said White Line has not yet provided proper proof of insurance.
After being contacted by the Herald on Tuesday, May 30, Biermaier began seeking clarification from White Line. He said he has contacted White Line, but has not received a response.
The Herald reached out to White Line on Monday but the company did not return a voice message.
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"I looked online to a state site, and it says they’re unable to transport," Biermaier said. "According to them, they say it's a mistake, but I said ‘Can I get a copy of whatever needs to be cleared up?’ But we don't have that information yet. We’re not scheduled to use them anymore, but if they can't provide this proof, we obviously won't be using them again."
According to Biermaier, the district used White Line's services 17 times during the school year to transport athletes, compared to 127 uses of Dietrich and Sons Inc. and 221 uses of Triangle Coach Service Inc. Both Dietrich and Triangle have the required insurance to transport students, according to the USDOT documents.
Biermaier said Dietrich has first rights to transport athletes to competition, followed by Triangle. If those two services are unavailable, the district rents passenger vans driven by coaches to transport students to events, which were used 67 times over the course of the school year.
According to Biermaier, White Line was used as a last resort when the aforementioned services were unavailable.
Biermaier said that although he does not know the total cost the district incurred for the 17 times it used White Line, it charges $1,300 per bus for a round trip between Grand Forks and Fargo. By comparison, Dietrich charges $700 for the same trip, and Triangle $835.
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