Kiessling Transit, Inc., a Massachusetts transportation company, got its start in the home of Carl and Paula Kiessling in 1970, with just two employees and two vehicles. Compared to where we stand today, as a leader in our industry with two large operations facilities and hundreds of employees and vehicle, these were very humble beginnings. Our company truly is one of those great American business success stories.
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.
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.
These principles are essential to everything we do.
Every decision we make is based on how it will affect our relationships with our passengers and customers.
KTI is a local company; our management, and most of our employees, don’t just work in the community, but live here as well.
KTI is operated directly by its owners, Lars and Roger Kiessling, who are the sons of the original founders.
KTI has their family name on the side of all of their vehicles, which makes them doubly committed to providing a quality product that lives up to their name and the company the founders built.
KTI is known for their strict safety guidelines and their constant coaching of drivers to ensure that they have the safest product on the road at all times.
We are proud to work with a wide variety of organizations and individuals from across New England. Our clients include:
Transportation Management Authorities
Adult Day Habilitation Centers
Hospitals
Child Daycare Facilities and Pre-Schools
Special Education Programs
Colleges and Universities
Elementary, Middle and High Schools
Supported Employment Programs
Corporate Office Parks
Kiessling Transit Inc. has been providing transportation services in New England since 1970. Here’s a look back at our company’s history.
"Kiessling’s staff, reliability and customer service are all first rate! Our students have built strong relationships with drivers who are fully focused on their safety, comfort and enjoyment."
David Drucker - Dean College
"As a partner, KTI is forward-thinking and committed to success on all fronts, especially the energy efficiency of their fleet."
Tim Reeser - Lightning Systems
"KTI genuinely cares about the quality of service they provide, the construction and condition of their vehicles and the professionalism by which they treat their clients. To come across a company that operates in the manner that KTI does is rare."
Glen Perlman - National Van Builders, Inc.
"It is obvious that KTI cares about their employees. The negotiations with KTI went smoothly and quickly. Any issues that do arise, KTI deals with swiftly and fairly."
Ken Kephart - ATU Local 22
"It is obvious that KTI cares about their employees. The negotiations with KTI went smoothly and quickly. Any issues that do arise, KTI deals with swiftly and fairly."
Ken Kephart - ATU Local 22
"Working with KTI, we experienced an incredibly smooth transition for our 60 plus participants in their daily rides to and from our program. The attention to detail given by the entire Senior Leadership team is what made the onboarding process and first few days of operation such a complete success!"
Angela Penny - Saint Francis Adult Day Health Program
"Kiessling has stepped in and provided reliable, professional, courteous transportation that has allowed me to further my education, maintain an active social life, and stay gainfully employed."
James Costello - Passenger
Over the course of the 13 years that Jon has been with Kiessling Transit, he has held many roles and taken on a variety of responsibilities. Essentially, Jon’s path has paralleled the trajectory of the company. As Kiessling Transit has transformed and grown in the past decade into a leader within the transportation industry, so too has Jon developed from an IT professional and office administrator at the company to a key executive of the organization.
Jon is both a longtime friend and employee of the Kiesslings, having joined the company in 2004. At the time of his hiring, Kiessling was entering into a new MBTA RIDE contract that required a fully dedicated IT person to manage all facets of the company’s technical infrastructure, systems and support. The Kiesslings hired Jon for this critical role for many reasons, including his expert problem-solving skills, his ability to effectively streamline business practices, and, most important, his collaborative and easygoing demeanor. During Kiessling’s contract management of the MBTA’s THE RIDE services on the South Shore, Jon was solely responsible for managing the Wide Area Network (WAN) installation connecting Kiessling’s Norfolk location with the MBTA’s 10 Park Plaza offices in downtown Boston. Jon has also successfully led a number of company projects, with a heavy emphasis on software migrations of multiple company on-premise systems ranging from Microsoft Exchange/Office365 to cloud based Payroll/HR solutions, many which trimmed annual company IT costs significantly.
Today, as Vice President of Operations, Jon works in lockstep with the Kiessling owners, Lars and Roger, and, with great attention to detail, he oversees all the day-to-day operations at the company. His responsibilities include investigating, recommending, installing and upgrading all company software and reviewing company backups of all databases. Jon’s quick thinking and response time, as well as his proactive IT planning, mean that equipment downtime and other operational issues are kept to a minimum.
It’s truly exciting to see the impact that my team and I have had on improving the practices and processes at Kiessling and at our partner companies. Our goal is always to go above and beyond to help our clients accomplish their desired goals. I look forward to helping you make positive changes at your place of business and a genuine difference in the lives of the people you employ and serve.
Before joining the Kiessling team, Jon was already an accomplished manager, operating internal IT departments and new system rollouts. He has held technical roles at a variety of Massachusetts-based companies, including serving as a systems administrator in the IT departments of both Centra Software Inc. (now SABA Software), in Lexington, MA, and TJX Companies in Framingham, MA. He was also a technical recruiter at Judge.com, previously located in Needham, MA.
Jon grew up in Walpole, MA and now lives close by in Wrentham, MA. He earned a Management Information Systems degree from Salve Regina University in 2000.
While leading the operations team at Kiessling is a consuming job, Jon makes sure to build in time for his family, friends and sports. He devotedly coaches his sons’ athletic teams and loves the opportunity this gives him to watch them grow on many different levels. Jon’s other favorite pastimes include attending concerts and Patriots games, enjoying local restaurants, and playing many, many rounds of terrible golf!
Whatever your transportation needs, the transit management experts at Kiessling are here to deliver. Please fill out the contact form below and a member of our team will contact you soon. We look forward to assisting you!
Whatever your transportation needs, the transit management experts at Kiessling are here to deliver. Please fill out the request form below and a member of our team will contact you soon. We look forward to hearing from you!
Whatever your transportation needs, the transit management experts at Kiessling are here to deliver. Please fill out the request form below and a member of our team will contact you soon. We look forward to hearing from you!