Kobussen Buses is a big believer in being first. So when MCI announced it would start making seatbelts available on its J4500, the Kaukauna, Wisconsin, company was happy to order the first four off the production line. "We think seatbelts are going to be the wave of the future," says Dan Kobussen, who runs the business with his brother, Joe, and an uncle.

Kobussen Bus, which runs a dozen coaches, mostly MCI® J4500s, along with school buses, tries to stay on the leading edge when it comes to equipment. It was the first operator in Northern Wisconsin to embrace MCI's clean-diesel engines, and its latest coaches have Wi-Fi, 110-volt outlets, GPS and all the new features for 2009. Two of the coaches additionally have a special gear-ratio arrangement for optimal fuel economy.

"You buy a bus only so many years, so you've got to make sure you think ahead to include features that will serve your customers today and into the future," says Kobussen, who also thinks the new seatbelt-equipped J4500s will hold their resale value better when the time comes to trade them in.

Kobussen Bus got its start in 1938 when Joe and Dan's dairy-farmer grandfather, Elwood "Goldie" Kobussen, began transporting students to and from Kaukauna High School. The company, then known as Kaukauna Bus Service, started serving schools in other communities as well, finally changing its name to Kobussen in 1976. In 1983, the company expanded into luxury motor coach charters.

Today, the company, a Trailways member, serves a wide variety of charter clients as well as continuing to serve schools, run a paratransit service, maintain a scheduled service route and move troops for the Department of Defense. Employing some 400 people, it has five terminal locations and adheres to the motto, "Family Pride in Every Ride."

Or, as Dan Kobussen says, "Safety first."

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