Virginia based BusPatrol, a technology company specializing in school transportation safety is expanding to Montreal and plans to hire at least 150 people over two years. The expansion will include both an office and a technological development centre through which the company plans to take advantage of the abundance of talent available in the city’s AI ecosystem. It turned out that it was no accident La Metropole was on the company’s radar.

“Several BusPatrol executives are from Québec, but it wasn’t a return to their roots that motivated the opening of our Montréal office. The qualified talent pool in tech and especially in AI is really outstanding,” explained Jean Soulière, CEO at BusPatrol. “Greater Montréal is truly a world leader in the field. We want to contribute to the world-wide reputation of the ecosystem by showing how AI can be used for public safety, especially for school transportation safety.”

Business is booming at BusPatrol, which installs smart cameras on school buses to record dangerous driver behaviour, including illegal passing of stopped school buses. Over the near term, the company plans to carry out some new projects, such as implementing a new supply chain in Québec to acquire the material it needs to deploy its services in the Canadian and US markets.

“The arrival of BusPatrol in this city shows once again the strong attraction of Montréal’s AI ecosystem. The company’s plan to set up a new supply chain in Québec is also excellent news,” said Stéphane Paquet, President and CEO of Montréal International. “It should be noted that foreign subsidiaries actively contribute to local SME development. They make about $17 billion worth of purchases every year from Québec suppliers, according to AppEco. They are a key driving force for the local economy.”

BusPatrol also wants to develop new technological solutions to improve crosswalk safety and reinforce the application of regulations on reserved public transit lanes.

The recruitment for the Montreal office has already begun. The new office is scheduled to open after Labor Day.