Academy Bus

This listing covers the Tampa operation of Academy Charter, part of Academy Bus, which works out of 12301 40th Street N in Clearwater. From here the company provides charter bus transportation for groups in the Tampa area, with round-trip, one-way and airport trips, and service for events such as weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs and sweet 16 parties.

Customers can book anything from a coach with 38 seats or fewer to several 54-seat coaches at once, and the coaches offer flat screen monitors, Wi-Fi, power outlets and luggage space underneath. Quotes can be requested online and remain valid for 14 days. Tolls and charges for fuel and safety compliance are included in the price, while gratuity and event parking are not.

Drivers go through training and recertification programs led by full-time safety managers, and the buses carry on-board camera systems. The parent company traces its origins to a single bus bought in the early 1930s by Pasquale, the father of Frank A. Tedesco, who incorporated Academy Bus in Bayonne, New Jersey, in 1968. Its fleet now numbers more than 1,100 buses.