by Dennis Dalman
Two sisters and long-time operators of the St. Joseph-based Trobec’s Busing Service now are co-owners of that long-time, distinguished and award-winning company.
Trobec’s recently announced those two sisters, Becca Atkinson and Bethany Bertram, have purchased the company from their father, Tim Schubert, who had been Trobec’s chief executive officer. Atkinson and Bertram had operated the company for many years.
“Bethany and Becca have the experience, drive and vision to lead Trobec’s into the future,” their father, Tim Schubert, stated in an announcement of the transition. “I couldn’t be more proud to pass the business on to them.”
The two sisters also offered comments:
“Our employees, customers and community are at the heart of everything we do,” said Atkinson, who is president of Trobec’s as well as co-owner. “We are committed to providing the same dependable service people have come to trust while finding ways to enhance our operations for the future.”
Co-owner Bertram, like her father, was also chief executive officer of the company. She had this to say:
“We are honored to carry on the legacy the Trobec family and our father have built over the past eight decades. Trobec’s has always stood for excellence in transportation, and we look forward to continuing that tradition while embracing innovation and growth.”
Besides working for years to help make Trobec’s a safe, reliable, innovative, state-of-the-art transportation company, Bertram and Atkinson have both been proud advocates for women in the transportation industry.
History
Trobec’s began in 1938 in St. Stephen when Tony and Frances Trobec decided students in the St. Stephen area needed safe, reliable transportation to Holdingford High School.
The company grew and flourished with its fleet of school buses, and in the 1960s it began serving students in the St. Cloud and Sartell school districts.
In the 1980s, the Trobecs (founders Tony and Frances) transferred company ownership to their grown children Tom Trobec, Betty Trobec and Emily Gohman.
Over time, Trobec’s was pinched for space at its St. Stephen facility, and recently decided to construct a huge new building in St. Joseph’s Industrial Park. The 120,000-square-foot building opened in August 2024.
Throughout the years, Trobec’s extended its transportation expertise in school-bus rides to deluxe motorcoach rides for tourism, offering such rides to special events and so forth. Its motorcoach routes now extend throughout Minnesota, to all of the United States and even into Canada.
Trobec’s transportation fleet now includes about 70 buses, more than 100 drivers and three dozen support staff.
Sisters Becca Atkinson (left) and Bethany Bertram are the new owners of Trobec’s Bus Service in St. Joseph.