Transportation Solutions, Inc., was honored last week at the ICIC-Inc. Magazine Inner City 100 celebration in Boston as one of the fastest growing inner city companies in America. Ranked 53^rd, Transportation Solutions was recognized for its extraordinary revenue and employment growth.

 

One of three Pittsburgh companies to make the 2007 list, Transportation Solutions is growing rapidly. According to the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City’s (ICIC) data, the company’s 5-year standard growth rate was 248 percent, with revenue reaching $4.23 million in 2005.

 

For Mr. W. Dwight Mayo, President and CEO of Transportation Solutions, the ranking represents a victory for the City of Pittsburgh and minority-owned businesses throughout the region. 

 

“Although we’re deeply honored, the plan was never to build this company for recognition’s sake alone,” said Mr. Mayo. “By allowing our community to reap the rewards of our growth, Transportation Solutions will continue to have a positive impact on the Pittsburgh region.”

 

A minority-owned company based in the Hill District, Transportation Solutions provides shuttle-service transportation to major hospital groups and senior care facilities for employees and patients across the Pittsburgh region. 

 

Founded in 1990 with only 4 vehicles and a contract from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Transportation Solutions grew rapidly; with rising demand for their services, the company needed to construct a building for central maintenance, car care and administrative offices. After a 2-year search for funding, CL Fund and a local bank stepped in to fund Transportation Solutions’ efforts in 2005. The company now has more than 80 vehicles and 90 employees; nearly 85 percent of the employees are minorities and 25 percent are women.

 

Now in its 9^th year, the Inner City 100 list provides unmatched original data on the fastest growing inner-city businesses in the United States. For the 2007 list, more than 4,500 nominations were received. The 2007 Inner City 100 winners grew at a compound annual growth rate of 49 percent and an average rate of 535 percent between 2001 and 2005. Collectively, the top 100 inner city businesses have employed nearly 10,000 people and created 12,000 new jobs over the past five years; both of these figures are the highest in the program’s history and show signs of continued growth.