Laidlaw International Purchases Shares in Trust

NAPERVILLE, Ill.--Feb. 1, 20058, 2005--Laidlaw International, Inc. announced today it has purchased the 3,777,419 shares of company stock previously held by US Trust for the benefit of the Greyhound U.S. Pension Plans. The shares were acquired at a cost of $84.5 million using the closing price per share as of February 17, 2005. Upon acquisition, the shares were subsequently cancelled and are no longer issued and outstanding.

Under the terms specified by an agreement with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, Greyhound U.S. Pension Plans' assets were increased by the full purchase price of the shares and Laidlaw International's pension obligation was reduced by a commensurate amount.

Forward-looking statement

Certain statements contained in this press release, including statements regarding the status of future operating results and market opportunities and other statements that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as: believe, hope, may, anticipate, should, intend, plan, will, expect, estimate, continue, project, positioned, strategy and similar expressions. Such statements involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that may change at any time. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from expected results due to a variety of factors which are reflected in the annual report on Form 10-K of Laidlaw International for the year ended August 31, 2004, and as may be detailed in the company's other filings, from time to time, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the light of these risks and uncertainties you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Laidlaw International, Inc. is a holding company for North America's leading providers of school and inter-city bus transportation and public transit, services. The company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange . For more information, go to www.laidlaw.com.