HUDSON, Mass. — Hudson Public Schools students returning from break on Thursday may notice a different name on the sides of their school buses.

With the shutdown of Atlantic Express, Hudson Public Schools contracted with North Reading Transportation (NRT) to provide school bus service for the rest of the school year.

“Under emergency provisions of the state bid law, the district is able to sign a contract with the company that was the second-lowest bidder when the district went out to bid three years ago. That company is NRT,” Hudson Superintendent Kevin Lyons said in a letter to parents.

Starting on Thursday, NRT took over the routes and services that Atlantic Express was providing. Lyons told parents that the bus fleet and the local contractor management team would change, while their child’s driver may or may not be the same person.

“We are working hard to help ensure the smoothest of transitions, but there are likely to be some problems that will have to be worked out,” Lyons said. “This is not an ideal situation, to change contractors part way through the school year.”

In the spring, Hudson Public Schools will bid out its transportation contract for the 2014-15 school year and beyond.