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News Release
October 2, 2008
from: handyDART.info
contact for further information: Aaron Heseltine at 604 376-1751 or feedback@handydart.info

Non-profit HandyDART operators were not given a fair chance to bid on the contract about to be given by TransLink to American owned MVT Canadian Bus, according to some bidders. Interviews of the heads of three non-profit agencies that have operated HandyDART services for TransLink for many years revealed that they were unaware of any preference by TransLink for a single operator and a single contract for all of Metro Vancouver.

Two operators said that if they had known of this, they would have submitted bids on all three areas that were put out by TransLink as three separate requests for proposal for three separate contracts. The two operators, one in the South of Fraser area and one in North of Fraser, also said they would have tried to cooperate with the other in creating a single entity to bid on all three areas. A third South of Fraser operator also said they would have tried to work with other operators to accomplish this.

The three operators are all non-profit agencies who provide other community services, often to the same people who use HandyDART services. They expressed dismay at the contract going to a foreign for-profit company.

“Anyone who operates must try to earn a surplus” said Pat Wheeler of Semiahmoo House Society. “Any surplus we make goes back into to the same community in the form of other community services, not profits that go to California to buy someone a beach house in Malibu.” MVT Canadian Bus is a wholly owned subsidiary of MV Transportation, a private corporation whose owners live in California.

Another operator was perplexed at TransLink’s decision. “We and other non-profit agencies know the HandyDART users and their individual needs,” said Ron McLeod of Greater Vancouver Community Services. “MVT has never operated in Canada let alone Metro Vancouver and has no experience with our service or our labour relations climate. It is bizarre that TransLink would just hand the entire system over to them.”

Both Wheeler and McLeod emphatically stated that their agencies would have bid on all three contracts if they had known of TransLink’s preference for a single integrated service and would do so if given an opportunity to amend their bids.

The HandyDART system in Vancouver is currently operated by seven contractors under eight contracts covering eight areas. In 2007, TransLink approved a plan to restructure the system with “service being delivered by three contractors, each serving one of the following areas: i. South of the Fraser; ii. Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge; and iii. The North Shore, Richmond and the communities on Burrard Peninsula (i.e. those west of the Pitt River).” To improve the coordination between the areas, the plan provided for a central “Access Transit Office” to manage eligibility and registration of users, and bookings of rides. The Access Transit Office was to be operated by TransLink through its Coast Mountain Bus subsidiary.

In April of 2008, TransLink issued three Request for Proposal tender documents. Each was specifically for one of the three new areas and excluded those services to be centralized in the Access Transit Office.

TransLink management selected MVT Canadian Bus as the preferred proponent for all three areas. Since then, TransLink and MVT Canadian bus have negotiated a single contract for the provision of an integrated operation for all three areas. This has effectively created a service area that was not put out for public tender.

As the details of the tentative contract have not been made public, it is not known whether TransLink still intends to operate an Access Transit Office, or whether that function will also be contracted to MVT without having been put out for public tender.

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More information may also be found at www.handydart.info, an independent website that provides accurate reporting and access to source documents on this issue.

Pat Wheeler, Executive Director of Semiahmoo House Society, may be contacted at 604 536-1242. Semiahmoo House Society currently operates the HandyDART system in Whiterock, South Surrey and Langley.

Ron McLeod, Executive Director of Greater Vancouver Community Services Society, may be contacted at 604 737-3500. Greater Vancouver Community Services Society currently operates the HandyDART system in Richmond, Burnaby, New Westminster, Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam.