The Chief Executive Officer of Triboard Transportation which handles school buses for three school boards, Hastings Prince Edward, Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic, and Limestone District, says the organization can’t negotiate with its local school bus association.
Despite protests by local school bus operators and drivers, the CEO of Triboard Transportation says a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued sometime next week as a current busing contract is set to expire in the summer of next year.
Gord Taylor says Triboard Transportation has no choice but to follow provincial government guidelines, first brought in by Liberal governments over a decade ago, and that all government service providers must go through an open and competitive process.
Taylor says he sympathizes with some small local bus operators who fear they could be forced out of business but that Triboard’s mandate is to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and to follow the rules set down by the province.
“Some of these businesses are multi-generational. Our companies and drivers have been doing a good job but this is not a negotiation at this point. We have to go through a legal competitive process. We’re still working on the RFP and have brought in outside experts to make sure it’s as fair as possible to all involved. I’m sure many of our 27 operators are running great businesses and can win a long-term contract under the RFP process.”
For the past several years, Triboard and the Triboard School Bus Operators Association, have been occasionally negotiating busing contracts, but the latest agreement is expiring in June.
Companies outside the Association were not involved in the process, something that happened when local drivers protested when RFPs were first required years ago and decisions in court went their way.
Meanwhile, Bay of Quinte riding MPP Todd Smith echoes Taylor in saying that he “feels for some of the local companies and understands their concern” but if the provincial government steps in and removes the RFP process for school busing it would have to do it for other industries as well, something that would raise serious concerns about how public money is being spent.
