Boston watchdog agency flags lack of competition among school bus contract bids

The Boston Finance Commission wants the city to delay finalizing a new five-year contract with its current school bus provider.

The watchdog agency for city finances takes issue with the fact that Boston Public Schools received only one bid, which came from the current provider, Transdev. The company's proposal was nearly $17.5 million for a 5-year term with the option to extend by a year three separate times.

The district and Transdev have come under fire in recent years for low on-time arrival rates. BPS is currently under a state school improvement plan to achieve a minimum on-time arrival rate of 95% — a metric it has not yet met. Boston Public Schools transports roughly 22,000 students across the city every day.

Matt Cahill, executive director of the Boston Finance Commission, said he's concerned with the way the district drafted its request for bids. He said the district may have restricted competition by requiring that bidders have experience working with at least three school districts or transit agencies whose bus fleet is at least half the size of Boston Public Schools' fleet.

"This requirement seems arbitrary and most likely had the effect of eliminating potentially viable candidates," states a letter Cahill sent to Boston Public Schools superintendent Mary Skipper on Monday. He urged her to examine why the bidding process came back with only one formal proposal.

"Any time there’s not a second bidder you run the risk [in] the next bidding cycle that the vendor says, 'Well, I’m the only game in town so I might as well raise the price 50%,'" Cahill said in an interview Wednesday.

He said school leaders could have contacted the three other vendors who expressed serious interest in the contract but ultimately decided not to bid. Cahill is also calling on the district to reach out to the Inspector General's office to examine how it can improve the process within state law.

"[The Inspector General's Office] has a lot of sway in saying this was done incorrectly or this language could be changed," Cahill added. "They can actually tell them, 'this was not correct and you need to put it back out to bid.'"

While the Boston Finance Commission is a city watchdog agency and can investigate this contract, it doesn't have the power to enforce its recommendations. Cahill says he has asked BPS officials why they included the requirement of previous experience with large entities in the request for proposals but said he has not yet received a clear answer.

"We haven’t heard an explanation," said Cahill. "Just that we had consultants say, 'this is what was best for us.' I don’t see how that’s best for the city when you’re eliminating competition."

In a statement, BPS officials said the bid invitation was "co-constructed" with industry experts along with city and school leaders to ensure that the next vendor is well-positioned to meet the needs of Boston students.

"As a result, the invitation for bids has evolved significantly compared to the current contract, in order to reflect the current scope and scale of the transportation operation, align performance incentives to drive improved operational results, and meet the district’s long-term strategic goals and transportation needs," district officials said.

The Boston School Committee must approve the contract before it becomes official. District officials are expected to present the terms of the agreement to the committee in January.