Drivers, users urge TransLink to delay HandyDart contract
Customers and drivers are lobbying TransLink to hold off on signing any long-term contracts with HandyDart service providers until there is a more stable government in Victoria.
The door-to-door shared-ride service for people with physical or cognitive disabilities who are unable to use conventional public transit without assistance is currently provided by MVT Canadian Bus Inc.
TransLink’s contract with MVT expires next year and the transit authority is planning to begin a competitive procurement process next week.
“This is an unusual time in B.C. We will likely have a different government and minister responsible for TransLink within weeks,” said Beth McKellar, co-chair of the HandyDart Riders’ Alliance. “We will also likely see major changes to the governance of TransLink within months, with more decision-making power for mayors.”
She said a new minister responsible for TransLink and the mayors should have a chance to review the request for proposals and must not be locked into long-term contracts signed “in the dying days of an outgoing government.”
She said the minister and board should also have a chance to evaluate whether TransLink should operate HandyDart instead of a contractor.
McKellar pointed out that NDP leader John Horgan advised B.C. Hydro not to sign any more contracts for the Site C dam project until there is a confidence vote in the legislature.
“We have a similar request for TransLink,” she said.
“The HandyDart Riders’ Alliance would like you to put off any further action on long-term contracting of HandyDart until a new government has gained the confidence of the legislature.”
Tyler Felbel, vice-president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, which represents HandyDart drivers, and a 25-year driver himself, echoed McKellar’s call for a pause in the request for proposals process.
Longtime HandyDart driver Albert Melenius emphasized the need for stability. He said HandyDART should be a direct subsidiary of TransLink, like Coast Mountain Bus Company, and should have a permanent contract.
“HandyDart is the finishing touch that makes transit accessible to all,” he said. “I’m hoping this next contract will be last one, and then we can get on with the work of making the best possible HandyDart.”
TransLink CEO Kevin Desmond said the transit authority worked closely with an advisory committee — which included two members of the HandyDart Riders’ Alliance — on a months-long review of the custom transit service. The result was a series of recommendations that were adopted by TransLink’s board earlier this year. Bringing the service in-house was not recommended.
A public-sector comparison was conducted, with input from the advisory committee, and it concluded that contractors could provide the service cheaper. Desmond said every dollar saved operating the service goes into adding more service hours.
“Our responsibility as an organization, whether it’s an in-house service or contracted service, is to make sure that we’ve got performance expectations and we hold the operator accountable to those performance expectations,” Desmond said.
“That’s the exact relationship I have with the president of (Coast Mountain Bus Company). That’s the exact relationship I have with the president of (B.C. Rapid Transit Company). They’re in-house employees, and I hold them accountable to performance standards.”
Desmond said the request for proposals will be out for 10 weeks, and a final decision on a contractor or contractors will be made by the end of the year.