Charles's VanGo Service May Have New Operator

Charles County's VanGo service may soon be operated by a new contractor after three transportation companies submitted unexpectedly low bids to run the public bus system, several county government sources said.

The county sought additional bids after Veolia Transportation Inc., the contractor that has operated the bus service for the past 17 years, originally bid to raise its fee by 42 percent to $4.76 million. This would have left the county with a $1.5 million budget shortfall. Late last week, Veolia lowered its bid to $3.48 million, just $200,000 over the county's budget for the operation.

Yet Veolia still was underbid by MV Transportation Inc., which submitted a $3.33 million bid for the VanGo service, the lowest of the three, according to a document obtained this week by The Washington Post that outlines the bids.

The third company, J&J Transportation, submitted a $3.8 million bid, according to the document.

The county commissioners were to meet in an emergency session yesterday afternoon to discuss the new bids and possibly award a contract. Veolia's current contract ends June 30, and the commissioners want to award a new contract as soon as possible to avoid any interruption of service.

Veolia is a global ground transportation firm, operating bus, rail, shuttle and para-transit systems in more than 120 locations in the United States and Canada. The company has annual revenue approaching $1 billion and controls several well-known brands, including Yellow Cab and SuperShuttle.

A few weeks ago, Commissioners President Wayne Cooper (D-At Large) was unusually vocal in his criticism of Veolia. At the time, Veolia was the only company to bid on the VanGo service. Cooper said he was "shocked" at the marked increase sought by Veolia, calling the bid "disrespectful to the county."

Cooper said in an interview this week that the commissioners probably will vote to award the contract to the lowest bidder so long as the quality of services is high enough.

"I'm very pleased that we rebid it," Cooper said.

The lowered bids effectively rule out for now the possibility that the county would eliminate private operation of the VanGo service and instead run it through the county government, Cooper said. This option, which could require the county to establish a transit authority to manage the system, was advocated by Margaret Cheseldine, director of the county's Department of Community Services, which oversees the bus system.

"If we award a bid, I don't see us putting it in house for the next three to five years anyway," Cooper said.

Based in Fairfield, Calif., MV Transportation is the nation's largest minority and privately owned passenger transportation firm. The company contracts with more than 140 local governments and transit agencies in 25 states and the District to provide public transportation services.

Ridership of VanGo has increased over the past decade. Last year, a record 433,838 passengers used the service.

The commissioners, who are on recess this week, were to meet yesterday in a teleconference. Cooper is in New York, representing Maryland at the County Leadership Institute at New York University's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.