August 5/08
Leading proposal selected for HandyDART services
A company that could provide all HandyDART services in Metro Vancouver through one seamless operation has been selected as the leading proponent to provide custom transit services for seniors and people with disabilities beginning next January 1st.
As a result of TransLink’s ‘Access Transit’ consultation with the disability community, providers of the HandyDART door-to-door transit services and others, the system was redesigned to reduce the number of operating areas from eight to three. The results of three requests for proposals seeking companies interested in providing the new services identified one company, MVT Canadian Bus, Inc (MVT), that rated highest in its proposals for all three service areas.
Today, TransLink’s Board of Directors has approved the start of negotiations to arrive at a contract agreement with MVT. In evaluating the proposals received, TransLink looked at a number of factors. These factors included the experience, knowledge and resources and the company’s plan to manage the operations and the transition of the region’s custom transit services as well as the costs involved.
TransLink Chair Dale Parker says that given the specific needs of HandyDART customers for an effective door-to-door transit service, costs did not weigh as heavily as the other factors when selecting the leading proposal. “These individuals are by far our most fragile customers, and our whole examination of the services we provide them focused on enhancing a system that has treated them with the utmost care and respect over more than 25 years,” Parker said.
“Our ‘Access Transit’ strategy concluded that TransLink needed a new structure that, from a users’ perspective, would operate as a single system. We were looking at achieving this by reducing the number of areas from eight to three and reducing the need to hand off riders from one service provider to the next. But MVT’s proposals were so strong for all three service areas, that we may have an even better result than we initially expected,” he added.
Parker said TransLink informed all of the companies that submitted proposals for the contracts that it was critical to address the issue of employment for the drivers currently providing HandyDART services.
“HandyDART clients and their drivers have forged strong relationships that have added immeasurably to the confidence and comfort of the passengers and the sense of job satisfaction for the drivers. We’ve advised every proposer that we expect them to take immediate steps to ensure that there is an absolute minimum amount of disruption to the continuity of those relationships,” he said.
Parker noted that TransLink will continue to set and control HandyDART fares, look after the process for qualifying and registering people applying to use the services and monitor the performance of the company operating the system.
In its proposals, MVT offered increased hours of dispatch services, an enhanced system to communicate more effectively with clients to ensure a minimum of uncertainty around schedules and pick-up times, and the use of its customized scheduling system to provide more trips with the fleet of HandyDART vehicles. MVT said it would introduce real time monitoring of schedules and drivers and a longer, more comprehensive training program for new drivers.
MVT is the Canadian subsidiary of MV Transportation Inc. of Fairfield California. MV Transportation Inc. currently has 185 passenger transportation contracts across the US and has established a reputation for strong customer service, innovative operations and on-time performance. They currently provide custom transit for people with disabilities in many locations across the United States, including Portland, OR; Los Angeles, CA; Orlando FL, and Denver, CO.
