Under one provision, the school bus company selected for a five-year contract in Springfield will have to keep its primary bus storage facility in Springfield.
SPRINGFIELD — The city is accepting bids for a five-year school bus transportation contract, with the longer term granted approval this week by the City Council in a search for savings.
City and school officials say they anticipate that offering a five-year contract, rather than a standard three-year term, will lead to more competitive bids and cost savings.
Bids are due on Feb. 13, at 2 p.m., at the city’s Chief Procurement Office at City Hall. There is a pre-bid conference at the School Department on Jan. 22.
“We are grateful to the City Council for approving a five-year term for the school bus transportation contract,” said Kathleen T. Breck, deputy city solicitor. “We believe this will result in better annual pricing, as it gives bidders five years to amortize the costs of acquiring new vehicles, instead of three years.”
Current contracts with the city’s three primary bus contractors expire on June 30.
Currently, the city has a $23.6 million school bus transportation budget for multiple bus companies and the cost of administration, bus monitors and crossing guards. That includes contracts for regular transportation and special education transportation totaling about $20 million.
The city has contracts with three primary companies: First Student (regular bus, mini-bus, and van service); East Springfield Transportation (wheelchair service), and Van Pool (homeless and special needs). The busing costs are paid under the city budget, and council approval was needed to allow the longer contract period.
A key change in the bid process is that several types of bus transportation, that were previously under separate contracts, are being combined, Breck said. In addition, there are sanctions for not meeting contract requirements, she said.
In addition, the pricing structure was adjusted to cover the number of hours the bus is being used rather than a single price for an entire day, Breck said.
As urged by At-large City Councilor Timothy J. Rooke, city officials are reviewing the school bus bid in Boston from approximately a year ago. Rooke said Boston realized substantial savings in its bus contract.
While Boston is different, owning its own buses and the bus storage area, Springfield is reviewing the Boston bid “for ideas that might save us money or make our program more efficient,” Breck said.
In the past, Springfield asked companies to have their buses stored in Springfield but did not require it. Under the new bid, the successful vendor is required to have its primary storage facility, administrative offices and repair garage in Springfield, but can have a secondary property outside the city as long as it does not hurt response time and services, Breck said.
There are 9,375 students served by regular transportation and 2,411 served by special education transportation, along with 142 for wheelchair bus services, said Maria D’Angelantonio, transportation director for the school system.
The bus and van fleet totals more than 270 vehicles.
As suggested by Rooke, the City Council asked Breck and other city officials this week to include Councilor Kenneth Shea in the school bus bid process discussions. Shea is a former long-term member of the School Committee.