handyDART info

the pacific transit cooperative fiasco

Pacific Transit Cooperative (PTC) substantially underbid competing proponents to win the handyDART contract for the City of Vancouver in 2003. After a year of operation in which it ran at a deficit, it had exhausted its financial resources. At that point, it sought to terminate its contract

TransLink's CEO reported on the situation to the Board of Directors in May of 2004:

“An RFP covering the period April 1, 2003 to December 31, 2005 was issued for the Vancouver HandyDART service in August 2002. PTC was the leading proponent based on the evaluation criteria of the RFP. Due to a significant difference in the proposed budgets between the two front running proponents, TransLink staff met with the (then) General Manager of PTC who confirmed that he and the Board of PTC were aware that the budgets submitted as part of the fixed cost RFP process could not be adjusted for the duration of the contract. The GM also assured TransLink staff that it was the PTC Board’s decision that if PTC was the successful proponent, any operating deficit for the duration of the service contract will be funded through the PTC reserves. In accordance with the rules of the RFP, PTC was selected as the successful proponent of the RFP.”

“In March 2004, the General Manager of PTC advised TransLink that the Cooperative was operating the service contract at a greater deficit than anticipated and inquired about the possibilities for additional funding under the current Operating Agreement. Further financial analysis performed by PTC and reviewed by TransLink staff, confirmed that PTC would not be able to fulfill the terms and conditions of the current service contract without additional funding from TransLink. A formal notification for termination of the current contract effective July 31, 2004 was received by TransLink on March 31, 2004.”

For the complete report, click here.

The Board passed a motion "That the Board: A. Approve the termination of the current Operating Agreement with Pacific Transit Cooperative (PTC) for the delivery of HandyDART service in the City of Vancouver effective July 31, 2004; B. Authorize staff to negotiate an Interim Operating Agreement with Pacific Transit Cooperative for the period August 1, 2004 to December 31, 2004; and C. Authorize staff to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Vancouver HandyDART service covering the period January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007." For the complete report, click here.

An RFP was accordingly issued and four proponents, including PTC, submitted bids. The Greater Vancouver Community Services Society (GVCSS) was selected as the successful proponent for a three year term encompassing 2005 to 2007 [click here]. GVCSS is a non-profit society which had contracts for the operation of handyDART services in the Richmond and Simon Fraser service areas. However, when the recommendation came before the Board, a group of protesters led by Tim Louis and the ATU persuaded the TransLink Board to change direction. Tim Louis, a lawyer, activist, politician and later chair of the PTC Board of Directors described this successful lobbying effort:

"There is nothing wrong with the conviction that a user-run coop with a pro-worker, pro-union stance is the best route to go for users and workers. This is a conviction not a dream.

"What is the advantage, even if the odds are against us, of throwing in the towel before we have even tried? Spencer Dixon was our chair when Translink decided to take back the contract in 2004. He and the rest of the board at that time decided to give up. It was hopeless they said. Better not rock the boat. I found a wonderful organizer in the person of Mel Lehan and the rest, as they say, is history. We all went out to a Translink board meeting and Burnaby's Mayor Derrick Corrigan leading the charge on our behalf, the Translink staff recommendation was thrown out."

As a result, the TransLink Board received a new report from the CEO [click here] and decided instead to direct its staff to conduct a review of the handyDART service delivery model [click here].

The situation and subsequent interim agreement with PTC was later described by Spencer Dixon, who served as Chairman of the PTC Board of Directors for fifteen years in these terms:

"At one of the public meetings a councillor or mayor from the Coquitlam area told me directly, I'm paraphrasing here, 'We could have sued you for defaulting but chose not to. We cannot award a contract to a company with that on it's record.' PTC's operations since then have been much less under an awarded contract basis than an agreement to continue operations under a tightly monitored ongoing audit."

The contract extensions with PTC required TransLink to fund its continuing operating deficits. In November of 2004, this additional cost was estimated to be about $50,000 per month. It rose to exceed $65,000 in the following years.