The COMET awards new service contract for fixed route and paratransit services

The COMET Board has awarded the Fixed Route and Paratransit Program Contract to RATP Dev, effective July 1, 2020.

The present five-year contract, currently held by Transdev Services, will expire on June 30, 2020.

RATP Dev brings 46 years of success in managing and operating high-quality, safe, responsive and efficient transit systems throughout the United States, says the COMET.

“We appreciate Transdev’s contributions to the progress we have made together,” said Board Chairman Ron Anderson. “We are grateful for Transdev’s expertise and support which has helped advance public transportation in the Midlands.”

The new contractors will be responsible for employing the drivers, performing the maintenance of the buses and other related services such as paratransit, security, landscaping, bus stop maintenance, mystery riding and IT, which are provided by small, local, minority and woman-owned businesses.

There will not be an interruption in The COMET services during this transition. Current employees will be actively engaged in transition training and will be able to bid for positions with the new company. RATP Dev plans to hire locally for other employment opportunities.

“We are looking forward to this next step with RATP Dev to continue to make mobility accessible and convenient for everyone in the Midlands,” said John Andoh, executive director/CEO of the COMET. “RATP Dev brings a unique history of designing, managing, operating, maintaining and modernizing all forms of public transport and we are looking forward to seeing how we can continue to grow the COMET across the region.”

The decision to put the contract out for bid at the end of the initial five years was made in the fall of 2019. As chairman of the board, Ron Anderson appointed a five-member committee of the board to work with the COMET’s executive director/CEO and others to prepare the Request for Proposal (RFP).