Controversial Transit Firm Chosen to Run Shuttle Service

The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday chose Laidlaw Transit to run a neighborhood shuttle bus service in the eastern San Fernando Valley, with no discussion of the company’s controversial record.

By an 11-0 vote, the city approved a three-year contract with Laidlaw that will cost $1.6 million for the first year and more than $720,000 in subsequent years. The buses, the first such service in the Valley, will link residents of Studio City, North Hollywood and Van Nuys with government and medical offices, schools and shopping areas.

Laidlaw, which carries an estimated 150,000 California schoolchildren, has been accused by school districts of chronic driver absenteeism. In 1990, four of its drivers were arrested in Southern California on charges ranging from drunken driving to sexual molestation of a 15-year-old deaf girl.

Complaints about Laidlaw’s service also prompted stricter state controls over the hiring practices of private bus companies.

The bus company could not be reached for comment Wednesday but executives have said previously that it has taken measures to improve its service and its reputation by raising drivers’ pay and improving training programs.

Councilman Nate Holden, chairman of the city’s Transportation Committee, said he assumed that city transportation analysts had thoroughly evaluated Laidlaw’s record before recommending that the committee choose the company for the Valley shuttle route.

“We just approved it because that was the recommendation of the department,” Holden said. “It’s a point well-raised, but it wasn’t shared with me at the time it came before the committee.”

City Transportation Manager S. E. Rowe’s detailed Jan. 15 memo to Holden about the selection of Laidlaw over five other bidders makes no mention of the company’s history.

Instead, the memo states: “It was the unanimous selection of the department to recommend Laidlaw Transit Inc. to operate the proposed service based on the quality and experience of operating and maintenance personnel and a competitive price.”

Transportation department officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Laidlaw’s $1.59-million bid was the second lowest, $39,000 higher than a company named Forsythe & Associates. The highest bid, $2.59 million, came from Southern California Rapid Transit District.

Rowe said in his memo that Forsythe & Associates is a new firm with an unproven track record and that his analysts were concerned that the company’s proposal called for too few employees who would be paid too little.

The shuttle buses, which will be similar to the DASH service that circulates through downtown Los Angeles, will be fueled by compressed natural gas to cut down on air pollution. Holden said they will probably begin running in about six months.