Laidlaw Wins Contract for Transit Services

Despite a warning from a former Los Angeles transportation commissioner and public misgivings about quality of service, Orange County officials Monday broke with standing policy and hired a single company to provide small bus and van service--including programs for the disabled and seniors.

Awarding the $93-million contract to Laidlaw Transit Services Inc. “was not an easy decision,” said Laurann Cook, a Fountain Valley councilwoman who is vice chairwoman of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s board of directors. “We’re talking about a lot of money. And money aside, we’re talking about a lot of people whose lives will be affected.”

The board voted 8-2 for a five-year deal with Laidlaw, a Canadian company that provides a variety of transportation services across the United States.

The transportation authority previously has used public-private contracts with at least two companies so that backup transportation would be available in emergencies and service might be improved through competition.

John Shallman, a former Los Angeles County transportation commissioner, told the board before the vote Monday that service will suffer.

“If we had awarded one provider and that one provider was Laidlaw, we would have had a meltdown in Los Angeles paratransit services,” he said.

But board members pointed out that Laidlaw’s operations in Orange County are under different management than in Los Angeles.

County officials decided to privatize the so-called paratransit system, which serves 14,000 disabled people and thousands of other riders, after the consulting firm Crain & Associates found that such a move would save $6.3 million to $15.8 million over the life of the contract.