Contracting for Bus and Demand-Responsive Transit Services : a Survey of U.S

Special Report 258 Transportation Research Board ᭤ National Research Council ContractingContracting forfor BusBus andand Demand-ResponsiveDemand-Responsive TransitTransit ServicesServices A Survey of U.S. Practice and Experience Committee for a Study of Contracting Out Transit Services National Academy Press Washington, D.C. 2001 Transportation Research Board Special Report 258 Subscriber Category VI public transit Transportation Research Board publications are available by ordering individual publications directly from the TRB Business Office, through the Internet at TRB.org (national-academies.org/trb), or by annual subscription through organizational or individual affiliation with TRB. Affiliates and library subscribers are eligible for sub- stantial discounts. For further information, contact the Transportation Research Board Business Office, National Research Council, 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20418 (telephone 202-334-3214; fax 202-334-2519; or e-mail [email protected]). Copyright 2001 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Gov- erning Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engi- neering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to the procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. This report was sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Contracting for bus and demand-responsive transit services : a survey of U.S. practice and experience / Committee for a Study of Contracting Out Transit Services. p. cm. — (Special report ; 258) ISBN 0-309-07205-0 1. Local transit—United States. 2. Buses—United States. 3. Privatization— United States. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board. Committee for a Study of Contracting Out Transit Services. II. Special report (National Research Council (U.S.). Transportation Research Board) ; 258. HE4451 .C66 2001 388.4'1322'0973—dc21 2001052030 The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Acad- emy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also spon- sors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters per- taining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to asso- ciate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowl- edge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Acad- emy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both the Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is a unit of the National Research Council, which serves the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering. The Board’s mission is to promote in- novation and progress in transportation by stimulating and conducting research, facilitating the dissemi- nation of information, and encouraging the implementation of research results. The Board’s varied activities annually engage more than 4,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organiza- tions and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Committee for a Study of Contracting Out Transit Services Gorman Gilbert, Chair, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater J. Barry Barker, Transit Authority of River City, Louisville, Kentucky Santo A. Grande, Delmarva Community Services, Inc., Cambridge, Maryland Clarence W. Marsella, Jr., Regional Transportation District, Denver, Colorado James J. McLary, Southeast Transit Management, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia Charles L. Pettus, Sr., Amalgamated Transit Union, Baltimore, Maryland Patrisha Piras, Pat Piras Consulting, San Lorenzo, California Elliott D. Sclar, Columbia University, New York Roger Tauss, Transport Workers Union of America, Washington, D.C. Brian D. Taylor, University of California, Los Angeles Roger Teal, TWJ Consulting, Wilmette, Illinois Nigel H. M. Wilson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge Transportation Research Board Staff Thomas R. Menzies, Jr. Consultants Daniel Boyle, Dan Boyle and Associates, San Diego, California William McCullough, Booz-Allen-Hamilton, Inc., San Francisco, California Preface ection 3032 of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, enacted in June 1998, calls on the Transporta- Stion Research Board (TRB) of the National Research Council (NRC) to conduct a study of the effects of contracting out by public transit agencies for operations and administrative functions. The act specifically calls for an examination of the ra- tionale for decisions to contract for public transportation and an assessment of impacts on service cost and quality, availabil- ity, safety performance, and labor–management relations. In response to this legislative mandate, the Federal Transit Administration funded the present year-long study beginning in June 2000. To conduct the study, TRB assembled a 12-member committee with expertise in transit operations, management, eco- nomics, and policy. Following NRC practice, the committee members served in the public interest without compensation. Gorman Gilbert, Head of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Transportation Center at Oklahoma State University, chaired the committee. In conducting this study, the committee undertook a na- tionwide survey of public transit agencies and their general managers. More than 500 agencies received the survey questionnaire and more than half completed it, including many that do not cur- rently contract for transit services. The survey consisted of two parts. In the first part, agency respondents provided information vii viii Contracting for Bus and Demand-Responsive Transit Services on their contracts and contracting programs. In the second part, general managers explained why their agencies do or do not contract out for transit services and assessed their experiences, both positive and negative, with contracting. To enlarge and enrich its source of information, the committee also interviewed local labor representatives, transit managers, contractors, and elected officials in five communities. These individuals offered their opinions on the advan- tages and disadvantages of contracting. The committee’s analyses of the survey and interview results served as the basis for most of the study findings and con- clusions. Tabulations of the responses to the survey questions are provided in Appendix C (Survey Part 1) and Appendix D (Survey Part 2). In addition, a file containing the survey data records will be posted on the TRB website. The committee convened five times. Most of these meetings were open to the public. During these sessions, Robert Molofsky, General Counsel to the Amalgamated Transit Union, briefed the committee on issues of concern to members of his union—the largest representing public transit employees in the

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