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Nantucket transit administrator recommends Keolis to run NRTA; local operator urges delay
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Summary
NRTA administrator Gary Roberts recommended Keolis North America to run Nantucket’s transit operations with a target takeover on March 1. Valley Transportation Services owner Rafael Richter urged the board to delay, saying local control and procurement shortcomings warrant more review.
Gary Roberts, administrator for the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority, told the board the NRTA completed a request‑for‑proposals process and recommended Keolis North America for the system’s management contract, with negotiations under way and a proposed operational start date of March 1.
The selection followed responses from three proposers, scored by an evaluation panel that included planning and economic development staff and a long‑serving former RTA administrator. Roberts said the panel interviewed proposers, evaluated qualifications, management approach and fees, and that he agreed with the panel’s recommendation.
Why it matters: NRTA contracts out daily operations of bus service and drivers; a change to a large national operator could affect local staffing, contractor practices and how service priorities are set.
VTS owner Rafael Richter — whose company currently operates NRTA under local ownership — urged the board not to rush the decision. Richter said VTS has operated on Nantucket for more than 30 years and warned that large multinationals “will have far more important priorities” than the island’s needs. He cited performance problems he associates with the manager Keolis has run on the MBTA commuter rail and called for more time to review proposals in full.
Roberts told the board the RFP yielded three proposals, a scoring matrix covered qualifications, management philosophy, technical qualifications, financial integrity and goals, and that he had accepted the panel’s recommendation. He said contract negotiations were in progress.
The meeting record shows public concern about procurement timing and how local knowledge would be preserved; the board did not take a final vote on awarding the contract during this meeting. Roberts also presented and won approval of an updated Title VI nondiscrimination program for the NRTA and asked the board to sign a letter supporting a MassDOT grant application for a new facility design.
Next steps: Roberts said contract talks would continue and that, if finalized, the new contractor would take over operations on March 1. The Select Board and NRTA advisory board will receive further updates as negotiations conclude.
