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After pointing to service problems with incumbent, Bristol Board awards five‑year bus contract
Summary
Following staff review that cited driver shortages and service failures, the board awarded a five‑year in‑town student transportation contract (2026–2031) to the vendor recommended by staff; staff said variable costs such as field trips drove the recommendation.
District staff told the board on Feb. 4 that three companies returned bids for a five‑year in‑town student transportation contract and recommended the vendor identified in the evaluation as Datco/DECO. Two vendors (the incumbent First Student and Datco/DECO) submitted comparable five‑year fixed‑cost proposals in the roughly $54 million range, with a third bidder (Zoom Services) about $7 million higher.
Transportation staff (Colin) said the procurement committee evaluated both fixed and variable expenses and that Datco/DECO offered materially lower variable rates for field trips and athletic charters. Using the district’s historic averages (about 250 field trips per year and roughly 3,500 charter hours), staff estimated that Datco/DECO would save the district roughly $106,000 next year compared with the incumbent because charters and trips are billed at lower rates. Staff also cited favorable local references and a prepaid early‑pay discount offered by Datco/DECO as additional savings measures.
Colin also recounted service problems the district experienced with the incumbent provider, including driver shortages, reliability problems and disputed fuel use that required settlement. Commissioners asked whether the new contract includes clearer performance and remedy language; staff said the district revised an older contract template with counsel (Shipman & Goodman) to remove gray areas and add stronger accountability provisions where possible.
After discussion, a motion to approve the five‑year in‑town student transportation contract for 2026–2031 to the recommended vendor was moved and seconded and the board approved the contract.
What passed: the board voted to award the five‑year in‑town student transportation contract for 2026–2031 to the recommended vendor (board materials and transcript show varying spellings: Datco, DECO, D.CO; staff recommendation and evaluation committee findings were the basis for the award). The board’s motion passed as recorded.
Next steps: administration will finalize the contract language with the vendor incorporating performance measures and return documentation for procurement records.
