Fairfield: Outsourced busing draws fines
Zusha Elinson, California Watch
Cash-strapped cities embracing private contractors as saviors of their public transportation systems may find a cautionary tale in Fairfield.
The city was the headquarters of MV Transportation, a rising star in public transit outsourcing. But the company failed to deliver the bus service it promised its hometown: Between 2008 and 2010, the company was fined 295 times by local transit officials for poor performance, including too many accidents, missed bus runs and late buses.
The use of private contractors has grown in California. Contractors ran 223 million miles of bus and train service in the state in 2011, up 42 percent from a decade before, according to the National Transit Database.
Lure in Bay Area
Even in the Bay Area, a stronghold of public employee unions, officials have considered outsourcing public transit to save money. Alameda County is considering contracting out bus routes in the growing suburbs of Fremont and Newark, managed for decades by AC Transit. Last summer, Marin County officials considered outsourcing bus service to a private company, deciding against it only when the public agency cut its price to compete.
The arrangements are not all unmitigated successes. Some fall short of heralded savings. Others bring lower wages and less bus service.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Fairfield-Outsourced-busing-draws-fines-4349434.php