“This is a highly-legislated process that occurs at the operational level of an organization for good reason. The Tri-Board governance body, of which I am one member, was apprised of the procurement process last spring and had oversight, which is suitable for a governing body. However, the clear parameters and process were enacted through the CEO Jeremy DaCosta, in conjunction with a procurement specialist and legal support.”
A link to the Broader Public Sector Procurement Directive is available by CLICKING HERE.
Wilson expanded on what is considered an Ontario business.
“From the Buy Ontario Procurement Directive, an Ontario business is defined as a supplier, manufacturer, or distributor of any business structure that conducts its activities on a permanent basis in Ontario. The business either has headquarters or a main office in Ontario, or at least 250 full-time employees in Ontario, at the time of the applicable procurement process.”
“Drivers’ and monitors’ background and reference checks, as well as safety training and professional development opportunities for drivers and monitors. The second category is fleet dependability. Vehicle maintenance and preventative maintenance programs are a key component of the procurement process, but also a process to ensure vehicles are properly maintained to provide uninterrupted service on cold weather days. The third category being customer service. Communication and response procedures in emergency situations, as well as an evaluation of staffing strategy including managers, supervisors, administrative staff including dispatchers, maintenance, and drivers on operational days—specifically during route times when students are being transported to ensure service continuity. The last category is student safety and wellbeing. A process for identifying safety concerns and resolving safety concerns identified by stakeholders, which include drivers, monitors, families, school administrators, and Tri-Board. The experience and qualifications of individuals assigned by the operator to manage student safety and wellbeing, the process for ensuring students with specialized needs receive the care required, and a description of the process or technology employed to ensure that routes run on time. These are all important considerations related to student safety that are not reflected in a CVOR or commercial vehicle operators registration rating.”
The Commercial Vehicle Operator Registration (CVOR) is overseen by the Ministry of Transportation and they look at bus drivers and fleet safety.
“But I have grave concerns about Tri-Board. I wrote to them as an individual because I wanted to, and I asked them for the new operators, what percentage of the new operators’ buses failed their mandatory tests. Their answer, “That’s not public information, we won’t tell you that. If you really want to know, you can go through a Freedom of Information process, you can pay and get it.”
“I have no concerns about the procurement process that was enacted through Tri-Board and in fact I’m extremely thankful for their proactively in posting that RFP early, such that we could have excellent training, organization, and preparation of those operators in anticipation of September contracts.”
“When companies have come in and bought out some of the smaller transportation companies, those bus drivers are valued and necessary and we are thankful to have local drivers. They are essential to the service that’s provided, so certainly we’re supportive of that and we know that that has happened in the past. We would want people who are familiar with the area, familiar with our students, familiar with our roads to be driving our students.”
