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| Westchester County will seek bids on Bee Line routes, federal funds secured for now (281967) | |||
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Westchester County will seek bids on Bee Line routes, federal funds secured for now |
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Posted by Gold_12th on Wed Aug 14 00:32:59 2013 Westchester County will request proposals to run the Bee-Line Bus system now that the Federal Transit Administration has agreed to continue funding it for up to a year to allow for a transition to a new operator.The federal agency had threatened to take away millions in funding for maintenance if Westchester didn’t use a competitive process for the next contract, which is due to start at the end of the year. Liberty Lines Transit, based in Yonkers, has had the contract since the 1970s and has been granted renewals without competition. The federal funding, which Westchester began receiving in 2009, totaled $13 million this year. The competitive contracting rule is tied to the funding, and the federal government notified the county of the requirement in 2009, 2010 and again earlier this year. But the county and federal governments have been in a minor standoff while Westchester officials figured out their next move. “Price and service are the core of any Bee-Line bus contract, and we now have a foundation for both,” County Executive Rob Astorino said in a statement. “The request for proposals process will keep costs down and federal aid in place. The bridge contract provides insurance against the interruption in the quality of service. The goal we are working toward is to protect both riders and taxpayers.” The Bee-Line system serves about 100,000 riders a day. Liberty runs all but three of more than 60 routes. The county was reluctant to bid out the contract, totaling $101 million this year, because Liberty Lines claims a right to the bus routes and could be entitled to compensation. The county asked the FTA for a waiver of the bidding rule but the agency refused. The compensation issue is still not resolved, a spokeswoman for the county said. Lou DeFrancesco of Eastchester, who used to work for a carting company, has pressed the county to bid the project for the past year and has put together a team to prepare a proposal. “That’s great news for the county,” he said. “I think the taxpayers are going to save money. The county has been doing the same thing for more than 30 years with no competition. I think the prices are going to go down.” In a letter dated Aug. 9, the FTA gave the approval for a six-month bridge contract, with extensions up to six more months, to allow a transition to a new operator. The county plans to seek proposals in September and award a contract in December. http://www.lohud.com/article/20130813/NEWS02/308130046/With-federal-funds-secured-Westchester-will-seek-bids-run-Bee-Line?odyssey=mod|newswell|text||s |
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