NRTA Parts Ways With Longtime Wave Bus Operator In Favor Of International Company

After more than 20  years, Valley Transportation Services of Massachusetts (VTS) will no longer be operating the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority’s (NRTA) buses and hiring its staff. On Wednesday, NRTA administrator Gary Roberts informed the Select Board that the international transportation company Keolis was selected to take over those responsibilities starting in March.

Roberts said that the contract had been put out to bid as the existing agreement with VTS neared expiration, and an evaluation committee had interviewed and scored each of the three companies that submitted proposals. The evaluation committee ultimately recommended Keolis, and Roberts agreed with its recommendation.

Roberts said the scoring was based on factors including the applicants’ qualifications, compatibility with NRTA objectives, management fee, and financial integrity.

“We are in the process now of negotiating and finalizing the contract,” he said.

Roberts said that the evaluation committee consisted of “a member from [the Nantucket Planning and Economic Development Commission], one of my staff, and a former administrator for over forty years of the [Regional Transit Authorities].”

While Roberts did inform the Select Board of the change, they did not have to vote to approve it. Select Board members referred questions on the decision to Roberts.

VTS owner Raphael Richter believes the change will be detrimental to NRTA, giving power to a multinational corporation rather than a local organization. He cited the rocky history Keolis has had with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

“Keolis is best known in Massachusetts for managing the MBTA commuter rail system, and their well documented poor performance with that contract…should make you wonder - if they can’t perform satisfactorily for MBTA, how can they be expected to care about or manage a much smaller contract with the conviction it deserves?” he stated in an email to the Select Board that was shared with the Current. “Keolis' local headquarters is many hours away up in the Boston area and final decision makers are scattered all over the country and world.”

Roberts refuted those accusations.

“Keolis's operation of rail for MBTA does not concern me as this is a separate division of Keolis, and my concern is with the operation of NRTA,” Roberts said. “Keolis has recently been awarded a contract to manage Metrowest Regional Transit Authority, and in my follow-up with my counterpart at Metrowest, I am comfortable in my decision.”

Richter also raised concerns about NRTA’s decision-making and its use of a propane-powered generator to charge their electric buses. Roberts said the use of a propane-powered generator was necessary as infrastructure work continued.