The Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has selected a new operator for its paratransit shuttle program serving people with disabilities, but the decision has sparked backlash from the outgoing contractor and raised questions about the transparency of the procurement process. During a recent board meeting, the VTA board of directors unanimously approved a three-year, $110 million contract for Transdev Services to manage the VTA Access program, which could extend up to seven years with four optional one-year renewals, bringing the potential contract total to $227 million. The move effectively ends the tenure of MV Transportation, which has operated the service since 2017 and was among the three bidders competing for the contract.
The transition has not gone smoothly, as MV Transportation raised concerns over how the agency handled the bidding process. Company executives pointed out that VTA failed to request a "best and final offer," a common step in large-scale procurements that allows bidders to revise and sharpen their proposals. Without this step, MV officials said they were denied the opportunity to reduce their pricing or improve their proposal based on feedback. At the May 1 board meeting, multiple VTA board members echoed those concerns, voicing discomfort with the rushed process and limited information provided to them. Some members indicated they only received a confidential copy of the contract hours before they were asked to vote on it.
VTA officials, however, stood by their decision, citing that Transdev offered superior service and safety enhancements that scored higher than proposals from MV Transportation and another bidder, WeMoveU. A spokesperson for the agency emphasized that Transdev’s proposal aligned better with long-term service goals and improvements. The board was told the selection was based on a competitive best-value procurement process and that a final offer was not necessary for the evaluation committee to make a recommendation. VTA CEO Carolyn Gonot explained that while the timeline was tight, the reopening of the request for proposals in late 2024 was necessary to clarify goals related to working with small and minority-owned businesses, which had been inconsistently interpreted in the initial 2023 bid round. This clarification led to delays that left the board pressed for time as the June 30 expiration date of the existing contract approached.
MV Transportation's senior leadership, including Vice President of Customer Success Nikki Frenney and Senior Vice President of Business Development Dennis Shipman, expressed frustration both during the public meeting and afterward in a formal letter to the board. Shipman asserted that the stakes of the decision were too high to ignore and that the process lacked both clarity and fairness. He reiterated the company’s willingness to extend their current contract temporarily to allow for a more thorough review of proposals. However, VTA staff said an extension was no longer legally viable, pointing out that MV’s original contract had already been extended nine times since it was first signed in 2017. These repeated extensions, they argued, were pushing the legal boundaries of the original agreement and necessitated a fresh bidding process.
Still, the decision-making environment left many board members uneasy. Morgan Hill Mayor and VTA board member Mark Turner asked if a six-month extension could be arranged to allow further review, but was told by VTA staff that such a move was not feasible. Other board members questioned the $227 million price tag in light of declining sales tax revenues and limited time to vet the contract. County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas, who sits on the board, expressed frustration during the meeting, noting that the situation felt orchestrated to force the board into an approval without adequate deliberation. She pointed out the tension between ensuring continuity of paratransit services for vulnerable residents and fulfilling their obligation to make fiscally and ethically sound decisions.
The VTA Access program plays a critical role in ensuring mobility for individuals with physical disabilities who are unable to use the agency’s standard bus and light rail systems. Eligibility is based on the individual’s inability to access public transit, and trips must be booked at least one day in advance. The service operates during the same hours as regular transit services. According to VTA's budget projections for fiscal year 2026-27, ridership for the paratransit program is expected to grow significantly—from approximately 361,000 riders in 2024 to nearly 498,000 riders by 2027.
As the contract transition deadline looms, MV Transportation continues to press for further answers, particularly around what specific improvements in Transdev's proposal justified its selection. Shipman, in his letter to the board, questioned the lack of transparency around what differentiated the winning bid, emphasizing that greater disclosure is essential to maintaining public trust. VTA board members have not yet indicated whether they will take further action in response to the objections, but some have publicly stated they were uncomfortable with how the situation unfolded.
With just weeks remaining before the contract shift takes effect, attention now turns to how smoothly Transdev will assume operations of the VTA Access program and whether lingering doubts about the bidding process will prompt further scrutiny or procedural reforms within VTA’s procurement practices.
