City of Hamilton report suggests contracted operator to run LRT

A City of Hamilton report is recommending an external contractor operate and maintain the LRT system for the next 10 years, a decision the Amalgamated Transit Union is calling “not acceptable.”

The report suggests that while the city focuses on direct passenger relations in areas such as customer service and security, all other operations would be contracted out to third party groups.

These contracted operations would be inclusive of facility control and maintenance, along with actually driving the vehicles themselves.

It proposes a 10-year contract to allow the LRT to get up-and-running before a decision is made whether to continue the use of private contractors.

This use of third party operators, supported by consultant Dennis Fletcher and Associates, is what the report says will lead to the least “risk” to the city while reaching what could be the lowest costs possible to run the LRT.

The lower costs are anticipated by the report to be possible given that the procurement process for operators typically involves multiple bidders proposing competitive prices, “driving prices down as each participant tries to offer the most competitive pricing to win the contract.”

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However, the report did not offer concrete estimates of what the true operating costs would be under any of the four models proposed to run the LRT.

President of ATU Local 107 Eric Tuck says a move to private operation is entirely unacceptable.

“In 2014 when it was proposed for the LRT, it was a $3.2-billion project of taxpayers’ money. One of the things that was promised was that it would bring good community benefits. Part of those community benefits are good paying jobs,”

He continued, “If you look at the privatized system in transit, you will find that they cut costs on the backs of workers.”

The use of private companies in public transportation is not new. The LRT line in Kitchener-Waterloo has run through a private operator without concerns.

A similar model is used in Ottawa, where the 30-year-old system that is run through this city-private partnership has faced a seemingly endless series of issues.

The recommendation will next move to the city’s LRT subcommittee on Monday.

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