A bid to select the companies that will provide school transportation for Puerto Rico’s Education Department next year has set off a new dispute between the government and bus operators. José Rosado Rolón, president of the Federation of School Carriers, said about 76 companies that currently provide the service were not selected, which he said would leave too few operators in Adjuntas, Maricao, Sabana Grande, Trujillo Alto, San Juan, Maunabo, Fajardo and San Lorenzo, among others.
"More than 70 companies are left out, and they are among the companies that move the most buses," he said. The General Services Administration (ASG), led by Karla Mercado, ran the bid at Education’s request, the first formal bid for this service in about 10 years; contracts had been renewed yearly through extraordinary mechanisms. Of 223 proposals submitted, 146 were accepted.
Mercado said the work began last fiscal year as a requirement to access federal funds and to estimate the real cost of school transportation. The award was completed in September, but it is only the first phase: a bid for special education transportation and a second phase for uncovered routes remain. Rosado Rolón said some companies were disqualified over missing documents or criteria they did not consider essential, and that the original award flagged 19 companies for collusion, a reference removed in an amended version issued last week.
Mercado said the SAM federal identification number was mandatory and several firms lacked it, and that the collusion flags were dropped on appeal because officers with the same names were different people. Unselected bidders have until Friday to appeal. Rosado Rolón said dozens of cases will be filed.