Laidlaw is low school bus bidder
By Caitlyn Kelleher Journal Staff Reporter

The district could be seeing a more than $200,000 increase in bus transportation, based on a bid from Laidlaw Transit Company.

The transportation subcommittee of the Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School Committee reviewed two bids for a new bus contract on Dec. 11. The recommendation will be presented to the full school committee at their Dec. 19 meeting for a vote on whether to award the bid.

“I expected them to be higher,” said Gwen Farley, a subcommittee member.

The district issued a request for bids for bus transportation this year, after ending a five-year contract with First Student. The old contract expires on June 30, 2007 and the new contract will become effective July 1, 2007.

Laidlaw and First Student bus companies were the only two companies that bid to provide bus service for the regular education students.

Laidlaw’s bid was $1,377,360 for the first year of the contract, which increases by 2.7 percent for the second and third year of the contract. The contract also includes an optional fourth and fifth year, with a five percent increase in cost.

Business Administrator Sherry Kersey said the district can seek a new contract between either year if it thinks a better price can be achieved or if they are not happy with the service.

Kersey said the actual cost of the contract will decrease before the contract is signed because Laidlaw calculated too many days of kindergarten buses and late buses.

First Student bid $1,561,158 for the first year with a 2.9 percent increase of the next two years.

Kersey called Laidlaw’s references and told the subcommittee “everybody was very pleaseed with their services.”

The buses must be required to be garaged in either Ashburnham or Westminster, according to the contract, so that one of the towns gets the excise taxes from the buses.

The committee will ask the bus company to review the routes to try to get the most efficient service for students.

“If you are going to do major changes to the route you have to be public and have a lot of front time,” cautioned Laura Weiderman, a subcommittee member.