Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) has awarded Keolis North America (Keolis) a contract to operate fixed route bus services in partnership with the agency from the Anaheim and Irvine/Sand Canyon bases. The contract will go into effect beginning June 11, 2023, and contains two two-year options.
OCTA’s Board noted Keolis’ experience, strong organizational structure and workforce development as key reasons in the decision to award the contract. Keolis has shown support for employee programs with training and staffing plans that make work in transit an attractive career opportunity. Keolis’ approach to recruitment and retention is key in delivering safe and reliable service for passengers and assisting transit agencies in growing ridership.
“At Keolis, we’re extremely proud to be entrusted with providing safe and reliable transit services to the residents and visitors of Orange County, California,” said Keolis North America CEO David Scorey. “While the public transit industry is facing a challenging labor market, Keolis has employed every tool in the toolbox to help our partner agencies attract and retain top talent, and we have a plan in place to help OCTA do just that.”
As part of this contract, Keolis will be responsible for approximately 40 percent of OCTA’s fixed-route bus operations. Contracting enables OCTA to offer passengers even more service without compromising service safety, reliability and quality. Savings realized through contracting will OCTA to reinvest in service and provide an additional 150,000 revenue service hours of bus operations.
In selecting Keolis for this contract, OCTA referenced the relocation of key personnel with previous experience being accountable for operations and maintenance at networks with similar size and configuration to OCTA’s two operations bases. Keolis will implement a comprehensive work plan that emphasizes safety, the passenger experience and data monitoring and analytic software for maintenance and operations.
