Local bus operators are calling out Tri-Board Student Transportation, along with the three school boards they provide busing for.
Earlier this month, Quinte News released information about bus route tenders awarded earlier this year.
CLICK HERE for that story
It showcased how none of the companies who received the busing contracts starting next year, had local ownership.
The closest was Burlington, while others had ownership in the United States, France, and Germany.
One bus operator tells us all the current local operators lost the first ever Request for Proposals (RFP) process.
Tri-Board CEO Jeremy DaCosta told Quinte News earlier this month they evaluated bids based on safety, delivery, and price.
He said price was 25 per cent, while safety, technical elements, and delivery of service was 75 per cent.
In total there were 11 bids, with five companies being awarded more than 600 routes.
Craig Smith, who owns C Smith Bus Lines, says they struggled with the bidding process.
https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1977/files/2025/12/craig-smith-1.mp3
“We don’t do multiple R.F.P’s. This is the first R.F.P in Tri-Board, so it’s very difficult for my team to answer everything 100-per cent. It was really weighted towards the multinational companies.
Smith says prior to the RFP, local bus operators would bid and negotiate together and accept the same rate (equation based on students, distances, fleet).
He added that some other local companies knew the RFP was coming and they elected to sell their operations to the big operators.
The operator, whose family began running buses in 1951, told us there will not be one of the 600-plus routes that was awarded to a local owner.
He says they lost on paperwork, not performance or price.
In fact, Smith tells us they scored the best on price of all those that bid.
A key factor for rating safety is through what is called the Commercial Vehicle Operator’s Registration.
The Ministry of Transportation tracks collisions, convictions, looks at inspections, driver training, and more.
Although Smith did not allude to which international company he was referring to, he said his company has a safer track record.
https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1977/files/2025/12/craig-smith-2.mp3
“My violation rate would be right around nine per cent and I would estimate theirs at about 80-per cent.”
He says problems and deficiencies within the staff or the fleet would be included in a violation rate.
Smith says they pulled the plates off two buses belonging to one of the internationally owned companies that received Tri-Board routes for next September.
C Smith Bus Lines has close to 19 per cent of all Tri-Board routes (currently).
He says the C.V.O.R was not even a part of the bidding process, until after Tri-Board awarded the contracts.
Quinte News also talked with the CEO of McCoy Bus Services in Kingston, which also lost all of its routes with Tri-Board following the RFP.
https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1977/files/2025/12/shawn-geary-1.mp3
“No consideration for local, independently owned school bus operators, who have been operating school buses in the region for many, many years.”
https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1977/files/2025/12/shawn-geary-2.mp3
“It was more so, who can write the best story, provide the lowest price and Tri-Board chose companies, some of which are American owned or European owned, where the profits now are not going to be travelling outside of the region.”
Earlier this month Bill 72 received royal assent at Queen’s Park.
The Buy Ontario Act aims to prioritize Ontario-made services and goods, when it comes to the process of public procurement.
Geary says it is unfortunate the bill was finalized after the tenders were awarded.
He added the international companies are able to submit the gold medal of bids, written to the highest standards, as they do it multiple times a year.
This was Tri-Board’s first ever RFP.
https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1977/files/2025/12/shawn-geary-3.mp3
“There was a qualification in the R.F.P, in the request for proposal that talked about safety record, and you had to provide just a satisfactory safety record, but there was no question about what is your overall safety violation rate? Some of these companies have very high safety violation rates, compared to local operators, who very often have very low safety violation rates.”
https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/1977/files/2025/12/shawn-geary-4.mp3
“My company has one of the lowest safety violations in the industry. From a reliability perspective, my company missed one bus, missed one day, out of 13 school bus runs that I had in the entire school year that I had from 24 to 25.”
Tri-Board has 617 routes with 31,032 riders, taken to 138 different schools, with buses travelling nearly 62,000 kilometres of roadway.
C. Smith Bus Lines has submitted a formal appeal to Tri-Board and there has been active recruiting by the tender winners to begin hiring bus operators.