Suburban holds contract
as parties face off in court
By vincent todaro
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — All three parties involved in the township’s decision to award its commuter bus contract to the Academy bus company are appealing a state Superior Court judge’s February decision.
According to the decision by Judge Alexander Waugh Jr., the contract that the township awarded last year to Academy was based on a municipal bid request that was too vague. He said Suburban Transit Corp., the longtime provider of busing from East Brunswick’s Route 18 commuter lots, understandably misconstrued the language in the contract request, and, therefore was not given a fair attempt to win the bid.
After heated discussions involving commuters, local officials and representatives of the two bus companies, the council voted 3-0 in August 2001 to award a three-year contract to Academy. The previous contract with Suburban expired Sept. 30.
Suburban immediately took legal action and sought an injunction against the execution of the contract, but was denied by Superior Court Judge Robert Longhi. It was later successful in securing a temporary injunction from Waugh.
All three parties have appealed Waugh’s decision, however, meaning the matter will likely be determined by a state Appellate Court. Bertrand Busch, the attorney who helped the township create its Request For Proposal (RFP) to solicit bids on the contract, spoke recently at a council meeting, and said township officials have decided to award an interim contract to Suburban.
The interim contract means Suburban will pay the township about $40,000 per month for use of its bus facilities, including garage, maintenance and other costs. The company has the exclusive right to use the township’s two Route 18 parking lots, where more than 2,000 commuters take the buses to and from New York City.
Under Suburban’s previously proposed contract, it would have paid $56,000 a month for use of the facility. The old contract had Suburban paying about $23,000 a month for the facility, Busch said. The interim contract, which the council authorized June 24, is retroactive to June 1, he said.
Commuters and other bus riders will be happy to know that fares will not be raised. A 10-trip ticket now costs $49.48, which is actually lower than the price under the old contract, Busch said. The contract Suburban proposed last year included this same price for a 10-trip ticket.
"They were charging [$49.48] since Oct. 1, and we wanted to get an assurance they would not increase that," Busch said.
Busch said he could not offer a time frame as to when the legal issues would be resolved.
The appeal process has already begun, with Suburban filing the first round of briefs, he said. There has been an extension of time granted for the responses to those briefs because Academy wants the township to proceed with a new RFP. He said Academy filed a separate motion asking that the township be directed to follow Judge Waugh’s decision that it proceed with a reissuance of its RFP in compliance with his guidelines.
The township is waiting for oral arguments to made before Judge Waugh. He said the township has not reissued an RFP because a conflict could arise if another contract is awarded while the lawsuits are ongoing.
"If the township accepts bids for a three- or four-year contract, it might conflict with what the Appellate Court might say," Busch said.
In his February decision, Waugh ruled that the bid request was "inartfully drafted," and was thus vague and confusing. He also said that neither company’s bids completely met the terms of what the township was seeking in its request.
Mayor William Neary at the time defended the township’s bid request, saying it was "clear and understandable."
"However, we knew that the potential for a challenge by the losing party was almost a certainty," he said.
"I’m frustrated with this process," he said. "I’m appalled at the costs the taxpayers were required to spend when we are virtually back to where we started."
Though Busch is assisting with the court briefs in the matter, the township is being represented by attorney John Casey. Busch is a witness in the case due to his involvement in drafting the RFP.