It didn’t take long for NJ Transit to forgive Academy Bus, LLC.
The Hoboken bus company has landed four NJ Transit bus contracts in the last year — despite its ongoing payments toward a $20.5 million settlement over allegations that it defrauded the agency and stranded thousands of customers for more than six years.
Three of the contracts were awarded on an “emergency” basis without going out to bid. And in the other case, Academy was the only company to bid on the contract.
A fifth contract was awarded to Academy earlier this year but rescinded after NJ Transit’s chief procurement officer took issue with how the bids were scored.
NJ Transit should be looking for ways to increase competition, said Marc Pfeiffer, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Urban Policy Research at Rutgers University.
Last May, Academy was awarded an $81.7 million contract to handle nine routes in Passaic County for five years. It was the only bidder. The cost of that contract was 70% higher than the prior contract for those routes, which was for two additional years.
Pfeiffer questioned whether agency officials could have broken up the contract or tweaked it to encourage more competition.
“Why didn’t anybody else bid?” Pfeiffer said. “Was there anything about the (request for proposal) that would have turned off the other bidders? Is this the best way to contract for this service if you only have one bidder?”
mycentraljersey.com, May 12, 2025