New bus provider coming to Tillsonburg

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg will have a new bus provider, starting April 1.

Council approved a bid from OnexBus of Brampton through an RFP process that will save more than $800,000 over the five-year term of the contract.

OnexBus of Brampton and the current provider Voyago were the only companies to submit bids in the RFP process. The submissions were evaluated on a variety of weighted criteria, including cost, qualifications, experience, and vehicle specifications. Onex scored 88.67, compared to Voyago’s 86.86.

The total cost of OnexBus over five years is $1.31 million, compared to Voyago’s $2.20 million.

Mayor Deb Gilvesy said she wanted to reach out ot another municipality for a reference, but didn’t find any that used OnexBus.

“I couldn’t find any municipality where they did daily bus service,” she said to Director of Operations Carlos Reyes. “Is Tillsonburg going to be a test pilot for this company and this service?”

Reyes answered that it was a new company started in 2018 that had been providing transit from London to Toronto and from Toronto to Ottawa. The company had been providing extra buses to Brampton and Brantford.

“This will be the first five-day-a-week operation,” he said.

The operation will be supervised by the town’s transit coordinator, who will ensure the service is being provided. Answering a further question from the mayor about whether there was a clause the town could opt out of if it was not happy with the service, Reyes said there was.

Coun. Chris Parker asked why the contract is for five years, instead of two or three. Reyes explained that the company will have to purchase equipment, and it can be better amortized over five years.

Deputy Mayor Dave Beres pointed out the OnexBus vehicles don’t have the exact accessibility lift as specified in the contract.

Saying the vehicle is compliant with regulations, Reyes said, “The only difference we will see between this contractor and the last contractor is minor changes in the equipment.”

Expanding on that point, Coun. Pete Luciani said the past specification was a low deck for accessibility, but the OnexBus vehicle will have a lift. He asked if this would create a problem.

Ryes said the RFP specified a low deck, but the lift can be used.

Gilvesy sought assurances that there was a plan to inform the town’s residents about the change, and asked where residents would go if they had questions. Reyes said the town is still the first point of contact, and the company’s contact information will be shared if there is follow-up.

Coun. Chris Rosehart asked how the cost would be covered. Gilvesy said it would be covered by gas tax revenue and the levy, but it was significantly less than the budgeted amount.

Council passed the motion to contract OnexBus from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2031, at a cost of $1,305,240.