Winston-Salem bus contract change could result in loss of 184 jobs – Business North Carolina

A change in the contract provider for Winston-Salem’s bus service could result in the loss of 184 jobs, according to a filing with the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Transdev Services plans to lay off the workers on July 31 after the city selected a new company to provide bus service.

“All terminations are expected to be permanent, although we anticipate a new employer will take over the contract, and we plan to coordinate with them regarding the transfer of current employees,” said Laura Bass, Transdev’s human resources director, in a letter to the state.

The layoffs include 62 bus operators, 10 dispatchers and 24 maintenance workers. The workers are represented by Transport Workers Union Local #248 in Winston-Salem.

The city, which has contracted with Transdev since 2010, is switching its service to RATP Dev, the world’s third-largest public transportation operator.

The RATP Dev contract with Winston-Salem is for an initial term of five years, with the option for renewal for up to two additional years, subject to mutual agreement between the city and RATP Dev The contract, which starts Aug. 1, is for $218 million over the course of seven years.

It’s RATP Dev’s seventh active contract in North Carolina. It also provides bus service in Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wake County, Durham and Greensboro.

The company was founded in Paris in 1900 and opened in time for the Paris World’s Fair that year.

Transdev, which is also based in France, is the largest private operator of public transportation in the United States. It operates the Burlington Link bus service, the Concord and Kannapolis bus service called Rider, and Wave Transit in Wilmington, as well as the Wolfline on the N.C. State University campus.