The Municipal Systems Program is provided through a partnership between BC Transit, local government, and a transit management company. This partnership is formalized through operating agreements: a Master Operating Agreement (MOA) and an Annual Operating Agreement (AOA). The AOA is renewed on an annual basis.

The selection of the transit management company is conducted through a public Request For Proposal process and is undertaken on a five-year cycle. The exceptions to this process are systems operated by public organizations (Regional District of Nanaimo, City of Nelson, District of Powell River and the Sunshine Coast Regional District), and non-profit societies with small annual transit budgets (<$200,000).

Examples of Operating Agreements

• Master Operating Agreement (194k PDF)
• Annual Operating Agreement (51k PDF)
• Sample Vehicle Lease Agreement (84k PDF) updated 29 August 2007

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Assignment of Responsibilities

BC Transit is responsible for the provision of funding, vehicles, professional planning, marketing services, contract administration, service audits and financial accounting.

The Municipality shares in the funding responsibilities, approves all service plans and tariffs, accounts for revenue, maintains all transit facilities (such as bus stops, exchanges, shelters, and benches). Municipalities that vigorously support transit through changes in land use development policies, parking policies, or Transportation Demand Management policies are the systems that will receive the greatest support in terms of expansion in the future.

The Operating company is responsible for the employment of drivers and mechanics and the operation of the service approved by the municipality.

• View a complete listing of areas of responsibility. (142k PDF file)

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Funding

The Regulations of the BC Transit Act set out the formula for sharing costs of transit between BC Transit and its Municipal transit partners.

• BC Transit's share of transit system funding is provided by the Provincial Government. BC Transit funds 46.69% of conventional transit systems and 66.69% of custom/paratransit systems. A system that is a combination of custom and conventional service will have a cost sharing percentage that reflects the level of each type of service.
• The Municipal share is made up of revenue from fares and property taxes. The Municipality uses revenue collected from the transit system (fares, advertising, etc.) to reduce the property tax share of costs. The proportion of total expenditures paid for by fares varies significantly from system to system, therefore, the percentage of expenditures paid from property taxes also varies by system.

Cost sharing for Custom transit differs as shown below:

Selection of a Transit Management Company

The selection of a company to manage and operate the transit system is conducted through a public Request for Proposal process. BC Transit, in consultation with the local government partner, requests proposals from companies, organizations or individuals to operate the transit system. The process is conducted every five years. BC Transit staff evaluate each proposal on the proponent's overall ability to operate the transit system by examining three main criteria:

• Company Profile
• Management Plan
• Cost

Occasionally, a Request for Expressions of Interest (REI) to manage a transit system may be issued instead of an RFP. Evaluation criteria and process will be outlined separately for each REI. Once an REI process has identified a short list of transit management company candidates, a Request for Proposals may be issued at a second stage to make a selection.

• Information on Requests for Proposals and Expressions of Interest

Fleet Support

BC Transit provides, owns and certifies the Municipal Systems fleet. The fleet for the conventional and custom /paratransit programs are managed as a unit, which allows for the movement of vehicles to locations around the Province where they are best suited. There are a variety of fuel types currently in use throughout the Province from gas, CNG, and propane to the use of clean #1 Diesel. All new conventional transit buses meet or exceed North American emission standards.

All new conventional buses purchased since 1992 have been low-floor vehicles, which now make up about two-thirds of the conventional fleet.

During 1999/00, 51 Dennis Dart 30' low-floor buses were delivered in the Municipal Systems. These buses, which are smaller and more "neighborhood friendly" than previous low-floor vehicles, have significantly enhanced accessibility in the Municipal Systems, including the introduction of accessible conventional service in several communities.