CINCINNATI — The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) Board voted to award a turnkey contract to operate the Cincinnati streetcar to Transdev, WVXU reported.  

The company will manage the system and hire its own private operators. The alternate plan was for a "management" approach where current transit union workers would operate the streetcars, according to the report.

The different plans led to months of debate and Cincinnati city council not being able to pick a plan, which left the final decision to SORTA, reported WVXU.  

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After much deliberation, adherence to Federal, state and SORTA procurement guidelines, and with the utmost professionalism, today the SORTA Board awarded the Cincinnati Streetcar operating and maintenance fixed-price, turn-key contract to Transdev Services Inc.

Transdev is a highly respected transportation management firm that operates transit and rail systems in the U.S. and around the world, including the nation’s largest streetcar system in New Orleans.

The procurement process was rigorous, thorough, and conducted with the highest level of integrity. I would like to commend the SORTA and City representatives on a job well done. The contract is within the budget established by the City and meets the service levels in the Federal grant applications.

We will make procurement information public today, consistent with Federal procurement requirements. As permitted by open records law, the proposers have been given the opportunity to redact information that is considered proprietary.

SORTA is now focused on the bigger picture of finding alternative funding resources, expanding transit service, and meeting the needs of the region in connecting people to jobs. We continue to move forward.