The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission’s (PRTC) board awarded Keolis Transit Services LLC a five-year contract to operate and maintain its OmniRide bus service in Northern Virginia. Keolis will begin operating the OmniRide service Nov. 1 and has already begun changeover activities to ensure a smooth transition that will be invisible to riders.

Keolis provides mobility services to millions of passengers in the U.S. With the rider experience at the forefront, the contractor carries over 100 million passengers each year on local, commuter, paratransit, and commuter rail services in 12 cities.

In the competitive procurement process, PRTC officials said Keolis impressed the agency’s evaluation committee with its extensive knowledge of the region as the operator of VRE, its nationally and internationally renowned best practices with bus service, and the in-person interview.

In June 2019, the Commission authorized OmniRide to conduct a new procurement for operations and maintenance contractor services. The new procurement was not due to performance issues with the previous contractor, but because the contract was expiring and OmniRide is required to issue a new procurement. Also, OmniRide wants to further evolve the operations and maintenance contract due to major changes in service design, new technologies, and the planned opening later this year of a new OmniRide maintenance facility near I-66 and the Prince William Parkway.