Lay-off notices have been issued to 463 people in Oceanside and 14 in Escondido employed by MV Transportation, a national company that manages bus drivers, bus maintenance workers and related jobs for North County Transit District.
The notices, required by state law, went out because NCTD plans to end outside contracting for the management of those workers and instead employ them in-house as a cost-saving measure. The current seven-year contract expires June 30.
“It is anticipated that the vast majority of union employees will continue to work directly with NCTD,” Chief of Staff Mary Dover said in an email Monday. “In areas where the contract company has management that may be redundant with NCTD, we are evaluating those positions to make sure we are structured effectively.”
The move is one of several the district has made or intends to make to streamline operations because of rising costs and static or declining revenue streams. At a meeting last week, the board discussed the possibility of raising fares for the first time in about five years.
“NCTD is transitioning its bus operations in-house to improve the customer and employee experience and find efficiencies by managing all of our operations directly,” Dover said. “As we integrate the operation, we will have a better understanding of the potential cost savings.”
The notices were required by the state’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, which states that employers must notify employees and state and local representatives before any mass layoffs, plant closure or relocation.
The NCTD board of directors agreed at a December 2022 meeting to proceed with the transition to in-house operations of Breeze buses and Lift and Flex on-demand transportation services.
Officials said at the time that employees would be paid higher wages under district management. An official from Teamsters Local 542, the union representing bus operators and maintenance workers, said the employees ed the change.
Breeze buses carried almost 4.9 million engers in fiscal year 2023-24, an increase of 8.3% from the previous year, according to the district’s annual report.
The system has more than 30 routes covering about 1,000 square miles stretching along the coast from Camp Pendleton to the VA Medical Center in La Jolla and inland to Fallbrook, Escondido and Ramona.
MV Transportation was founded in 1975 to provide transportation services to disabled persons in San Francisco. It has contracts with more than 200 public agencies and private companies in the United States and Canada.
Before contracting with MV Transportation, the transit district had an agreement with the company First Transit, which had employed the drivers since 2010.
NCTD transferred its Coaster and Sprinter trains to in-house operation in 2023. Those services previously were operated for several years by Bombardier Transportation, and 100 of the Bombardier staff transferred to employment with NCTD when the ended.
“That transition has been successful,” Dover said. “NCTD has gained control over the operation and is able to provide an enhanced customer experience for our riders.”
Coaster commuter trains cover 41 miles with eight states from Oceanside to downtown San Diego. The Sprinter route is 22 miles with 15 stations between Oceanside and Escondido.
