A shuttle bus navigates through a parking lot at Denver International Airport. (Courtesy Denver International Airport)
Denver International Airport is preparing to bring in a new firm to operate its shuttle buses.
Airport leadership has asked the Denver City Council to award a $371.1 million contract to Connecticut-based LAZ Parking. The contract would run for seven years, with three one-year extension options.
A council committee advanced the contract last week. The full council will vote on it in the coming weeks.
The shuttles run between the airport’s parking lots and the terminal, serving both employees and those flying in and out.
The deal would be the largest operations and management contract for the airport, per DIA spokeswoman Stephanie Figueroa. The airport’s contract for the subway system between concourses and the terminal is $161.9 million, for instance, while janitorial and snow removal services are contracted at $182.9 million.
ABM currently operates the airport’s buses. That contract, for $190 million, began in February 2017, expires at the end of January 2025 and is administered by ABM, Figueroa said.
The contract with LAZ would start in February 2025.
Figueroa did not get into specifics regarding the change in providers, only noting that airport staff “selected LAZ as the best proposer” from a pool of four applicants: SP+, ACE Parking, ABM and LAZ. ABM and the airport, however, have faced scrutiny in the past from Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien for not fully complying with the contract.
LAZ operates over 120 transportation programs nationwide, including LAX and several other international airports, per DIA’s presentation to the committee.
The shuttle contract is a cost-plus structure, meaning the contractor is reimbursed for expenses and then paid a management fee on top of that. The contract cost includes the procurement of up to 65 compressed natural gas buses to upgrade the airport’s fleet.
The current airport fleet consists of 16 smaller cutaway buses, 10 of which were built in 2022, with the other six completed in 2016. The rest of the fleet consists of 30 standard 40-foot buses from 2017 and 29 from 2009. Mark Nagel, DIA senior vice president of parking and commercial transportation, told the council committee the oldest buses have racked up an average of 531,000 miles.
The average life cycle of a shuttle bus is 12-14 years, he added.
DIA will separately procure eight smaller electric buses, then be leased back to LAZ to manage as part of the agreement. The airport hopes to test the vehicles’ durability in the harsh winter climate by piloting them in smaller shuttle lots, Nagel said.
A shuttle bus navigates through a parking lot at Denver International Airport. (Courtesy Denver International Airport)
Denver International Airport is preparing to bring in a new firm to operate its shuttle buses.
Airport leadership has asked the Denver City Council to award a $371.1 million contract to Connecticut-based LAZ Parking. The contract would run for seven years, with three one-year extension options.
A council committee advanced the contract last week. The full council will vote on it in the coming weeks.
The shuttles run between the airport’s parking lots and the terminal, serving both employees and those flying in and out.
The deal would be the largest operations and management contract for the airport, per DIA spokeswoman Stephanie Figueroa. The airport’s contract for the subway system between concourses and the terminal is $161.9 million, for instance, while janitorial and snow removal services are contracted at $182.9 million.
ABM currently operates the airport’s buses. That contract, for $190 million, began in February 2017, expires at the end of January 2025 and is administered by ABM, Figueroa said.
The contract with LAZ would start in February 2025.
Figueroa did not get into specifics regarding the change in providers, only noting that airport staff “selected LAZ as the best proposer” from a pool of four applicants: SP+, ACE Parking, ABM and LAZ. ABM and the airport, however, have faced scrutiny in the past from Denver Auditor Timothy O’Brien for not fully complying with the contract.
LAZ operates over 120 transportation programs nationwide, including LAX and several other international airports, per DIA’s presentation to the committee.
The shuttle contract is a cost-plus structure, meaning the contractor is reimbursed for expenses and then paid a management fee on top of that. The contract cost includes the procurement of up to 65 compressed natural gas buses to upgrade the airport’s fleet.
The current airport fleet consists of 16 smaller cutaway buses, 10 of which were built in 2022, with the other six completed in 2016. The rest of the fleet consists of 30 standard 40-foot buses from 2017 and 29 from 2009. Mark Nagel, DIA senior vice president of parking and commercial transportation, told the council committee the oldest buses have racked up an average of 531,000 miles.
The average life cycle of a shuttle bus is 12-14 years, he added.
DIA will separately procure eight smaller electric buses, then be leased back to LAZ to manage as part of the agreement. The airport hopes to test the vehicles’ durability in the harsh winter climate by piloting them in smaller shuttle lots, Nagel said.
