Innovative Transport and Logistics Solutions, the private Pensacola based contractor Escambia County hired in 2017 to provide public transportation for people with disabilities, will retain its contract despite owing the county nearly half a million dollars in fuel expenses and racking up annual expenses that are nearly equivalent to what the county spends to run regular bus route operations for Escambia County Area Transit.
The board discussed the issue at its Sept. 4 meeting when Escambia County Administrator Wes Moreno submitted a recommendation on the agenda to terminate the county’s contract with ITL due to contract violations including an unpaid fuel bill of $472,088.37 and for exceeding the number of trips authorized for coverage by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the county.
Covering ITL Solutions’ fuel costs is not part of its agreement with the county.
ITL’s attorney spoke to the board saying he has it “in writing” that ITL was allowed to use county fuel at the county’s expense.
“Who gave the order to get the gas without it being in the contract? That’s a problem for me,” Kohler asked.
“We have a sworn statement from Mr. (Rodriques) Kimbrough that that was not only a point that he was aware of, but had become a subsequent conversation,” attorney Eric Mead said.
Rodriques Kimbrough left his position as mass transit director on Nov. 18, 2024, and Thaddeus Davenport started immediately after Kimbrough left.
Moreno said Kimbrough’s departure did not have anything to do with ITL fuel situation, but he left for other reasons that Moreno did not disclose to the press. Kimbrough arrived at the Sept. 4 board meeting during the discussion about the ITL contract, but he did not speak and remained in the audience.
Instead of terminating the contract, some board members pushed for Moreno to work with ITL on repaying the fuel bill and allowing ITL to continue to provide mandated ADA paratransit services while the county attempts to renegotiate the contract.
“I would hope that we can work something out that’s beneficial for our citizens with disabilities as well as fits within our budget,” said Escambia Commissioner Lumon May, who is also chairman of the Escambia County Transportation Disadvantaged Board, which provides transportation to citizens with disabilities.
Paratransit services almost as much ECAT services
Although unrelated, Moreno’s recommendation to terminate the contract by Sept. 30 came around the same time Escambia County Clerk of Court Pam Childers conducted a financial review of ITL and found the cost of outsourcing paratransit to ITL appears to be disproportional to the cost of operating the entire mass transit system.
“Comparing expenditures shows that utilizing ITL for paratransit cost the County $4.35M in FY2024 while the ECAT Mass Transit bus route operations cost the County $4.42M in the FY2024,” the budget review said.
The cost of running paratransit is so much more expensive because the paratransit agreement with ITL pays on a per trip basis and operates on 24-hours a day, six days a week, which is unusual for most ADA systems and a significant driver of cost.
Moreno, Childers and Interim Mass Transit Director Thaddeus Davenport said it would cost less to provide the same services in-house, which the county planned to do through its “FlexTransit” service after terminating the contract with ITL.
FlexTransit provides on-demand, door-to-door, shared-ride transportation for citizens on a first-come, first-served basis, and can provide ADA and Transportation Disadvantaged services. The county says it has already been providing these services since ITL Solutions reduced operating hours on Aug. 6, 2025.
Childers made a similar recommendation in her financial analysis of ITL Solutions.
“The County should re-evaluate the cost and overhead attributable to outsourcing paratransit service to a third-party vendor and consider the in-house options of operating a paratransit service,” the analysis said.
However, some board members, including commissioners May, Steven Barry, and Ashlee Hofberger, suggested keeping ITL for now and giving Moreno more time to re-negotiate the contract in more favorable terms for the county and to recoup the more than $470,000 in fuel costs.
“We would receive a complaint—either phone call or email—about once a week when First Transit was doing it before,” Barry said. “Since we made the change to ITL, I can’t remember three phone calls or emails in eight years of complaints about the service itself.”
A string of people spoke in favor of the service prior to discussion, asking commissioners to reconsider their agreement with ITL because they worked with disabled riders and went the extra mile to make sure they made it to work, doctor’s visits and other necessary appointments.
“You really feel safe with them,” rider Theresa Bourns said. “They know all their clients’ names and make sure they are always well taken care of. They get you there and they get you back.”
Several of the board members agreed that the costs need to be cut, but May said it’s difficult to remain compliant with ADA regulations and provide the unique transportation services people with disabilities need when some work odd hours with a set schedule and require extra care.
ECAT administrators say that means ITL is often providing transportation for just one person at a time, which raises fuel and per-trip costs, while ECAT can coordinate through its FlexTransit service and schedule transportation for more than one person at a time.
Hofberger agreed the service needed to be more efficient but pointed out the county would not necessarily be ready to assume the responsibility of the work or have another service provider in place before Sept. 30.
Ultimately, the board agreed to give Moreno more time to renegotiate with ITL Solutions.
What’s next for Escambia County and ITL Solutions
Moreno is meeting with ITL again this week to determine if they can re-negotiate acceptable terms, but he expects it could take weeks, if at all, to come a new agreement.
“The immediate priority for the county is to be made whole for the outstanding fuel costs,” Moreno said. “The county is evaluating if it’s beneficial for both parties moving forward.”
If the contract is not renewed, the county will bring the paratransit services in-house for now and a new Request for Proposal will be issued to find a new contractor that can “ensure success for both the county and the contractor.”
Who runs ITL Solutions LLC?
Escambia County contracted Innovative Transport and Logistics Solutions LLC to provide paratransit services in 2017.
According to Florida’s Division of Corporations website, it’s registered and managed by Harold Griffin, Jr., who is also treasurer for the Escambia Pensacola Human Relations Commission, which is set to be dissolved by the end of the year.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Paratransit provider owes Escambia $470K for gas and cost $4.35M – almost as much as ECAT
Reporting by Mollye Barrows, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
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