Blow the Whistle: Pay to Play

I’ve gotten similar unsoliscited emails (below the fold) from a group three times recently. Accepting such an offer is against the law of my ultimate employer, as well as backed up by additional policies by my direct employer. That said, this behavior is still legal in many states, which is why it still occurs.

My name is … and I’m hosting a group of Transit Directors from around the country for a meeting that focuses on how we can help each other. I’m hoping you’re available to join us. A private grant covers all expenses, so there’s no cost to you or your agency. 

The group will consist of 50 Transit Directors  and we’re going to cover a range of topics that you help select. A few of the current topics include: finding innovative funding sources, alternative fuels, best practices in bus fleet replacement and strategies for finding local, state and federal grants.

45 grants have already being awarded. We have room for just a few more directors. If you manage 50 or more transit vehicles, I urge you to apply soon! 

If there’s an interest, please complete the application by this Thursday, December 10th. The remaining grants will be awarded before the end of the year.

The Participant Brochure has some interesting insights into what they plan to go on as well:

The Transit Bus Summit is not an event where you hope networking happens. It’s an event where you’re guaranteed to meet professionals at your level who have similar responsibilities. Over two activity packed days, a customized agenda will introduce you to dozens of these transit bus executives. And you’re going to meet with senior representatives from the vendor community who will share TED-like case studies on how they’re approaching transit challenges in the US, Canada and around the world (emphasis added). And best of all, there’s no cost to you or your organization to attend. A grant covers all travel, hotel, meal and conference costs.

So, they’re providing direct (and I’m sure, without competition) access to Transit Managers for a price, couching this in productivity. There’s a phrase for this type of behavior: “Pay to Play.” A seller pays to gain special access to their prospective buyer. It has come under fire in electoral, financial, and medical contexts.

What they say to the suppliers that will cover the price of admission should not be surprising:

bus_summit_supplier

At best, this is shardy behavior. Assuming the worst, this is scary. There are a small number of infamously bad companies in the market. If they gain them direct access to shape specifications for procurement, the legacy of bad purchases can be crippling.

If someone has the ability to investigate the attendees, both public and private, of prior summits and the purchases and prices paid for equipment sold by suppliers, the results could be interesting. If the attendee list from the transit summits aren’t available, the company covers other businesses as well:

[O]ur organization now focuses on providing quality and focused meetings between high-value attendees and industry suppliers in niche marketplaces. These marketplaces include transit, transportation, waste, public works, and agriculture.

I understand the reason for putting these summits together– the lack of capacity within the industry to easily gather information on something you know you need, but don’t exactly know what it is.  One of the reasons why I ramble on this blog is to provide an option that is apart from that, aside from the vendor-driven forums that exist. Greater capacity in the public sector is never a bad thing to have.

 

 

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