Recall, too, that Reliant was also the only beneficiary of de Blasio’s $42 million grant to school-bus companies. The money was meant to pay employees, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the court demanded reforms that saved the city millions.

In any event, the rationale for taking over any bus company is a mystery. Providing grants and protections to these companies has “undermined the fairness and savings of a competitive procurement, and it’s unclear that public ownership will yield any improvements in service and especially cost,” said Citizens Budget Commission fiscal expert Maria Doulis.