Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Jim Eggemeyer, Director, Office of Sustainability
Subject: Agreement with Chariot to Provide Commuter Shuttle Services for the San Mateo County Commuter Bus Program
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution waiving the Request for Proposals Process and jury service ordinance requirements, and authorizing the Director of the Office of Sustainability to execute an Agreement with Chariot for the provision of commuter shuttle services for a term of October 17, 2017 to December 31, 2018, in an amount not to exceed $1,200,000.
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BACKGROUND:
During the San Mateo County Innovation Summit of 2015, a team of County employees brought forth an idea for the County to provide a commuter bus service for employees. This bus service would reduce congestion in the region’s roadways, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from single occupancy vehicles, and alleviate some parking demand in both the County Government Center and the San Mateo Medical Center, all while providing a benefit for County employees.
On February 3, 2016, the Office of Sustainability (OOS) released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide comprehensive commuter bus service for County employees. The OOS received proposals from three different vendors after the RFP closed. After evaluation of the three proposals and in-person interviews, Transmetro, Inc. was selected as the preferred vendor and began providing commuter bus services to the County Center and the San Mateo Medical Center from the North County, East Bay, and South Bay in August/September 2016. All three routes operate during peak commute times in both the morning and afternoon. Since its launch, the Commuter Bus Pilot Program has provided over 41,000 rides to County employees with an average of 125 employees utilizing the service per month. Service under the current contract with Transmetro will run through December 1, 2017, with a maximum contract amount of $2,581,787.
DISCUSSION:
Since June 2017, the Office of Sustainability has undertaken a comprehensive review of the County’s Commute Alternatives Program including review of the Commuter Bus Pilot Program. As a part of the review, the County has retained Nelson\Nygaard, a commute programs consultant, to analyze existing conditions, conduct a peer review of industry best or proven practices, provide potential service delivery alternatives, and conduct an outreach campaign through surveys, focus groups, and tabling events.
Based on Nelson/Nygaard’s preliminary findings, it is recommended that the County continue to provide a commuter bus service from the East Bay and Northern San Mateo County with direct routes to County Center and the Medical Center and to eliminate the South Bay route due to low ridership as well as a lower density of county employees that live in the surrounding area. Additionally to improve cost effectiveness and program efficiencies, it is recommended that the pick-up and drop off times be consolidated to maximize ridership per route and minimize underutilization of the vehicles.
The Director of the Office of Sustainability requests a waiver of the Requests for Proposals process for the proposed one-year contract for a number of reasons. As noted above, the current service for the Commuter Bus Pilot Program is set to terminate on December 1, 2017, and the Office is still in the process of conducting its comprehensive review of the County’s Commute Alternatives Program in its entirety with Nelson/Nygaard. Continuation of the Commuter Bus Pilot Program, without a break in service, would allow for the completion of a comprehensive review of the full Commute Alternatives Program by Spring 2018, after which, the County will conduct an RFP for commuter bus service to commence in January 2019 which incorporates all of the recommendations from the review.
The Office of Sustainability has taken steps to ensure that the proposed contract reflects competitive service and pricing. County staff understands from Nelson/Nygaard that a one year contract term is not standard in the commuter bus industry and, therefore, as noted above the Office solicited quotes from three commuter bus companies as recommended by Nelson/Nygaard. All three quotes provided costs for a 14 passenger vehicle, all were able to provide a bike rack for up to 5 bikes, all vehicles included WIFI, and all quotes included an application that would provide detailed analytics on ridership by route and time. Finally, waiver of the RFP process will allow the new commuter bus vendor approximately six weeks before the contract’s starting date to prepare to deliver the requested services.
Following review of the quotes received, the Office of Sustainability has determined that the quote from Chariot is the best offer due to an increased number of pick-up times in both the morning and afternoon, the ability to provide an ADA compliant vehicle within 48 hours, a fleet of back-up vehicles that can be deployed if the county assigned vehicles are in service or have mechanical issues while on route, and a fixed cost per vehicle inclusive of vehicle cost, salary and benefits, insurance, and fuel and therefore recommends that the County enter into an agreement with Chariot for the provision of commuter bus services in an amount not to exceed $1,200,000 for the period of October 17, 2017 to December 31, 2018.
The Contractor has a collective bargaining agreement with its represented employees to provide three days of paid jury duty leave and therefore it is requested that the Board waive the jury service ordinance requirement. The proposed agreement contains all other agreement provisions that are required by the County ordinance code and administrative memoranda including, but not limited to, insurance, hold harmless, non-discrimination and living wage. County Counsel has reviewed and approved the Resolution and Agreement as to form.
Providing a commuter bus service for County employees contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of an Environmentally Conscious Community by reducing countywide Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles on roadways.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2017-18 Target |
|
Average driver rating per route as measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent |
4.5 |
|
Percent of buses that arrive at stops within 5 minutes of their scheduled departure time |
92% |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the agreement is October 17, 2017 through December 31, 2018 in an amount not to exceed $1,200,000. This Agreement will be funded through Net County Cost included in the Office of Sustainability’s FY 2017-19 Adopted Budget.