Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Jim Eggemeyer, Director, Office of Sustainability
Subject: Amended Agreement with Chariot Transit, Inc.
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing an amendment to the agreement with Chariot Transit for commuter bus services to fund the expanded vehicle capacity and pickup locations added the previous amendments, and for planned increased capacity on high-demand routes, increasing the contract amount by $650,000 for a new amount not-to-exceed amount of $1,850,000.
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BACKGROUND:
In October 2017, the Office of Sustainability entered an agreement with Chariot Transit, Inc., after soliciting quotes from three commuter bus companies and waiving the RFP process. This allowed for the continuation of commuter shuttle service while a comprehensive review of the County’s Commute Alternatives Program (CAP) was being conducted. The proposed contract with Chariot was competitively priced, and the waiver of the RFP process allowed approximately six weeks before the contract’s start date to deliver the requested services. Chariot Transit, Inc. demonstrated the ability to be responsive to the changing needs of the County, should additional changes be requested during the agreement period, based on the CAP review. The original contract not to exceed amount was $1,200,000 with a monthly cost of $97,140.
In December 2017, based on the recommendation from the County’s transportation consultant, Nelson\Nygaard, the Office of Sustainability launched the service with 10 Chariot vehicles rather than the initially proposed eight Chariot vehicles in order to meet a higher than expected demand on County routes during the initial launch. The Agreement was amended on December 1, 2017, adding a new pick-up location and increasing capacity on routes with high ridership. The amendment increased the monthly cost to $127,336.
In March 2018, the Office of Sustainability amended the existing contract with Chariot Transit, Inc. to expand the vehicle capacity on routes that were nearing full capacity, to add an additional pickup time on the East Bay to Health System route to better align with employee work schedules, and to add ADA-compliant stops at the Health System and 2000 Alameda stop locations. The monthly cost increased to $153,407.
In May 2018, the Office of Sustainability amended the existing contract with Chariot Transit, Inc. to add an additional service pickup at the Harbor Blvd. County location on the East Bay to County Center route. The monthly cost increased to $163,125.
DISCUSSION:
To date, over 17,3003 rides have been taken on Chariot by about 218 San Mateo County riders, which is equivalent to a savings of 7.8 Metric Tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The North County to County Center route accounts for the highest ridership at about 5,322 rides to date. Both East Bay routes (to County Center and the Health System) have also maintained high ridership counts, at about 8,000 combined rides to date. From December 2017 through April 2018, there has been a steady increase in monthly ridership, beginning with around 1,300 monthly rides in December 2017 and reaching about 1,900 monthly rides in April 2018. From December 2017 through April 2018, an average of 134 monthly unlimited passes are purchased by County employees, in addition to an average of about 28 10-ride packages.
The average Chariot driver rating is 4.7 (based on a scale from 1 being poor to 5 being excellent), and all routes have achieved an average 96 percent overall on-time performance, which exceeds the performance measure standards established for this contract agreement. The Office of Sustainability and Chariot have both received anecdotal testimonies that the shuttle service has reduced employee stress from commuting long distances, allowed for increased productivity during the workday, and improved overall employee happiness. In addition, all data pertaining to ridership, on-time performance, and ticket/pass purchases are available to County staff at all times. Chariot’s rider application interface is in a constant state of development, and will soon include an advance scheduling feature, which will allow for employees to book their rides for the entire week ahead of time.
The increased service frequency, number of vehicles, and number of pick-up locations have resulted in increased costs not accounted for in the original Agreement with Chariot. Based on the increased costs, staff recommends that the not-to-exceed amount for the existing Chariot contract be increased by $650,000 to $1,850,000, through December 15, 2018. This increase takes into account the route and schedule changes that have previously been made and allows for the potential addition of service to other County campus locations.
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the agreement and resolution as to form.
Providing a commuter bus service to additional County employees contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of an Environmentally Conscious Community by lowering countywide Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by reducing the number of single occupancy vehicles on roadways.
PERFORMANCE MEASURE:
|
Measure |
FY 2017-18 Target |
FY 2017-18 Estimate |
|
Average driver rating per route as measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being excellent |
4.5 |
4.7 |
|
Percent of buses that arrive at stops within 5 minutes of their scheduled departure time |
90% |
96% |
FISCAL IMPACT:
The term of the Amended Agreement is agreement is October 17, 2017 through December 15, 2018, and the not-to-exceed amount will increase by $650,000 for a new total of $1,850,000. The increase has been included in the Office of Sustainability’s FY 2018-19 Recommended Budget.