Title
West Transit Facility Request for Proposals
Description
Request authorization for the Public Transit Department to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for transit services operated from the City’s West Transit Facility for a contract period beginning July 1, 2018.
Report
The Public Transit Department (PTD) currently contracts with First Transit, Inc., for transit services operated from the City’s West Transit Facility. First Transit has been performing services for the City through its current agreement since July 1, 2013 under a fixed cost (cost per mile) contract model. The contract expires June 30, 2018, and PTD staff is developing an RFP for a new contract to be awarded as a result of a competitive procurement process.
The West Transit Facility is located at 405 N. 79th Ave. The 22-acre site consists of buildings for administration, operations, safety and training, and facility maintenance staffs, as well as fueling, bus wash and vehicle maintenance bays, and vehicle fleet and employee parking. Service operated out of the facility accounts for approximately 30 percent of Phoenix’s contracted transit services, with some routes also providing service to adjacent cities.
There are currently 160 transit vehicles assigned to the site that provide service on 12 routes throughout the metropolitan area for an average of 500,000 service miles per month. These routes consist of 11 local routes and a neighborhood circulator route, all of which provide an average of over one million passenger boardings per month. Routes operated from the West facility include some of the region’s most highly utilized routes, including Route 17 (McDowell Road), Route 29 (Thomas Road), and Route 41 (Indian School Road), and service to the region’s busiest transit center (Desert Sky). First Transit currently employs more than 450 local staff.
Procurement Information
PTD will include similar performance indicators and assessments that are currently in effect for existing transit service operations contracts. These indicators will be implemented in accordance with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) guidelines as set forth in the FTA’s Best Practices Procurement Manual, and will be based on historical data tracked by PTD contract monitoring staff for areas of performance where the City seeks to facilitate continuous improvements in service.
The RFP will contain evaluation criteria and processes as well as the City’s transparency in lobbying clause. The RFP criteria will focus on:
1. Qualifications, expertise and experience - 250 points
2. Proposed management and personnel - 150 points
3. Understanding of work scope and transition plan - 200 points
4. Cost - 400 points
A tentative procurement schedule is shown below:
RFP Released August 2017
Proposals Due October 2017
Panel Evaluations October 2017
Interviews with Proposers November 2017
Best and Final Offers November 2017
Award Recommendation February 2018
Contract Start Date July 1, 2018
Contract Term
The contract will begin July 1, 2018, and will continue to operate via the fixed cost (cost per mile) model and will run for a five-year term with an optional two-year extension. The contract date and term is staggered from other Phoenix transit facilities to mitigate potential impacts of transitioning transit services from all contractors at once. The total seven-year contract term will provide known costs as efforts continue moving forward under the City’s Transportation 2050 plan, and allows proposers to spread fixed and capital costs over a longer period, resulting in lower cost proposals to the City. The two-year extension option will be exercised only if it is in the City’s best interest to do so and the proposed contractor has performed satisfactorily during the five-year base period.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee recommended approval of this item at its May 9, 2017 meeting by a 4-0 vote.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Public Transit Department.