Title
Request for Proposals for Parking Pay-by-Phone Service
Description
Staff requests City Council approval to issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) for parking Pay-by-Phone service.
Report
Summary
The Street Transportation Department plans to issue a RFP to solicit proposals from qualified companies to continue to provide Pay-by-Phone system services for the City's parking meter system. The contract for services with the current Pay-by-Phone vendor, Pango USA, LLC, was executed on Nov. 30, 2014 for a three year term and will expire on Nov. 30, 2017. This Pango service was extended to all credit/debit card-capable and coin-only meters in the downtown, Capitol, and uptown areas. This new solicitation will continue the services to provide parking payment options to parking meter customers.
As part of this solicitation, the City’s key factors for selecting a vendor will include expertise and proven experience with implementing the best quality program that will maximize customer convenience and add parking payment options, as well as available parking locational information for parkers. It also includes choosing a vendor that charges a reasonable convenience fee for services offered. Vendor services shall be self-sufficient with an independently operated system requiring no City capital or operating expenses.
The Pay-by-Phone service has successfully served customers since its launch on Feb. 12, 2015. The first year of the Pay-by-Phone contract saw over 2,500 app downloads and approximately 500 unique users. The second year included the extension of pay-by-phone services to approximately 500 coin-only parking meters. Currently, the program has over 6,500 registered users and adds approximately 350 new users each month. The option to pay for parking by phone has contributed to $26,000 increase in annual gross parking revenues during the past year and functions as an additional convenience option for meter users.
Procurement Information
Proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation committee that will be comprised of a minimum of seven persons qualified to evaluate the components of this solicitation. Members of the evaluation committee will include representatives of the City and may include representatives from other public agencies and parking stakeholders. The evaluation committee may also be assisted by technical and business advisers.
Contract Term
The initial contract term for this Pay-by-Phone service will be for a 36 month period from the date the contract is executed by the City. In addition, the contract will include an option to extend the contract up to two - one year periods to provide for continuity of services.
Financial Impact
Staff anticipates no fiscal impact to the City for implementation. The Pay-by-Phone service is designed to be cost neutral to the City. Any transaction costs associated with utilizing the Pay-by-Phone system are designed to be borne by the parking customer and any marketing material, although subject to the approval of the city, is the responsibility of the Pay-by-Phone vendor.
Concurrence/Previous Council Action
The Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee recommended City Council approval of the issuance of this Request for Proposals on March 14, 2017 by a vote of 3-0.
Public Outreach
The Vendor shall be solely responsible to provide a quality launch and ongoing marketing plan implementation: including effective strategies and advertising materials, including but not limited to signs, local support, audit protocols, enforcement technology, community outreach and support necessary to implement the service within 30 days of contract Award. The Vendor’s marketing plan will include material to educate the public about system use and promote this payment option.
Location
The Pay-by-Phone service will be available as a payment option for the approximate 2,200 on-street parking meters located in the downtown, Capitol, and uptown areas.
Department
Responsible Department
This item is submitted by Deputy City Manager Mario Paniagua and the Street Transportation Department.