Meeting_Body
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 14, 2015
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: METRO RIDESHARE PROGRAM SUPPORT
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED (4-0) authorizing the Chief Executive Officer to award and execute a 21-month firm fixed price Contract No. PS3604300 (RFP No. PS113344540-R) to Inland Transportation Services, Inc. (ITS) in the amount of $1,198,055 for Metro Rideshare Program Support services in Los Angeles County and to increase the FY 2016 budget for Regional Rideshare by $425,000.
Issue
ISSUE
Metro provides commuter assistance services to worksites in Los Angeles County with the objective of improving mobility by reducing single occupant vehicle trips and providing information and services to increase rideshare modes, including transit ridership, carpooling, vanpooling, walking, and bicycling to work. Metro relies on highly trained in-house consulting staff to manage and provide services. The current contract for services will expire March 31, 2016; however, funding is available only through October 31, 2015 since this contract is currently shared with Metro Commute Services for A-TAP and B-TAP support. The new contract will be separate from Metro Commute Services and will allow Metro to continue providing rideshare services to Los Angeles County employer worksites and commuters.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
Consulting staff is responsible for a number of tasks including supporting Employee Transportation Coordinators (ETC) with responding to Rule 2202 from the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) through Average Vehicle Ridership (AVR) surveys, providing commuters with ridematching services and RideGuides, and responding to customer questions related to ridesharing. Consultant staff is also trained in Ridepro and will be managing the Los Angeles County portion of the regional database shared with Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC). Ridepro is a software system provided by Trapeze Software Group, Inc. under a separate contract that assists worksites with air quality compliance and employer based ridematching.
In addition, ITS will be responsible for managing Metro’s incentive programs which include the regional Guaranteed Ride Home, Metro Rewards, and Go Metro to Work Free. Consulting staff will be actively attending Transportation Management Organization (TMO) and Transportation Management Association (TMA) meetings and other industry events to provide information about the services offered by Metro. Consulting staff will provide support at events that encourage ETC development and training, including workshops, countywide rideshare events, and ETC Briefings.
In addition, the Board is being asked to authorize the CEO to increase the FY 2016 budget for Regional Rideshare by $425,000 for additional costs related to the award of this contract and for software upgrades required for Ridepro. The additional costs related to the contract are due to increased level of effort for staff and a higher level of oversight requested of the ITS project manager to cover the tasks in the statement of work. The software upgrades required for Ridepro include software modifications resulting from recent changes to Rule 2202 by SCAQMD, as well as upgrades related to an improved ridematch.info website, and improved software capabilities.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
The Board action will not have a negative impact on the safety of Metro’s patrons or employees. The Metro Rideshare Program has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing the number of cars on the road during the peak commute period. This contributes to public safety. Currently, Metro provides support to over 220,000 commuters and 800 worksites in Los Angeles County.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The FY16 approved budget includes costs for this contract in Cost Center 4540, Project 405547, Task 01.10. The FY 2016 budget includes $400,000 for the Metro Rideshare Support contract, however this is insufficient since the recommended price is higher than anticipated and has been determined to be fair and reasonable based upon MAS audit findings, an independent cost estimate, cost analysis, technical analysis, and fact finding. The budget for this contract needs to be increased from $400,000 to $605,000, which is an increase of $205,000. In addition, the FY 2016 budget includes $92,000 for upgrades to Ridepro, however an additional $220,000 is required for the contract modification. The total budget increase for Regional Rideshare would be $425,000. The funding source for Regional Rideshare comes from Proposition C 25% sales tax. These funds are from a Regional Rideshare allocation programmed in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) pursuant to the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The Project Manager will be accountable for managing costs during the term of this contract. Since this is a multi-year contract, the Chief Planning Officer will be responsible for budgeting in future years.
Impact to Budget
The source of funds for this action, Proposition C 25% Streets & Highway, is not eligible to fund bus and rail operating and capital expenditures.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board can choose not to authorize the CEO to award this contract to ITS and not to increase the Regional Rideshare FY 2016 budget, however staff does not recommend this option. If the Board denies this request, services will lapse and Metro will no longer be able to provide support to 800 worksites regulated by SCAQMD in Los Angeles County and ridematching services to 220,000 commuters. Incentive programs would terminate and countywide support of rideshare services would end. Moreover, Metro is the holder of a license agreement with Trapeze Software Group, Inc. for the use of Ridepro in partnership with the Orange County Transportation Authority and Ventura County Transportation Commission and without the continuation of this contract, Metro would not have the capability to immediately provide staff resources to continue using Ridepro and would lose the financial investment in this database. The impact to the regional partners would be significant since Los Angeles County participants are 72% of the database and the maintenance of this information would lapse. In addition, without the funding for the required modifications to Ridepro, Metro would be out of compliance with Rule 2202 and the updates to ridematch.info would not be completed, software upgrades would not be completed and the Ridepro software would become less user-friendly.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will award and execute the Metro Rideshare Program Support contract and increase the FY 2016 Regional Rideshare budget by $425,000.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Paula Carvajal-Paez, Regional Rideshare Manager, (213) 922-4258
Dolores Roybal Saltarelli, Director, Shared Mobility, (213) 922-3024
Diego Cardoso, Executive Officer Countywide Planning, (213) 922-3076
Cal Hollis, Managing Executive Officer, (213) 922-7319
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Martha Welborne, FAIA, Chief Planning Officer, (213) 922-7267
Ivan Page, Executive Director (Interim), Vendor/Contract Management
(213) 922-6383
