Metro - File #: 2024-0478

• File #: 2024-0478
• Type: Contract
• Status: Agenda Ready
• File created: 7/5/2024
• In control: Operations, Safety, and Customer Experience Committee
• On agenda: 11/21/2024
• Title: AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to execute Contract Modification No. 24 with New Flyer of America in the not-to-exceed amount of $7,938,707 under Contract No. OP28367-001, to procure seven on-route opportunity chargers, replace the same number of chargers installed on the G-Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line and include a Service Level Agreement to ensure reliability and availability, increasing the total contract value from $66,460,743 to $74,399,450. This Contract Modification does not increase the Life of Project (LOP) budget of $80,003,282.
• Sponsors: Board of Directors - Regular Board Meeting
• Indexes: Board approved a Motion, Budget, Budgeting, Bus 60'Ze W/ New Flyer- 40 (Project), Bus Acquisitions, Bus rapid transit, Chatsworth, Contractors, Contracts, Las Virgenes/Malibu subregion, Metro Busway G Line, Metro Rail A Line, Metro Rail B Line, Motion / Motion Response, North Hollywood, North Hollywood Station, Orange Line Bus Rapid Transit Improvements, Procurement, San Fernando Valley Service Sector, Strategic planning, Warranty, Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Master Plan, Zero Emissions

Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 21, 2024

Subject
SUBJECT: REPLACE G-LINE OPPORTUNITY CHARGERS

Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION

Heading
RECOMMENDATION

Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) to execute Contract Modification No. 24 with New Flyer of America in the not-to-exceed amount of $7,938,707 under Contract No. OP28367-001, to procure seven on-route opportunity chargers, replace the same number of chargers installed on the G-Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line and include a Service Level Agreement to ensure reliability and availability, increasing the total contract value from $66,460,743 to $74,399,450. This Contract Modification does not increase the Life of Project (LOP) budget of $80,003,282.

Issue
ISSUE

The G-Line charging infrastructure is experiencing significant reliability and availability issues, adversely impacting Metro's Operations and Service. For the majority of 2024, four of the eight opportunity chargers were out of service. This has resulted in Metro periodically needing to substitute Battery Electric Buses (BEBs) with Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses, fueled with renewable natural gas, to maintain service.

The primary issue is that neither the industry nor the technology had matured when the G-Line was converted to zero-emission operations in 2021. As a result, there were significant initial integration issues between the chargers and the BEBs.


Background
BACKGROUND

In July 2017, the Board approved Motion 50 by Directors Bonin, Garcetti, Najarian, Hahn, and Solis (Attachment A) to convert the Orange Line (G Line) to a full Zero Emission (ZE) operation. That same month, New Flyer of America (New Flyer) was awarded a contract to deliver forty 60-foot articulated Battery Electric Buses and eight opportunity chargers to service the G-Line: two chargers each for the Chatsworth and Canoga Stations and four more chargers for the North Hollywood Station. New Flyer s...