Meeting_Body
AD-HOC CONGESTION REDUCTION COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 14, 2015
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: METRO FREEWAY SERVICE PATROL
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATION
Heading
RECOMMENDATIONS
Title
AD-HOC CONGESTION REDUCTION RECOMMENDED (3-0) authorizing the Chief Executive Officer to:
A. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3469400B3/FSP3471100B43 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Disco Auto Sales, Inc., dba Hollywood Car Carrier, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for Metro Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) towing services in the amount of $3,830,652 (Beat 3 for $1,915,326 and Beat 43 for $1,915,326) for 39 months.
B. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3469500B5/FSP3470200B17 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Sonic Towing, Inc., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP towing services in the amount of $3,590,266 (Beat 5 for $1,808,057 and Beat 17 for $1,782,209) for 39 months.
C. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3469600B6 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Neighborhood Towing 4U, Inc., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP Beat 6 towing services in the amount of $1,760,238 for 39 months.
D. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3469900B7/FSP3470100B11 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Girard & Peterson, Inc., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP towing services in the amount of $5,782,602 (Beat 7 for $2,891,301 and Beat 11 for $2,891,301) for 51 months.
E. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3470000B9 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Mighty Transport, Inc., dba Frank Scotto Towing, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP Beat 9 towing services in the amount of $1,835,200 for 39 months.
F. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3470300B23 (IFB No. FSP11857) to South Coast Towing, Inc., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP Beat 23 towing services in the amount of $1,843,380 for 33 months.
G. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3470400B27/FSP3470800B39 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Hovanwil, Inc., dba Jon’s Towing, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP towing services in the amount of $4,746,479 (Beat 27 for $2,594,126 for 51 months and Beat 39 for $2,152,353 for 39 months).
H. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3470600B29 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Platinum Tow & Transport, Inc., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP Beat 29 towing services in the amount of $3,012,024 for 51 months.
I. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3470700B31/FSP3471200B50 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Navarro’s Towing, LLC, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP towing services in the amount of $6,193,182 (Beat 31 for $2,909,952 and Beat 50 for $3,283,230) for 51 months.
J. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3471300B70 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Classic Tow, Inc., dba Tip Top Tow Service, the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP Beat 70 ExpressLanes towing services in the amount of $3,885,770 for 39 months.
K. AWARD a firm fixed unit rate Contract No. FSP3471500B71 (IFB No. FSP11857) to Bob & Dave's Towing, Inc., the lowest responsive and responsible bidder, for Metro FSP Beat 70 ExpressLanes towing services in the amount of $5,455,124 for 39 months.
Issue
ISSUE
The recommended contract awards will replace 16 tow service contracts that received modification approval by the Board in September 2015.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The Metro FSP program currently manages 38 tow service contracts covering over 475 center line miles on all major freeways in Los Angeles County. The service is provided by 25 independent tow service operators deploying over 150 vehicles throughout Los Angeles County that provide assistance to stranded or disabled motorists. On average FSP performs 25,000 motorist assists per month and per the most recent statewide evaluation provides a benefit to cost ratio of 10.8:1.
New Contract Award
The recommendation ensures that 16 FSP contracts are replaced and will provide a total of 55 trucks covering over 175 centerline freeway miles for periods of 30 to 48 months.
The average hourly rate awarded for this procurement is 16.27% higher than the hourly rate of the existing 16 contracts that they will replace. The increase is partially due to the implementation of Metro’s Living Wage Policy which is being incorporated into FSP tow service contracts for the first time. Additional factors that may have attributed to the hourly rate increase are market forces which, over time, have slowly increased program costs. There are a total of 11 bidders receiving contracts. All bidders are either existing or former FSP contractors and as such, are eligible to operate up to two FSP contracts each.
Once contracts are awarded, Contractors will have a 12 to 14 week mobilization period to complete the required startup activities in order to begin service. The following list comprises the majority of the activities that must be completed in order to provide FSP service:
• Purchase vehicle chassis and beds
• Build vehicles to FSP specifications (6-8 Weeks)
• Metro Radio Shop installation of communications equipment (2-3 Weeks)
• Hire and train prospective FSP drivers
• CHP testing and certification of FSP drivers
• Obtain program supplies
• CHP inspection and certification of contract vehicles
Once the contract is awarded, the contractor is responsible for coordination of vehicles/parts/equipment and the timing of the activities to ensure that they are completed before the scheduled start of service.
The award of these contracts will continue to realign existing FSP contracts to support the multi-beat Regional structure. The FSP Regional concept for L.A. County proposes to consolidate the remaining 33 smaller single-Beat contracts into five large multi-beat regions each managed by a single contractor. The first FSP Regional multi-beat contract began work on August 1, 2014. Staff has monitored contract performance and evaluation of Regional service delivery to determine its operational effectiveness and cost efficiency. Meanwhile, it will be necessary to continue to align the expiration dates of existing single beat contracts with the proposed start dates of Regional contracts until the evaluation is complete and a decision is made whether to move forward with the Regional program.
In addition, the contract award recommendations include changes to service levels in specific contracts. Eleven of the sixteen contracts recommended for award have been reduced by either one or two trucks for a total reduction of 13 trucks. This reduction is expected to further improve the program’s ‘assist per truck per hour’ performance. The current FSP Statewide Guidelines established by the Motorist Aid Oversight Committee have established a goal of “one assist per truck per service hour”. Staff conducted an analysis of program and congestion data for each FSP Beat/Contract to determine the optimal number of trucks per beat in order to provide service at or near the FSP Statewide Program goal. The current average number of assists per truck per hour for the Metro FSP program is 0.75 which is a 0.05 improvement since the implementation of the first Regional FSP contract where service reductions were first implemented to improve service efficiency. FSP14 contracts awarded in October 2014 also included service reductions to specific beats. The FSP14 contracts are currently in the process of being phased in to replace the recently extended contracts. In future FSP contract procurements, staff will continue to analyze service levels and assist rates in order to optimize the number of trucks to meet the FSP Statewide goal.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
The FSP Program enhances safety on Los Angeles County freeways by assisting motorists with disabled vehicles, towing vehicles from freeway lanes to prevent secondary accidents, and removing debris/obstacles from lanes that may be a hazard to motorists. During FSP operating hours, drivers provide specific services to motorists with disabled vehicles to get them safely back on the road or tow them to a designated safe location off of the freeway. FSP drivers patrolling their Beat locate and assist motorists in freeway lanes or along the shoulder significantly faster than it would take to call a private tow service. The FSP Program completes approximately 300,000 assists annually.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
A portion of the funding of $41,934,917 for this program is included in the FY16 budget in cost center 3352, Metro Freeway Service Patrol, under project number 300070.
Since this is a multi-year contract/project, the cost center manager and Executive Officer, Congestion Reduction will be accountable for budgeting the funds in future years.
Impact to Budget
The FSP program is funded through a combination of Proposition C 25% sales tax, State and SAFE funds. There is no impact to bus and rail operating or capital; Proposition A, C and TDA administration; or Measure R administration budgets.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
The Board may decide not to authorize the execution of these contracts. This alternative is not recommended as it would result in interruption to FSP services and prevent staff from managing the FSP program in the most cost-effective and efficient manner possible.
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will award and execute the new contracts.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Procurement Summary
Attachment B - FSP Beat Map
Attachment C - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: John Takahashi, Sr. Highway Operations Program Manager, (213) 922-6346
Kathleen McCune, Director Countywide Planning and Development, (213) 922-7241
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Shahrzad Amiri, Executive Officer Congestion Reduction Initiative (213) 922-3061
Ivan Page, Interim Executive Director, Vendor/Contract Management, (213) 922-6383
