Meeting_Body
OPERATIONS, SAFETY AND CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE COMMITTEE
MAY 19, 2022
Subject
SUBJECT: PS51220, ZEBGO PARTNERS, JOINT VENTURE, ZERO EMISSIONS PROGRAM MASTER PLAN
Action
ACTION: APPROVE RECOMMENDATIONS
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
AUTHORIZE the Chief Executive Officer to:
A. EXECUTE Modification No. 8 with ZEBGO Partners, JV, to continue technical consultant services for the Zero Emission Bus (ZEB) Program Master Plan and as needed tasks for ZE implementation support at the cost-plus fixed fee price of $3,500,624, increasing the Contract value from $7,139,376 to $10,640,000 thus allowing for an 18 month period of performance extension from June 30, 2022 to January 1, 2024; and
B. INCREASE Contract Modification Authority by $350,062 for a total of $3,850,687 to facilitate the as needed tasks for ZE implementation support under Modification No. 8.
Issue
ISSUE
Staff forecasts the completion of Phase 1 efforts within the current Not-To-Exceed (NTE) authorization and current period of performance expiring on June 30, 2022. Staff seeks to advance to Phase 2 of technical support by extension of the performance period and increasing modification authority to meet the 2030 Zero Emission goal set by the Board.
Background
BACKGROUND
In July 2017, the Board approved Motion #50 (Attachment A) by Directors Bonin, Garcetti, Najarian, Hahn, and Solis (with friendly amendments) to establish a working group and develop strategies for a master plan detailing the steps and costs associated with converting the Metro bus fleet to Zero Emission by 2030. The motion resulted in the contract authorization to award to ZEBGO a cost-plus/fixed fee contract to provide technical consulting support services to meet the 2030 motion. ZEBGO’s focus has been primarily to assist Metro with Phase 1 of the conversion to ZEB; specifically, development of the 1st iteration of the Master Plan and support the conversion of the G & J lines ZEB service.
ZEBGO provides technical consultant services with efforts that include the ZEB Roll Out Plan development/updates, ZEB Master Plan refinement, implementation support for transition to a ZEB fleet, technical consulting and advisory support for Charging Infrastructure installations. This includes as needed tasks such as the development of technical specifications and contract documents for bus and infrastructure projects, design support for 100% design for Metro divisions, charge management modeling, designs for equipment placement, new technology evaluation support and project development for the Industrial Park to facilitate transit project delivery and promote innovation.
Status of ZEB Conversion
In March 2021, staff presented a board report recommending approval of the ZEB Rollout Plan, a CARB requirement. The plan included parameters to convert the entire Metro fleet to BEBs by the 2030 target. This includes the conversion of Metro bus divisions, installing en-route chargers, and procurement of nearly 2,000 BEBs for an estimated $3.5 billion dollars. Following Board approval, the report was provided to California Air Resources Board (CARB).
To date, Metro has awarded three ZEB contracts for battery electric bus (BEB) acquisitions and electrification of the G (Orange) and J (Silver) BRT lines; one with New Flyer for forty 60’ BEB’s operating on the G Line; and two with BYD for five 60’ BEB’s for the G Line and one hundred 40’ BEB’s planned for the J Line and local service. Upon completing these bus acquisitions, one hundred forty-five (145) BEB’s will be incorporatedinto the fleet.
ZEB service started on the G Line in July 2020, with full battery electric operations by early 2021. On October 13, 2021, Metro held a press conference to announce the successful conversion of the G Line from CNG to 100% Zero Emissions operations. Staff is targeting J Line electrified service by the end of 2022 to early 2023.
In May 2021, the Board authorized the CEO to contract with Southern California Edison (SCE) for a 10MWh substation installation at Division 9 in El Monte. In June 2021, the Board approved a $50M Life of Project budget to electrify the J Line as soon as possible. Additionally, authorization was granted to purchase BYD charging equipment for Division 9. Lastly, staff was authorized to start FY22 midyear recruitment for an additional five (5) newly created positions to support J line charging infrastructure installations.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The ZEBGO contract was originally awarded on September 27, 2018, with a NTE value of $7,139,376 and a period of performance expiring on June 30, 2022. This recommendation seeks authorization for additional contract authority and an 18-month period of performance extension for the contract. At the time of award, Metro was tasked to develop a Master Plan to accelerate ZEB conversion to meet a 2030 target completion, well in advance of the CARB Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) rule requiring 100% ZEB fleet conversion by 2040.
The ZEB rollout plan was created during the NextGen Bus Plan development that changed the deployment of the bus fleet. Within this window, multiple COVID-19 related challenges arose, including the March 2020 Stay-at-Home declaration, severe financial constraints, and COVID related staff absenteeism. After nearly 2 years, some of these challenges remain and continue to impact the ZEB program.
Despite these challenges, ZEBGO produced the Rollout plan, supported evolving ZEB Program infrastructure development, and continued various project specific tasks to meet the ZEB conversion target by 2030. They successfully supported the achievement of G Line electrification and are currently working to support J line electrification. With remaining contract funding limits and task orders in place, ZEBGO will complete the Master Plan Phase I task orders within the approved period of performance and contract authority limits. These tasks include:
• Industry Outreach
• Metro Ops Inventory
• Assessment of Best Industry Practices
• Support Negotiations with Utilities
• Facilitate Conceptual Design Support
With recommended contract modification approval, ZEBGO can continue to support Metro into the next phase of the rollout plan without risk to project momentum. The foremost priority includes updating the Zero Emission Master Plan based on post COVID travel patterns, current Next-Gen service levels, reassessing division facility conversions to address service needs and refining cost / schedule strategies for optimal Battery Electric Bus (BEB) conversion/deployments with an eye towards leadership in regional standardization and inter-operability within the 2030 target.
In the June 2021 Board meeting, staff presented a $3.5 billion dollar cost estimate for 2030 conversion. BEB technology is evolving rapidly such that there may be price points Metro may consider in its procurement strategies to reduce the estimated costs. This next phase will include a strategic conversion analysis of Metro’s bus divisions that matches evolving bus technologies and charging advancements coupled with NextGen service scheduling parameters. Based on the most current BEB procurement costs, it is apparent that Battery Electric Bus technology carries a cost premium to build an electric motor power train over the traditional CNG engine. Additionally, charging infrastructure and equipment are a new need to support electrification and thus carries a similar premiums for new installations. Ultimately economies of scale for materials and productions have not yet been achieved with these newer products. ZEBGO’s consultant expertise may be used to selectively reduce the price premiums of bleeding edge adoptions while bringing zero emissions to the region by 2030.
Determination_Of_Safety_Impact
DETERMINATION OF SAFETY IMPACT
The approval of this Contract will have no negative impact to system safety.
Financial_Impact
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Upon recommendation approval, the total not-to-exceed contract amount will be $10,640,000. Staff will fund ongoing work for this contract using approved FY22 and future FY project budgets. There will be no impact to the Vehicle Engineering and Acquisitions Program level budget. Staff will rebalance approved budget limits in the current and future FY to ensure contract tasks progress within approved financial limits. Since this is a multi-year contract, the cost center manager will be accountable for budgeting the balance of funds in future fiscal years.
Impact to Budget
The current source of funds for these actions are Measure R Admin and task orders funded by capital projects with authorized LOPs. Since the project tasks are funded with existing LOP budgets and annual study project funds, the funding sources will vary according to established funding plans for the respective projects. No task order(s) shall be issued, which increases a capital project LOP. Staff will reassess funding sources and apply other applicable fund sources as they become available to the respective projects.
Equity_Platform
EQUITY PLATFORM
The near-term efforts planned for consultant services focus on electrification of the J Line.
The J Line provides bus services to Equity Focused Communities (EFC’s) from El Monte Station to Downtown Los Angeles to Harbor Gateway Transit Center. The J Line runs through the 10 and 110 Freeways along a dedicated BRT lane and serves the following ridership (Fall 2019 Silver Line Rider Survey):
O 48% below $25K household income (42.5% below poverty line)
O 68.3% had no car available
O 74% use transit 5+ days a week
O Rider Ethnicity: Latino 58.3%; Black 15.2; White 10.6%; Asian/Pacific Islander 9.8%; Other 6.1%
It is recognized that BEBs provide improved air quality and quieter services compared to current Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) bus fleet. Accordingly, BEBs stand to improve air quality, reduce noise pollution, and improve overall health and quality of life aspects for affected J Line EFCs. However, RNG compared to BEB ranges are not at the point where 1 for 1 service replacement can be provided without increasing risks to the quality of service. Staff will provide options for further electrified J Line services as BEB range performance is improved and/or additional charging infrastructure installations are completed.
The ZEBGO contract is required to meet a DBE goal of 17.26%. As of Feb 2022, the contract has exceeded its DBE goal by achieving a 20.17% cumulative to date DBE participation level.
Implementation_of_Strategic_Plan_Goals
IMPLEMENTATION OF STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
The recommendation supports strategic plan goals:
#2 Deliver Outstanding trip experiences for all users of the Transportation System
#4 Transform LA County through regional collaboration and national leadership
Conversion of our bus fleet to BEB provides an outstanding trip experience for the bus system patrons. The BEB fleet will include modern amenities such as wifi and USB charge ports. As stated earlier, BEBs provide improved air quality and quieter services compared to the CNG/RNG bus fleets. Accordingly, BEBs stand to improve air quality, reduce noise pollution, and improve overall health and quality of life aspects for affected communities where BEB services will be rolled out.
This recommendation supports the Board motion for Zero Emissions by 2030, accelerating the conversion of the CNG/RNG Bus fleet to Clean Battery Electric Fleet by 10 Years. Approval of this recommendation keeps LA Metro in the leadership position to guide the conversion of mega bus fleets to electrification. LA Metro is the largest agency in the West Coast converting to BEB services to this scale.
Alternatives_Considered
ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED
Staff considered preparing a new procurement for continuing ZEB technical consultant services. This alternative is not recommended due to the extended delays impacts to the ZEB program as we work toward a 2030 target. All current and future projects continue towards accelerated ZEB delivery. Recruitment for consultant staff and associated learning curves for consultants will delay the Program.
Metro could rely exclusively on internal staff to perform the work. This alternative is not
recommended as it would not be cost effective to maintain this level of expertise in-house on a full-time basis. Additionally, it would take staff away from the core operation functions and be more costly than contracting them on a task order basis.
The Board of Directors may choose not to authorize the Contract recommendations for these projects; however, this alternative is not recommended by staff, as the projects are critical to support the planning necessary for conversion to Zero Emission operation by 2030 and Industrial Park. Without the additional contract support the timely delivery of the plans would be at risk. Approval of the recommendations are more favorable over a new solicitation as it is the most expeditious approach to achieving the above enumerated benefits for Equity Focused Communities
Next_Steps
NEXT STEPS
Upon Board approval, staff will execute the contract recommendations and issue task orders to ZEBGO.
Attachments
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A - Board Motion 50
Attachment B - Procurement Summary
Attachment C - Contract Modification/Change Order Log
Attachment D - DEOD Summary
Prepared_by
Prepared by: Quintin Sumabat, Deputy Executive Officer, Vehicle Engineering & Acquisition (213) 922-4922
Jesus Montes, Sr. Executive Officer, Vehicle Engineering & Acquisition (213) 418-3277
Reviewed_By
Reviewed by: Conan Cheung, Chief Operations Officer, Mobility Services & Development (213) 418-3034
Debra Avila, Deputy Chief Vendor/Contract Manager Officer, (213) 418-3051
