HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/05/2006, C2 - REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN COun V�L M�tivaDam
December 5,2006
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CITY OF SAN LUIS O B I S P O
FROM: 'Jay D. Walter, Public Works Director ' �p
Prepared By: Timothy Scott Bochum, puty Public Works Directors?
SUBJECT: REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR THE
PREPARATION OF THE SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN UPDATE
CAO RECOMMENDATION
1. As recommended by the Mass Transportation Committee (MTC), approve a Request
For Proposals for professional services to prepare the Short Range Transit Plan for the
City of San Luis Obispo
2. Authorize the City Administrative Officer to execute an agreement with the selected_
contractor for an amount not to exceed $50,000.
DISCUSSION
Background
The Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP) is a document that transit operators prepare to analyze
current service levels and funding, and also to provide recommendations for improvement to
overall service, stability and growth. This planning and operational document is used as the
foundation for seeking community input, establishing priorities and funding programs to allow
the City to apply for local, state, and federal grants. It is also a requirement to be eligible for
certain fund sources. Finally, the City's Circulation Element requires that the City adopt a SRTP
every five years.
The most recent SRTP was adopted on August 23, 2003. The SRTP recommended a number of
service changes that were implemented on January 4, 2004 and have proven to be quite
successful. The City's bus service experienced significant improvement in ridership and
performance since the operational improvements, and public perception of transit services
provided by the City overall is positive. Although the current SRTP is less than five years old,
staff believes it is appropriate to update the SRTP now (as opposed to waiting for another year or
two) for the following reasons:
First, with the new services implemented in January 2004, some transit routes are operating at
capacity during peak times. Updating the. SRTP now will allow the City to determine what
additional services (or restructuring) might be implemented to augment the high demand routes
such as in the Cal Poly area. Second, RTA (the regional transit and ADA provider) is updating
their SRTP. Having the City update their SRTP now will allow for the "synching" of these two
documents and focus on both countywide as well as Central County transit services. Finally, now
that the November 2006 elections have been completed and the Statewide initiatives have passed
Request for Proposals for Professional Services
for Preparation of the Short Range Transit Plan Update Page,2
regarding transportation funding, an update to the SRTP will be able to focus service changes
and capital replacement around new transit programs established in those bond initiatives.
If more than one qualified consultant firm submits proposals; an interview panel will be
assembled to determine the most qualified firm for use on the project. It is anticipated that the
panel will include a member of the MTC as well as a Cal Poly representative to help in achieving
stakeholder involvement.
On November 1, 2006, the Mass Transportation Committee (MTC) reviewed the attached scope
of work for the Short Range Transit Plan and recommended to the Council that the City proceed
with the RFP. A copy of the draft MTC minutes will be forwarded to Council via rd file when
available.
Proposed Scope of Work
The following key issues will be analyzed as part of the SRTP update:
1. Update of existing operational data
2. New Origin and Destination Survey
3. Five Year Financial and Capital Plan
4. Existing Service Level analysis and critique
5. Five Year Service Level recommendations
6. Update of SLO Transit Goals and Objectives
7. Integration of services with regional and other operators
Many of these issues are self-explanatory but two warrant further discussion.
Origin and Destination Survey (O&D). To address potential untapped markets, an O&D study
will be performed to determine where people want to travel and their current mode. The study
will include field interviews with a random sample of current ridership to analyze the
characteristics of bus riders in San Luis Obispo. This information is crucial to understanding
where and when people want to go and to better market the City bus services to increase
ridership. Finally, this information enables the City to evaluate our current route system and
timing to make recommendations that will better serve San Luis Obispo residents.
In addition to the O&D study and the surveys mentioned above, public workshops will be held to
solicit input from the public and other key stakeholders (such as Cal Poly) that will be used to
craft the recommendations of the document.
Service Recommendations. The SRTP Update will make recommendations for service changes
for the next five year period. The transit service updates implemented in January 2004 have
proven very successful. It is now time to investigate additional services that can increase
ridership and productivity. Areas that the consultant will be asked to focus on include: Short-
term (1-2 year improvements) and mid-term (3-5 year) service changes; options for
implementing efficient late night service; developing basic service levels for intercity service and
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Request for Proposals for Professional Services
for Preparation of the Short_Range Transit Plan Update Page 3
better coordination with RTA; fare structure alternatives and identifying new market areas such
as Cuesta College. As mentioned above, timing the SLO Transit SRTP update now give us a
unique opportunity to parallel the RTA SRTP update and "sync" recommended improvements
for both agencies.
The schedule for this project follows:
Table 1-SRTP Delivery Schedule
Task
1 .
Issue Request for Proposals (RFP) December 6, 2006
Pre-Proposal Conference January 11, 2007
Consultants submit questions & clarifications (4:00 January 26, 2007
p.m. PST)
Proposals Due (4:00 p.m. PST) February 15, 2007
Proposal review, screening and ranking. February 15, 2007—February 28, 2007
Interview with Selected Consultants March 1-15, 2007 (TBD)
Consultant Selected March 23, 2007
Notice to Proceed Contingent on federal grant approval
6-8 months after NOP
Completion of SRTP
FISCAL IMPACT
Funding for the preparation of the SRTP has been allocated from the City's annual distribution of
Federal Transit Administration Section 5307 funds and from Transportation Development Act
(TDA) funds. These monies have been programmed in the FY 2006-07 Budget. Table 2
illustrates the project budget.
Table 2:Project Budget
'Ur C_-
$40,000
FTA Section 5307 at 80% Match
$ 10,000
TDA LTF at 20% Match
$50,000
Total
Source: FY 2006-07 Budget(July 1,2006), Page E-34
ALTERNATIVES
Alternative 1. The Council may recommend changes to the scope of work of the SRTP. While
the scope of work for the SRTP is under the purview of the Council, the Federal Transit
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Request for Proposals for Professional Services
for Preparation of the Short Range Transit Plan Update Page 4
Administration sets the minimum requirements for elements to be included in the SRTP therefore
staff recommends that Council not delete any of the proposed elements of the RFP. Conversely,
items may be added to the plan, however, additional issues may result in the need for additional
funding and may delay the delivery of the SRTP if funding is not available.
ATTACHMENTS
I Scope of Work
Council Reading File
1. Draft RFP
G:\Staff-Reports-Agendas-Minutes\_CAR\2006\Transit\Transit CAR,.Short Range Transit Plan Update 2007.DOC
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ATTACHMENT 1
OUTLINE
SECTION 3: SCOPE-OF-WORK
SAN LUIS OBISPO TRANSIT SHORT RANGE TRANSIT PLAN 2007/08
Task No. Task Description
1. Conduct Origin and Destination Survey
a. Random sample with minimum level of confidence of 95%
b. Analyze data and prepare report that summarizes characteristics of SLO
Transit riders.
c. Identify current and future markets and trends
d. Compare data with local, state, and national transit trends
e. Collect data to include the actual number of riders using,the Cal Poly Subsidy
Program.
f. I Survey non-transit riders to determine"why" they do not ride San Luis Obispo
Transit.
2.. Update of Operation Data, Financial Plan,and Capital Plan
a. Evaluate and revise previous operation data and financial plan, including reevaluating
five-year financial capacity
b. Prepare a nine-year projection
c. Prepare project descriptions
3. Update of Existing Services
a. Update service overview
b. Update management structure
c. Update description of services, including days and hours of operation, fixed route
headways, fare structure, fleet inventory, route descriptions, maps, and figures.
4. Update Goals and Objectives
a. Analyze actual performance levels for fixed.
b. Develop and update performance standards and Contractor's performance from last
year of previous Contractor compare to year-to-date First Transit per standard
performance measures and contract performance measures
c. Update and analyze operating data and performance route and indicators
d. Include various polices in the draft and final document (e.g. Public Notification
Policy, Charter and Special Service Policy, etc,).
5. Develop Service Recommendations
a. Short Term changes that can be implement within one to two years
b. Mid-Term changes that can be implemented within three to five years.
c. Investigate options of implementing an efficient late evening service; including ADA
paratransit service.
GATmnsponvtion Commute VMTC 02991.NTC November I.2IMM, SRTP SOW
d. Develop basic service levels for intercity service provided by San Luis Obispo
Regional Transit Authority to improve headways, schedule coordination, inter-
agency transfers, cost effectiveness, and to minimize service duplication.
e. Fare structure recommendations to improve fare revenue, attract new passengers,
and pre-.paid fare usage.
f. Service recommendations should include scenarios that assume additional and no-
additional State Transit Assistance funding.
g. Develop service expansion routes, costs and schedules to serve Cal Poly Canyon
project, Margarita Area Specific Plan, and the airport area.
h. Review existing services to, from, and within the Central Service Are.
i. Coordinate efforts with consultants working on Regional Transit Authority's SRTP
Update.
j. Recommend transit service improvements, coordination changes, and duplicate
service removal, if any.
6. Publishing of Draft and Final Documents
a. Prepare and submit draft documents to MTC, Planning Commission, City Council,
and other necessary committees
b. Presentations of documents by consultant
c. Prepare responses on draft documents for preparation of final document
d. Preparation and submission of final documents
TASK BUDGET
Task Task Description Amount
1. Conduct Origin and Destination Survey 15,000
2. Update of Operation Data,Financial Plan,
and Capital Plan 7.000
3. Update of Existing Services 7,000
4. Update Goals and Objectives 5,000
5. Develop Service Recommendations 11,000
6. Publishing of Draft and Final Documents 5,000
TOTAL $5000
SOURCE OF FUNDS
Source Amount
FTA Section 5307 at 80% Match $40,000
Local at 20% Match 10,000
TOTAL 5%000
G:1TmMIx)nxrlon ComminccAN4TC 02991MTC November I.2(X)6. SRTP SOW �� ' Y