Title
Recommendation to Award a Contract in the Amount of $165,636 Including Contingencies to MV Transportation, Inc. for the Operation of the Alameda Paratransit Shuttle (Alameda Loop Shuttle). (Transportation 287)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jill Keimach, City Manager
Re: Recommendation to Award a Contract in the Amount of $165,636 Including Contingencies to MV Transportation, Inc. for the Operation of the Alameda Paratransit Shuttle (Alameda Loop Shuttle)
BACKGROUND
Alameda County’s transportation sales tax - Measures B and BB - provides dedicated funding to local jurisdictions for non-mandated, locally-based paratransit services targeting people with disabilities and seniors. These services are not required under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Information about the various City of Alameda Paratransit Program services is available at: <https://www.alamedaca.gov/public-works/city-alameda-paratransit-services>. Exhibit 1 explains the locally-based paratransit program in Alameda for next fiscal year.
As one element of its locally-based paratransit program, the City of Alameda has operated a free shuttle for seniors and people with disabilities starting in 2010. The City Council approved the Alameda Paratransit Shuttle service through a competitive process in 2009 and in 2013, and selected MV Transportation, Inc. as the shuttle provider both times. The goals of the shuttle are to reduce motor vehicle trips by the target population. The shuttle service is open to the public, though the primary purpose of the shuttle is to serve people with disabilities and seniors by providing access to major shopping destinations and medical facilities around the City.
The shuttle operates from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and currently has a one hour frequency and an average of 449 boardings per month. The shuttle operates on three routes (See Exhibit 2 for schedules):
• Tuesdays: West Loop (between Alameda Landing and downtown Alameda)
• Wednesdays: East Loop (between Bay Farm Island, downtown Alameda and Mastick Senior Center)
• Thursdays: Central Loop (between downtown Alameda, Shore Line Drive and Bridgeside Center)
DISCUSSION
Through a competitive process in 2017, City staff issued a request for proposals on March 9, 2017 to the fixed route shuttle service providers in the Bay Area. Staff received five proposals on April 10, 2017, interviewed three qualified firms on April 18, 2017, and recommended MV Transportation, Inc. as the service provider that best meets the City’s needs. The selection was based on the company’s past experience, quality and experience of key staff, understanding of work scope, cost competitiveness, and ability to meet contract requirements. In addition, MV Transportation, Inc. was the only company that has its main employees represented by a union - Teamsters Local 853. MV Transportation, Inc. also was the only company that showed a formal graduated pay scale for its drivers based on years of service and experience.
The list of bidders from lowest to highest for total project cost is as follows:
|
Bidder |
Company Location |
Bid Amount per Hour |
Bid Amount per Year |
|
transMETRO |
San Francisco/ Alameda |
$69.50 |
Not Stated |
|
A-Para Transit Corporation |
San Leandro |
$70.00 |
Not Stated |
|
MV Transportation, Inc. |
Dallas, TX / San Leandro |
$71.23 |
$150,578 |
|
Parking Company of America |
Los Angeles, CA |
$98.69 |
$215,539 |
|
RTW Management |
Salt Lake City, UT / Alameda |
$124.54 |
Not Stated |
Staff recommends including a ten percent contingency as part of the award for a total amount of $165,636. This contract may be mutually extended on a year-by-year basis, for up to four (4) additional years, at the sole discretion of the City Manager, based, at a minimum, upon satisfactory performance of all aspects of this contract. If extended, the contract would be for the same terms and compensation as the existing contract plus an annual increase based on the Annual Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose Metropolitan area.
Staff also is recommending an increase in frequency of the shuttle service as well as a rebranding starting with the new fiscal year. Staff recommends increasing the shuttle service frequency from every one hour to every 30 minutes. The higher frequency service will reduce the waiting times of shuttle riders. The shuttle service was evaluated as part of the citywide Transportation Plan to ensure that this service integrates with other existing and new services proposed in the plan. Furthermore, the respondents of the annual Paratransit survey selected “Alameda Loop Shuttle” as the preferred name of the shuttle service. Staff will change the name from “Alameda Paratransit Shuttle” to “Alameda Loop Shuttle” to encourage all types of riders while targeting seniors and people with disabilities. The capital program of the paratransit program will cover the cost of purchasing and installing new bus benches, poles, signs and schedules to be placed at shuttle stops as well as bus benches at AC Transit bus stops.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This project is budgeted in the Paratransit Special Revenue Fund (Fund 287, Program 4225287), which is funded by Alameda County’s transportation sales tax - Measure B/BB - and administered by the Alameda County Transportation Commission. The cost implications of increasing the shuttle service from every one hour to every 30 minutes is about two times as much as the current costs. The City currently runs one shuttle bus, and will need to run two shuttle buses. Plus, the hourly rate has increased slightly from the current hourly rate of $69.31 to the hourly rate for the next fiscal year of $71.23. The cost for the shuttle service averages almost $14 per trip, which is less than the $20 per trip maximum specified in the Alameda CTC’s Paratransit Program Implementation Guidelines. The annual cost of the contract including contingency is $165,636. Annual Measures B and BB funding is sufficient to cover the increased cost of the proposed enhanced service. There is no impact to the General Fund.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
This action does not affect the Alameda Municipal Code. The City’s Paratransit Program supports the General Plan Objective 4.1.5 “Consider the transportation needs of the community, including those with limited mobility options”, and the General Plan Policy 4.1.5.b: “Continue to support the Paratransit program.”
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant impact on the environment. Furthermore, in accordance with CEQA, this project is Statutory Exempt under CEQA Guidelines, Section 15273 Rates, Tolls, Fares, and Charges with the findings that:
1. Changes are necessary to encourage ridership within the service area.
2. Changes are necessary to provide an equitable distribution of services.
3. Changes are necessary for capital programming and capital costs necessary to maintain service within the service area.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation to award a contract in the amount of $165,636 including contingencies to MV Transportation, Inc. for the operation of the Alameda Paratransit Shuttle (Alameda Loop Shuttle).
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Ott, Base Reuse and Transportation Planning Director
By,
Gail Payne, Transportation Coordinator
Victoria Williams, Paratransit Coordinator
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Elena Adair, Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. Alameda Paratransit Program for Fiscal Year 2017/2018
2. Alameda Paratransit Shuttle Schedules with Current One Hour Frequency
3. MV Transportation, Inc. Contract