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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGOTransit_Paratransit_Final PresentationGO TRANSITPARATRANSIT STUDYOCTOBER 2024 1 Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 2 Federal Regulations ................................................................................................................... 2 Existing Conditions ................................................................................................................. 3 Paratransit Services ................................................................................................................... 3 Special Programs ....................................................................................................................... 3 Transit Development Plan .......................................................................................................... 5 Case Studies ............................................................................................................................ 5 Sheboygan ................................................................................................................................. 5 Eau Claire .................................................................................................................................. 6 Fond du Lac ............................................................................................................................... 7 Peer City Comparison ................................................................................................................ 7 Operational Scenarios ............................................................................................................. 9 Scenario 1: Purchase Software & Contract Out .......................................................................... 9 Scenario 2: Purchase Software & Bring Operations In-house .................................................... 9 Scenario 3: Adjust Services for Attractiveness and Contract Out ..............................................10 Vendor Analysis ......................................................................................................................10 Discussion ...............................................................................................................................11 Future Considerations ............................................................................................................15 Scenario 1 Considerations ........................................................................................................15 Scenario 2 Considerations ........................................................................................................15 Scenario 3 Considerations ........................................................................................................15 Request for Proposals (RFP) ....................................................................................................16 ECWRPC Project Team: GO Transit Project Team: Kim Biedermann Kate Blackburn Chris Colla Jim Collins Steve Tomasik Heather Knight 2 Introduction The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) requires operators of fixed route transit services to provide comparable services to qualifying disabled or impaired individuals under the established Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) eligibility criteria. GO Transit operates the transit services in the City of Oshkosh. Paratransit services are contracted out to City Cab and operate 24/7 throughout Winnebago County. As the Paratransit contract with City Cab is nearing its expiration, GO Transit is reviewing future scenarios for the program. This report analyzes the existing paratransit service and envisions the future of the service to provide a higher level and quality of service to riders. This report reviews the existing paratransit services and programs, identifies service deficiencies through a case study analysis, features information gathered from peer city and vendor discussions, and finally proposes three operational alternatives for consideration by GO Transit. Federal Regulations 49 CFR 37.131 is the primary regulation that sets the service requirements for paratransit services. Part (a) of this regulation requires that public transportation agencies provide paratransit (specialized transportation for people with disabilities) within three-fourths of a mile on each side of a fixed bus route. The service must also cover small areas not directly along these routes but surrounded by them. In areas outside the main service zone, the agency can extend this coverage up to one and a half miles on either side of the route if needed. The "core service area" is where these three-fourths of a mile corridors mostly overlap, ensuring comprehensive coverage for all origins and destinations within it. Part (b) states that public transportation agencies must provide paratransit service to eligible individuals at any requested time during the service operating hours, as long as the request is made the day before. Reservations can be made during normal business hours or comparable times, even on days when the offices are closed. While the agency can negotiate pickup times, they can't require a person to schedule a trip more than an hour before or after their desired time. Agencies can also use real-time scheduling and allow reservations up to 14 days in advance. Any changes to the reservation system must involve public input. Part (c) establishes the fare for paratransit service can't be more than twice the fare of a similar trip on the regular bus system. This calculation can include transfer and premium charges. Individuals accompanying an eligible rider pay the same fare, while a personal care attendant rides for free. Higher fares can be charged to organizations for trips they arrange for their clients. Parts (d) and (e) prohibit public transportation agencies from limiting or prioritizing paratransit trips based on trip purpose. Additionally, the paratransit services must be available during at least the same hours and days as the fixed route bus system. Part (f) states that public transportation agencies cannot limit the availability of paratransit service for eligible individuals by restricting the number of trips, creating waiting lists, or through practices that significantly reduce service availability. These restrictive practices include consistently late pickups, frequent trip denials or missed trips, and excessively long trips. However, issues caused by factors like unexpected weather or traffic are not considered service limitations. 3 Part (g) clarifies that public transportation agencies can offer more paratransit service than required by the rules. However, when asking for a financial burden waiver, only the cost of the minimum required service can be considered. Existing Conditions City Cab is the primary operator of the GO Transit paratransit and specialized transportation services and operates with 14 ADA compliant vehicles between all services. In addition to the standard paratransit service within three-fourths mile of the fixed route system, the service is operated throughout the entire county for qualifying elderly and paratransit riders, in partnership with Winnebago County. City Cab also operates the Access to Jobs program for qualifying individuals within the City of Oshkosh. Summaries of individual programs are listed below. Paratransit Services GO Transit’s basic paratransit service operates within the required three-fourths mile boundaries of the fixed route service area during normal fixed route hours. This option is a curb-to-curb service at $3.00 per one-way trip. Premium service is available at $4.00 per one-way trip and includes additional driver assistance for individuals requiring a door-to-door style service. GO Transit also offers after-hours services, outside of the standard fixed-route times and on Sundays, at $6.00 per one-way trip with the exclusion of holidays. Rides must be scheduled by 4:30 pm the day before the trip. Special Programs GO Plus Senior Dial-A-Ride GO Transit’s Senior Dial a Ride service is comparable to the Paratransit service, except it is only eligible to Oshkosh residents over 60 years of age. This is a demand response service, with rides requiring advanced scheduling. A one-way curb-to-curb trip costs $4.50, while a one-way after-hours trip costs $6.00. This is a shared-ride service with trips being combined where possible for efficiency. An additional feature of the service is free bus rides to and from the residence to the senior center with a bus ID card. Rural Riders There are two service types available for the Rural Riders program. The first provides sedan service to rural residents within Winnebago County that are over the age of 60. The second service provides sedan and lift-equipped van service to rural residents under the age of 60 with a qualifying disability. This program limits trips to ten one-way trips per month with each one-way trip costing $7.00. This service similarly requires advanced scheduling but is available 24/7 with the exception of holidays. This program offers curb-to-curb service anywhere within Winnebago County. This program is operated in partnership with Winnebago County. Access to Jobs The Access to Jobs program is a demand response cab service that assists qualifying low-income Oshkosh residents with transportation to and from work outside of normal fixed-route operating hours or when the fixed-route service is not within reasonable access. Aside from income requirements, residents must also live and work within Oshkosh city limits and work at least 30 hours per week. The Access to Jobs program offers discounted fares at $4.00 per one-way trip. 4 Figure 1: GO Transit Paratransit Service Areas 5 Transit Development Plan SRF Consulting completed the scheduled update to GO Transit’s Transit Development Plan (TDP) in spring 2024, and it was adopted by the City’s Common Council on April 9, 2024. The TDP included public engagement, with both a general survey and a survey exclusively focused on paratransit. The general community survey indicated over 75 percent of respondents are somewhat familiar with GO Transit bus services, but few are familiar with paratransit or other types of services. In the paratransit survey, over half the respondents indicated use of paratransit services multiple times per week. In addition to the use of GO Plus, 18 percent of paratransit survey respondents used regular fixed-route service. It’s noted that for this survey, many respondents were frequent, long-time users of the paratransit services. Case Studies In order to gain a deeper understanding of different paratransit operational scenarios, East Central staff carried out conversations with three peer cities across the state providing insight into their operations. The following section provides a summary of these conversations and an overview of the agencies’ paratransit operations. Sheboygan ADA Paratransit Shoreline Metro offers ADA Paratransit options to qualifying individuals whose origin and destination are within three-fourths mile of the fixed-route system within the cities of Sheboygan, Sheboygan Falls, and Village of Kohler. To qualify for the service an individual must (1) have a disability but is unable to board, ride, or disembark a fully accessible bus; (2) an individual has a disability and is able to use the accessible fixed route system but a vehicle is not available; or (3) an individual has a condition that prevents them from getting to or from the boarding location of the regular bus system. These program requirements encourage riders to utilize the fixed route system whenever possible. The ADA Paratransit service operates from 5:15 am to 8:15 pm, Monday through Friday and 8:45 to 3:45 on Saturdays. Reservations can be made weekdays from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm via phone or in the app. Shoreline Metro allows same-day reservations when possible. A single one-way trip costs $3.00 per person with personal care attendants riding for free. County Specialized Service The County Specialized Service offers county-wide transportation to qualifying individuals for medical, nutritional, and employment trips. To qualify for the service, an individual must be over the age of 60 or under the age of 60 with a qualifying disability. The service area includes the cities of Sheboygan and Sheboygan Falls and the Village of Kohler, with limited service to Oostburg and Cedar Grove. Service to these locations is provided Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. Additionally, service is provided in Plymouth on Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. Operations Shoreline Metro paratransit operations are run in-house. The decision to bring operations in-house was made for them when the provider quit with short notice and required the agency to carry on operations using the fixed-route busses for six to eight months, although this was only 6 intended to be a temporary solution. The agency already owned a transit facility at the time of bringing operations in-house, which further lent to the decision of maintaining in-house operations. Shoreline Metro maintains a fleet of eleven shared-ride paratransit busses and is servicing around 2100 trips per month at an operating cost of about $30.00 per trip. Shoreline Metro utilizes Ecolane software for their operations, which includes an app and back-of-house software. The software connects directly to an onboard tablet which creates a path of constant communication with the driver and allows for true on-demand booking. Riders can book trips through the app or by calling the phone operator; however, trips are only booked during weekdays from 8:00 am through 3:00 pm. The software also provides live tracking of the vehicle for the rider and transit operator, as well as processes payments. The purchasing of software has allowed Shoreline Metro to process reports significantly quicker as well as schedule trips more efficiently. Processing reports prior to the purchasing of software took upwards of six hours, versus ten minutes with the use of the software. Similarly, Shoreline Metro’s paratransit service hours were reduced to 40 service hours a day with the use of software booking, down from 150 service hours when done by hand due to more efficient scheduling. Shoreline Metro’s vehicles are all equipped with three video cameras. This three-camera system creates accountability for all parties and has nearly eliminated any adverse interactions or incidences between the driver, rider, and/or other vehicles. Another noteworthy feature of Shoreline Metro’s service is that they allow lifetime certification of paratransit services for those riders whose condition will not change. Should a lifetime certified rider move or change addresses then they will need to reapply to the service. Shoreline Metro also performs in-person assessments for paratransit applicants to determine eligibility of the service. The designated staff will spend several hours with the applicant before determining eligibility. Eau Claire ADA Paratransit The City of Eau Claire partners with Eau Claire County to provide ADA paratransit services for qualifying individuals throughout the county. Qualification criteria for individuals living outside of Eau Claire and Altoona city limits differ from those living within city limits. To qualify when residing outside of the city limits, an applicant must be 60 years of age or older or have a qualifying disability and have no other means of transportation. Individuals residing outside of the city limits must further include a trip purpose when booking, as social trips are prioritized last. Prioritization only applies to those living outside of the city limits as 49 CFR 37.131 (d) prohibits trip prioritization for the core service area, defined in the Federal Regulations section. Individuals who require medical transport, such as a reclined position or needing assistance past the doorway, do not qualify for the paratransit service. Trip booking is required at least one day in advance and can be booked through the app or via phone only during normal business hours. The service operates during the same hours as the normal fixed-route system, and these hours vary based on location: from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm Monday through Friday in the City of Eau Claire; 6:00 am to 7:00 pm in the City of Altoona. On Saturdays the service is available from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm for the entire county. And on 7 Sundays, Eau Claire county has instituted an after-hours program for qualifying individuals to schedule trips after 7:00 pm. A single one-way trip costs $3.50. Operations Abby Vans, Inc. is the current operator of the Eau Claire paratransit service, operated turnkey and door-to-door. Abby Vans utilizes TripSpark software (formerly Routematch), that includes back-of-house software as well as an app for public use. Through the app, riders can book or cancel rides, pay, track their trip/driver, pay, and receive updates on arrival time. The software is connected to the driver’s phone rather than to on-board equipment. Abby Vans operates in 36 counties within the state of Wisconsin, with twelve vehicles specifically serving Eau Claire. Ridership for the regular paratransit runs roughly 2,000 trips per month and operates at an average of $40.00 per trip. Similar to Sheboygan, Abby Vans maintains cameras onboard each vehicle for quality assurance. Eau Claire contracts with the non-profit Western Dairyland Community Action Agency, which provides travel training to riders. They serve as an ambassador for all things transit and assist with applications, and familiarize new riders with the process Discussions with Eau Claire were unique to the other peer city conversations in that their services were fully contracted out. Abby Vans discussed contract deterrents from the vendor’s perspective, including the requirement of vehicle branding specific to the city, requirement to use different software, and the requirement to bid on separate contracts. Fond du Lac ADA Paratransit Fond du Lac county operates the ADA paratransit service, known as Handi-Van, for the City of Fond du Lac and Village of North Fond du Lac. To qualify for the service, an applicant must be over the age of 65 or have a qualifying disability. Service is provided during the same hours as the fixed-route system, from 6:00 am to 6:30 pm Monday through Friday. A single one-way trip costs $4.00 with personal care attendants riding along for free. Trips can only be booked via phone and require exact cash or a pre-paid card balance at the time of pick-up. Operations The County operates the paratransit services in-house and without the use of software. The paratransit fleet includes a total of five vehicles, with three operating at a given time and two spares. The paratransit vehicles are single occupancy wheelchair equipped vans. Drivers are responsible for tracking pick-up and drop-off times, in addition to maintaining cash payments from riders. The County has plans to utilize 5310 funding to hire a Mobility Manager to assist in generally overseeing operations and create cohesive coordination between the varying departments. Due to the lack of software, Fond du Lac was not sure of their monthly ridership nor their operational costs. Peer City Comparison The table on the following page, Table 1, shows a side by side comparison of Oshkosh with peer cities discussed in this section with the addition of Green Bay. The East Central team did not meet with Green Bay, but communicated general information about paratransit services through email. 8 Table 1: Peer City Comparison Chart Oshkosh Eau Claire Fond du Lac Sheboygan Green Bay Operational Setup Door-to-door, Turnkey Door-to-door, Turnkey Door-to-door, In-house Door-to-door, In-house Door-to-door, Turnkey Service Operator City Cab Abby Vans Inc Fond du Lac County City of Sheboygan Via Software N/A TripSpark/RouteMatch N/A Ecolane Via Onboard Cameras No Yes No Yes Yes Booking Timeframe 24/7 Normal business hours Normal business hours Normal business hours Normal business hours and Saturdays Booking Options Phone Phone and App Phone Phone and App Phone and App Same Day Booking No No No Yes-when possible No Hours of Operation 24/7 Same as Fixed Route Same as Fixed Route (No Weekend Service) Same as Fixed Route Same as Fixed Route Geographic Coverage County Wide County Wide City of Fond du Lac and Village of North Fond du Lac Origin and destination must both be within 3/4 mile of fixed route. Plymouth service on Wednesdays and Fridays Within 3/4 mile of fixed route and includes destinations within Microtransit zones Vehicles in Fleet 14 12 5 11 12-shared ride vehicles Operational Cost per Trip $26-$31.50 $40.00 Unknown $30.00 $34.00 Customer Cost per Trip $3.00 $3.50 $4.00 $3.00 $4.00 Average Monthly Ridership 2637* 2000** Unknown 2100 1266 *Oshkosh ridership calculations were based on data from January 2024 through May 2024 and include all programs except Access to Jobs. **It is not clear whether this number is inclusive of county-wide trips or only within city limits. When compared to the peer cities, Oshkosh operates the largest fleet across one of the largest geographic regions during all hours of the week, lending to the larger number of monthly rides. The two cities operating their paratransit services in-house operate within the smallest geographic area. Green Bay’s utilization of Microtransit assists in filling the gaps of the other transit operations including fixed route and paratransit. This speaks to the lower average monthly ridership and hours of operation (see Table 3 for more detailed hours). Oshkosh is the only city offering 24/7 booking and ride options. Overall the majority of peer cities – including research on several additional Wisconsin cities not listed – align with these general best practices: • Booking during normal business hours • Paratransit service hours aligning with fixed route hours • Utilizing software and on-board cameras for quality assurance • Providing booking options via phone and app 9 Operational Scenarios Three operational scenarios were developed following the case study research and discussions with peer cities and through better understanding GO Transit’s operations. These scenarios address needs and goals of existing service, and each comes with different challenges and opportunities. Consideration was also given in the development of recommendations and operational scenarios to the goals and future considerations dictated in the TDP and the Metropolitan Transportation Plan (MTP). At the time of conducting this study, public engagement for the Oshkosh Metropolitan Transportation Plan is underway. While the MTP is focused on all aspects of transportation, specific comments regarding transit services have been received. Comments received during these engagement events have been taken into consideration when developing the operational scenarios and recommendations. Scenario 1: Purchase Software & Contract Out The first scenario analyzed entails the immediate purchasing of paratransit software and continuing existing paratransit operations. GO Transit would require the current vendor to use the software and once the existing contract has expired, reissue an RFP for turnkey services with the requirement of the vendor to use the in-house software. Opportunities: This scenario would be the quickest of the scenarios, as the software could be purchased immediately. The purchasing of software would allow GO Transit to select the software capabilities that they require. Challenges: Several challenges arise with this scenario, namely that the purchasing of in-house software and requirement of vendor to use is a deterrent that may dissuade vendors from bidding on the RFP. This is due to the compatibility of the in-house software with the vendor’s existing software. Additionally, when selecting software capabilities, it is difficult to define the needs and desired capabilities as a first-time purchaser. As an example of this, when Shoreline Metro purchased software to bring operations in-house, they selected many capabilities they did not end up needing or utilizing, but that ultimately increased the overall cost of the product. Scenario 2: Purchase Software & Bring Operations In-house The second scenario analyzed considers the immediate purchasing of software with the longer-term goal of bringing operations fully in-house. GO Transit would require the current vendor to use the software while beginning preparations for in-house operations. Once the contract has expired, operations will be brought fully in-house. Opportunities: Once in-house operations are established, it would only require maintenance to continue and would not necessitate any additional RFPs or contracts with outside vendors. GO Transit would have full responsibility of operations and reporting. Challenges: There are a number of large and complex challenges with this scenario, including the implementation timeline, funding and capital purchases (i.e. vehicles, facilities, etc.), and staffing. Each of these is complex, expensive, and time-consuming, especially when it is a new experience. Along these lines, the trial and error process could be substantial. Another 10 challenge with in-house operations is the ability to continue operations as it currently stands, with 24/7 county-wide service. Shoreline Metro was able to achieve in-house operations due to a number of factors, namely that they already had facilities at the time of bringing operations in-house, and given that they are only providing service during normal fixed route hours and only within ¾ mile of the fixed route system. Continuing Paratransit operations as they currently stand in Oshkosh would be a substantial undertaking. Scenario 3: Adjust Services for Attractiveness and Contract Out The third scenario entails adjusting paratransit operations and services to be more appealing to vendors and issuing RFP for turnkey services. Opportunities: This scenario would provide the most flexibility and ease of implementation for GO Transit. There is potential to combine a number of services into one RFP or, as stated in the Recommendation section below, to make it optional for a vendor to bid on one or multiple contracts depending on what they feel comfortable with. By combining programs and services, it allows for mixing of funding to sustain the overall program and would additionally provide a higher level of service. This also allows for a more sustainable operational scenario of shared rides between programs. A turnkey contract would require less hands-on responsibility on GO Transits part. Further, a larger vendor would provide quicker and higher quality service, over a larger area and for more hours than would be possible if operations were brought in-house. Challenges: The main challenge with this scenario is creating a service model and RFP that is attractive enough for multiple and/or larger vendors to bid on. Vendor Analysis In conducting the analysis of industry vendors, the different scenarios were considered and included conversations with both turnkey vendors and software only vendors. Conversations pertaining to scenarios one and two were carried out with Ecolane, Via, and RideCo to acquire a general cost estimate for the purchasing of software only. Estimates are calculated based on vehicles operating at peak times, for which the low estimate used is eight vehicles and the high estimate is ten vehicles. Further, when purchasing software there is an initial purchase cost that includes the back of house software and the customer facing app, and secondly there is the cost of annual maintenance. Different things are included in the initial cost depending on vendor and may or may not include hardware, data migration, staff training, and implementation. General cost ranges presented in the table below are general estimates and may vary depending on a number of factors and software capabilities. Table 2: Software Cost Range Initial Purchase Cost Annual Maintenance Cost Low High Low High $20,000 $120,000 $17,000 $60,000 *Lower initial costs typically correlate to higher annual maintenance costs* 11 Conversations pertaining to Scenario 3 were carried out with Abby Vans, Via, and Running Inc., about factors considered when deciding whether to bid on a turnkey RFP. The size of the vendor influences different aspects of services they are able to offer and or existing conditions they may be able to work with. The overall goal of the conversations was to determine how to make a contract most attractive to the largest number of vendors. Based on the conversations, the following deterrents were determined to have an influence on some or all vendors’ considerations. Deterrents may include: o 24/7 Service o Small service area o Requirement to bid on multiple contracts o Requirement to use existing software o Requirement to use in-house staff, vehicles, or branding o Liquidated damages based on performance o Too short time span to respond to RFP posting o Single occupancy rides o Non-negotiable pick-up windows o Collecting and storing of health-related data that would require strict HIPAA compliance These deterrents may not be applicable to all vendors but should be considered when creating RFP to attract the largest number of vendors. Discussion Operating Hours A predominant factor of GO Transit’s existing service that contributes to higher operating costs and unattractiveness to vendors is the 24/7 operating hours. When comparing to the three peer cities discussed above, GO Transit is the only city offering 24/7 service, even at an increased rate. This trend is similar when looking at other peer cities across the state. Table 3 compares GO Transit’s paratransit operating hours to that of twelve other agencies, eight of which have larger populations than that of Oshkosh. Of the twelve other agencies, Oshkosh is the only transit agency offering 24/7 service. Constant availability of services (24/7) was identified in the vendor discussions as a deterrent for bidding. Ridership outside of the regular fixed route hours is not substantial, and the requirement to have staff available during low ridership times substantially increases operational costs per trip. Additionally, GO Transit staffs a phone operator 24/7, which is also unique. Sheboygan, Fond du Lac, and Eau Claire maintain a phone operator on staff to accept booking requests via phone; however, the hours in which the operator is in office and books trips is restricted to either normal business hours or during the paratransit operating hours. Despite the varying geographic coverage and operating hours of the peer cities, they are all reporting comparable ridership numbers to that of GO Transit. When looking at GO Transit’s monthly ridership, the majority of trips fall within the hours of the normal fixed route operating hours. Figure 1 shows the average ride count of all paratransit programs (not including the Access to Jobs program) broken out by time of day and day of the week. From 10:30 pm to 6:00 12 am, there are very few riders. Similarly, Figure 2 shows the ridership for the Access to Jobs program, where ridership is highest outside of the normal fixed-route hours as expected. Based on the current ridership trends, reduction of paratransit operating hours would not cause a substantial loss of ridership. If paratransit operating hours were reduced, paratransit riders utilizing the service for transport to and from work would then qualify for the Access to Jobs program for those trips, further reducing ridership loss. Reduction of hours as discussed in this section would benefit each of the presented scenarios. It would reduce the overall operating costs and create a more attractive service for vendors to bid on. Additionally, should operations be brought in-house, reduction of hours would be even more critical given the substantial geographic coverage of the existing programs. Maintaining operations of a county-wide service 24/7, would be difficult to sustain, especially to the required under 49 CFR 37.131. 13 Table 3: Paratransit Operating Hours in Peer Cities Across the State CityMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSunMon-FriSatSun20:0021:0022:0023:000:001:0019:008:009:0010:0011:0012:0013:0014:0015:0016:0017:0018:002:003:004:005:006:007:00SheboyganFond du Lac0:001:00Eau ClaireWaukesha CityOshkoshJanesville (Rock County)La CrosseMilwaukeeMadisonGreen BayKenoshaRacineAppleton/Fox Cities (Valley Transit) 14 Figure 1: Paratransit Ridership Figure 2: Access to Jobs Ridership 15 Future Considerations The following section discusses considerations for the various scenarios. Given the needs expressed by GO Transit and from the peer city and vendor analysis, Scenario 3 best aligns with GO Transit’s existing and future needs. Table 4 shows how the different scenarios compared when rated against the evaluation criteria. Table 4: Scenario Comparison Chart Most Opportunity Neutral Least Opportunity Scenario 1 Scenario 2 Scenario 3 Purchase software and require existing vendor to use. Reissue RFP for paratransit operations. Purchase software with intention of bringing service fully in-house in the future. Issue RFP for turnkey paratransit service, as the service currently exists with 24/7 service. Issue RFP for turnkey paratransit service with adjusted hours to align with fixed-route. Vendor Attractiveness N/A Cost East of Implementation Potential to expand service area Potential to expand employment transportation services Potential for Microtransit addition Note: Vendor attractiveness is not applicable for scenario 2 as service would not be contracted out. Scenario 1 Considerations Based on conversations with the operational vendors, requirement to use preexisting software may deter them from bidding on the RFP for turnkey services. If the vendors have preexisting software, there may be compatibility issue when joining the two programs together, or at least substantial effort on behalf of the vendor. If the vendor does not have existing software, then software owned by GO Transit would not be a deterrent. Scenario one would be the easiest and fastest alternative to implement but could produce mixed results. Scenario 2 Considerations The common denominator between Scenario 1 and 2 is the purchasing of software. Bringing operations in-house would take a substantial amount of time, effort, and funding. This would require a longer outlook of potentially five to ten years. The downside of bringing operations in-house is the overall strain and effort it would take on the transit agency. Based on information gained from the peer city conversations, it is unlikely that county wide service would be able to continue in this scenario. Although the transit agency would have full control of operations, the potential to expand service hours and maintain geographic coverage would be minimal to none. Scenario 3 Considerations Scenario 3 aligns best with GO Transit’s current needs in terms of cost efficiency and timeliness. Proceeding with Scenario 3 does not exclude the possibility of Scenario 2 in the distant future, but is more likely to meet the current needs and timeline compared to Scenario 1. Proceeding with Scenario 3 will also provide opportunity to maintain county-wide service while increasing overall service quality. The key to a successful Scenario 3 is to create a service 16 model that is attractive enough for larger vendors to want to bid on. Some of the easiest operational changes include: • Reducing service hours to better align with the fixed-route system • Reduce trip booking hours to that of normal business hours • Combine contracts to allow co-mingling of trips/riders between the various programs • Require the use of shared ride vehicles rather than single occupancy vehicles • Require collection of real time trip information • Allow negotiable ride windows of up to 30 minutes Together these will create a more efficient system for booking and scheduling of rides which will ultimately reduce operational costs per trip, increase ridership, and provide a higher quality service for the rider. Request for Proposals (RFP) This section is specific to considerations to be given when issuing an RFP for either software or turnkey services and are based on conversations carried out with vendors. Ability to book a trip should be available only during normal business hours. The RFP should require booking at least one day in advance, in alignment with federal regulations; however, it should be left to the vendor to decide capabilities of same day on-demand booking. It was stated as a preference by several vendors to have RFP listed for 60 to 90 days to allow ample time to put together a thoughtful proposal. Additionally, it would be beneficial to spread the word of the RFP through as many avenues as possible. There are times when a vendor may not see an RFP until it is too late for them to create an adequate proposal and cost estimate. This may prevent them from bidding entirely. The vendors prefer to operate their own service in a turnkey style. This includes their own vehicles without the requirement for city or agency branding as that adds additional costs and eliminates the ability to share vehicles between different city or regional programs. The use of shared ride vehicles, as discussed above, will increase efficiency when scheduling trips and reduce overall operational costs. There should be a requirement to capture real time trip information including geolocation data. Consideration could be given to language that includes the option for the transit agency to purchase software on the behalf of the chosen vendor if they do not own and operate their own. As much information as possible should be included in the RFP. This was specified by vendors as being necessary to create adequate price estimates with their bid. Optional Liquidation of damages is a common requirement to include in a vendor contract, although this could act as a deterrent for larger vendors. Liquidation of damages lays out a set amount of money agreed upon by both parties would be paid if one of the parties breaches the contract. This is intended to cover losses incurred through the loss or damage of goods or services. As an example, this could be utilized in situations where the agency receives a driver complaint and adequate measures are not taken to amend the situation. Liquidation of damages could apply to a wide range of situations and hold the vendor accountable for keeping their end of the contract.