SR 02-26-2019 3A
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: February 26, 2019
Agenda Item: 3.A
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward King, Director, Big Blue Bus, Transit Planning & Performance
Subject: Award of Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle Service for MODE
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Award RFP #203 to MV Transportation, Inc., a Texas-based company, for
wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) services for MODE;
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with MV
Transportation, Inc., in an amount not to exceed $274,438 for one year with 4
additional 1-year renewal options in the amounts of $280,204 for Option Year 1;
$290,340 for Option Year 2; $299,888 for Option Year 3; and $309,941 for
Option Year 4, for a total amount not to exceed $1,454,811 over a 5 -year period,
with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City’s Big Blue Bus provides the Mobility on Demand Every Day (MODE) ride
service, an on-demand transportation service for eligible Santa Monica seniors and
disabled residents seeking transportation to destinations in Santa Monica and to
selected medical and shopping destinations outside of Santa Monica. Lyft, Inc. provides
MODE’s curb-to-curb transportation services for ambulatory seniors and disabled
residents utilizing its authorized drivers using their own vehicles. However, operation of
wheelchair accessible vehicles is required for MODE’s door-through-door transportation
services for seniors and disabled residents who use wheelchairs and other mobility
devices. MV Transportation, Inc. operates the City-owned wheelchair accessible
vehicles under an option term that expires on June 30, 2019. Staff issued a request for
proposal seeking transportation services for operating the City-owned vehicles in
compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related laws and
regulations, and MV Transportation is recommended as the best bidder for such
transportation services.
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Discussion
The City of Santa Monica has long provided contracted dial-a-ride transit service for its
seniors and residents with disabilities. To be eligible for the dial-a-ride service, a
member must be a City of Santa Monica resident and be 60 or older or between the
ages of 18 and 59 with a disability. On April 8, 2014, Council awarded a contract for a
turnkey dial-a-ride service to MV Transportation to operate six City-owned wheelchair
accessible vehicles. The contract was for a three-year base term with two additional
one-year options. The final option year ends June 30, 2019.
In July of 2018, the dial-a-ride program was rebranded by the City as MODE. The
operation of MODE was structured with: 1) the on-demand transportation component
provided by Lyft, Inc.; and 2) the wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) component
operated by MV Transportation. The WAV component serves residents who use
mobility devices (i.e. wheelchairs), have severe disabilities, and participate in the City’s
door-through-door program. Coinciding with this change, MV Transportation’s contract
was extended through FY 2018-19 for the final one-year option, and the contract’s
scope of services was reduced to two wheelchair accessible vehicles (from six) as the
majority of the MODE service is now provided by Lyft vehicles.
All options have been exhausted for the current contract with MV Transportation to
provide WAV services; therefore, staff issued an RFP for a contractor to provide these
services. The scope of the service includes operating two (2) wheelchair accessible
vehicles during weekdays and one (1) vehicle on weekends.
Vendor Selection
Bid Data
Bid Posting Date Bid Posted On
Bid Advertised In
(City Charter &
Municipal Code)
# of Vendors
Downloaded
# of
Submittals
Received
Date Publicly
Opened
11/16/2018 City's Online
Bidding Site
Santa Monica
Daily Press 18 2 12/31/2018
Submittals Received Selection Criteria
MV
Transportation
$274,438
Municipal
Code SMMC 2.24.072
ButterFLi
Technologies
$321,750 Evaluation
Criteria
Price, previous experience, technical approach/work
plan, stability/references, and compliance with City
specifications.
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Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
4/8/14 Award Contract for Dial-a-Ride Service to MV Transportation
11/28/17 Award Contract for Dial-a-Ride Services (On-Demand
Transportation) to Lyft, Inc.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to award a contract to MV Transportation.
Contract/Agreement/Purchase Order Request
Request Amount
FY 2019-20 Budget
Department/CIP Account #
Total Contract
Amount
$274,438 60600006.55001B $1,454,811
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval.
Best Bidder MV Transportation
Best Bidder Justification
MV Transportation, Inc. was the best bidder based on the evaluation criteria outlined in the
RFP and also provided the lowest bid. MV Transportation has experience locally and
nationally providing paratransit services similar to the services outlined in the scope of work.
MV Transportation’s proposal and work plan demonstrated their deep understanding of the
technical and operational requirements of the scope of work. MV Transportation has been
providing quality and safe dial-a-ride/WAV services for the City of Santa Monica since July
2008, giving them the opportunity to develop a strong understanding of the specific needs of
Santa Monica’s senior and disabled community.
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Prepared By: Timothy McCormick, Transit Planning and Performance Manager
Approved
Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. November 28, 2017 Staff Report (weblink)
B. April 8, 2014 Staff Report (weblink)
C. Oaks Initiative Form
REFERENCE:
Modified Agreement
No. 10808
(CCS)