SR 02-28-2023 5B
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: February 28, 2023
Agenda Item: 5.B
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To: Mayor and City Council
From: Edward F King, Director, Department of Transportation, Transit Maintenance
Subject: Approval of Agreement with Gillig LLC to Purchase Fifteen 35-foot Battery
Electric Buses
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with Gillig
LLC to furnish and deliver up to fifteen 35-foot battery electric buses to the Santa
Monica Department of Transportation. This recommended award is made as an
exception to the competitive bidding process pursuant to Section 2.24.250(c) and
is for a total amount not to exceed $18,147,670 with future year funding
contingent on Council budget approval;
2. Authorize budget changes as outlined in the Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
section of this report;
3. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15302
(Replacement or Reconstruction) of the California Environmental Quality Act
(CEQA) Guidelines.
Summary
To advance efforts to transition the Big Blue Bus fleet to zero emissions buses by 2030,
staff recommends that the City execute a contract not to exceed $18,147,670 with Gillig,
LLC for the purchase of up to 15 battery electric buses (BEBs), including spare parts,
training, and warranty. The award recommendation is based on a competitively bid
agreement awarded to Gillig by the State of Washington.
Operating a regional transit system covering more than 60 square miles of the western
Los Angeles area and serving more than 7 million passengers a year, the Big Blue Bus
(BBB), a division of the Department of Transportation (DoT), is committed to reducing
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harmful emissions and pursuing the most environmentally sustainable vehicles to
provide service to customers and meet the operational needs of the department. In
support of that goal, DoT is converting its Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fleet of
buses to Zero Emissions vehicles. Pursuant to its Fleet Management Plan and Federal
Transportation Administration (FTA) guidelines, DoT replaces buses every 12 years or
500,000 miles. Staff recommends that buses be replaced on a one-for-one basis to
comport to its Fleet Management Plan strategy. Fifteen (15) CNG buses, purchased in
2010 and 2011, are currently due for replacement.
Discussion
To support the City of Santa Monica’s sustainability goals, the Santa Monica
Department of Transportation presented a Fleet Composition Study to Council in April
2018. Based on the study’s findings, Council reaffirmed its commitment to a full
transition to zero emissions by 2030. In support of the City’s sustainability target, DoT
has been operating BEBs in its fleet since August 13, 2019, and currently has nineteen
BEBs in service. In preparation for the adoption of BEBs, DoT completed a fleet
electrification master planning effort that evaluated its service to create a phased
implementation plan for the replacement of its CNG-powered buses and the installation
of charging infrastructure to fuel the vehicles. This report found that Big Blue Bus’s
current service needs can be met with existing BEBs now available on the market and
that overnight charging for these buses can be accommodated by our existing charging
system. DoT is also planning to enhance its charging infrastructure to accommodate
future BEB purchases. A consultant is currently developing construction and design
documents for the next phase of DoT’s electric bus charging infrastructure which is
scheduled to be built by the end of 2024. Additionally, the BEBs in the Big Blue Bus
fleet have performed well, and staff has received positive feedback from Motor Coach
Operators who have driven the buses and customers who have ridden on them. Since
Gillig vehicles comprise more than 80% of the BBB fleet, parts, maintenance, and
technician familiarity with the bus provide efficiencies and economies of scale for fleet
maintenance and warehousing of vehicle parts.
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Staff recommends executing a contract with Gillig LLC, pursuant to the same base price
as set forth in the terms and conditions in the State of Washington’s Transit Bus
Invitation for Bid (IFB) dated March 4, 2020, and the subsequently executed contract
06719-01 dated April 1, 2021. This procurement authorizes local government agencies
outside the State of Washington to purchase electric buses in accordance with the
prices listed in Attachment D of the IFB. Procurement of electric buses using the State
of Washington bid would enable the department to meet its goal of timely replacement
of vehicles that have reached their twelve-year useful life in accordance with BBB’s fleet
replacement plan.
Analysis
Base Price for each BEB (April 2021) 808,816
City and DoT technical requirements* 147,772
Delivery 1,997
Pre-tax unit price 958,585
PPI Adjustment per WA Contract (11.78%) (June 2022) 112,921
Current Pre-Tax Unit Price - (1/16/2023) 1,071,506
Applicable taxes 64,854
Total current unit price including taxes 1,136,360
Price for 15 electric buses 17,045,400
Spare Parts 150,000
Training 100,000
Contingency - 5% 852,270
Total Authorization Requested for Electric Bus Contract 18,147,670
*City and DoT technical requirements include Clever Devices hardware/software for the
Radio/Computer-Aided Dispatch-Automated Vehicle Location (CAD-AVL) system,
Automatic Passenger Counters, Wi-Fi, electric doors, the BBB seating layout,
wheelchair restraints, and passenger surveillance systems.
Vendor Selection
Exception to Competitive Bidding
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Staff recommends Gillig LLC to furnish and deliver battery electric transit
buses as an exception to competitive bidding per Muni Code 2.24.250 (c).
SMMC 2.24.250 (c) allows for the City to use a competitive bidding
process of another government entity where the goods or services
supplied to the City are the “same or better price” as the price obtained by
that agency. Here, the State of Washington followed all federal
requirements and procedures in connection with its IFB for the delivery of
35-foot electric buses. As a result of this process, Washington determined
that four vendors, including Gillig, were qualified to provide electric transit
buses and executed contracts with each of the qualified vendors.
Gillig was selected as the best value for Santa Monica DoT from among
the qualified vendors primarily due to the following factors:
Maintainability: Approximately 80% of DoT’s existing fleet are Gillig
buses and the BEBs produced by Gillig share 80% of parts and design
with 40’ Gillig buses in the existing fleet. As a result, less training is
needed to familiarize technicians with Gillig components and Motor Coach
Operators with the operation of the vehicle.
History of excellent product support: Gillig is a California-based
company headquartered in Livermore CA. DoT has a positive work history
with Gillig buses since 2013, and DoT has received excellent parts and
service support for its 19 BEBs.
Technical design, and passenger and community considerations:
DoT’s 19 Gillig BEBs have performed well since their deployment in
revenue service and are well received by both motor coach operators and
passengers.
c.
competitive procedures were followed by a governmental agency,
federal, state, county, city, joint powers agency, special district, or
cooperative purchasing agency and the goods or services are
supplied to the City at the same or better price;
Environmental Review
The award contract for the purchase of electric replacement buses is categorically
exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15302 of CEQA. Section 15302 exempts Class
2 projects which “consists of replacement or reconstruction of existing structures and
facilities where the new structure will be located on the same site as the structure
replaced and will have substantially the same purpose and capacity as the structure
replaced”. The electric buses would replace existing CNG buses, with essentially the
same purpose and capacity of existing CNG buses. Therefore, the project qualifies for a
Class 2 exemption.
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Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
4/24/2018 BBB Fleet Composition Study
7/24/2018 Purchase of (1) Prototype Gillig Electric Bus
10/22/2019 Purchase of (18) 40’ Gillig Electric Buses
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to appropriate $4,077,128 of Federal Section 5307 reimbursable
funds and approve the use of this funding from the Big Blue Bus Fund to award a
contract to Gillig LLC for the purchase of up to fifteen 35-foot Battery Electric Buses as
follows:
FY 2022-23 Budget Request
Funds to be Appropriated
Account Number Amount
C6004810.689000 $4,077,128
Contract Request
FY2022-23 Budget Department/CIP Account # Total Contract Amount Request Amount
$18,147,670 C6004810.689000 $18,147,670
The funds will be reimbursed by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) as expenses
are incurred, which is anticipated to be in FY2023-24. As such the revenue will be
budgeted during the biennial budget process. Future year funding is contingent on
Council budget approval.
Prepared By: David Nanjo, Administrative Analyst
Approved
Forwarded to Council
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Attachments:
A. Gillig Oaks
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5.B.a
Packet Pg. 72 Attachment: Gillig Oaks (5304 : Purchase of (15) 35-foot Battery Electric Buses)
5.B.a
Packet Pg. 73 Attachment: Gillig Oaks (5304 : Purchase of (15) 35-foot Battery Electric Buses)
5.B.a
Packet Pg. 74 Attachment: Gillig Oaks (5304 : Purchase of (15) 35-foot Battery Electric Buses)