Fremont City Council Meeting: 09/03/24 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Human Services Department Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5241) DOC ID: 5241
Updated: 8/28/2024 2:48 PM by Dina Lewis Page 1
TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR OLDER ADULTS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES (RIDE-ON TRI-CITY!): Authorization to Execute Agreements with Alameda County Transportation Commission for Paratransit Discretionary Grant Program Funding; Authorization to Execute Agreement with Nomad Transit LLC (a subsidiary of Via Transportation, Inc.) for Ride-On Tri-City’s Wheelchair Accessible Van Service; and Making Findings of CEQA Exemption.
Contact Persons:
Name: Shawn Fong Christina Briggs
Title: Paratransit Program Manager Assistant City Manager Div/Dept: Human Services Department City Manager's Office Phone: 510-574-2033 510-284-4022
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC) funds innovative transportation services for older adults and people with disabilities through its Paratransit Discretionary Grant Program (PDGP). The City of Fremont submitted two PDGP applications to Alameda CTC, and in May 2024, was awarded funding for the continuation of its successful Mobility Management and Travel Training Program and funding to pilot an On-Demand Wheelchair Accessible Van (WAV) service.
The purpose of this report is to recommend the City Council:
1. Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a five-year agreement (FY 2024-2029) with Alameda CTC for $875,000, for Ride-On Tri-City’s Mobility Management and Travel Training Program.
2. Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a three-year agreement (FY 2024-2027) with Alameda CTC for $525,000, for Ride-On Tri-City’s! On-Demand WAV Pilot Program.
3. Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute an agreement with Nomad Transit LLC, in an amount not to exceed $2,560,000, for the provision of same-day accessible transportation services for the On-Demand WAV Pilot.
The $525,000 PDGP award will be supplemented with the City of Fremont’s, the City of Newark’s and the City of Union City’s Measure BB direct local distribution funds to fully fund the On-Demand WAV Pilot Program.
BACKGROUND: The City of Fremont provides a wide array of transportation services for older adults and people with disabilities living in the Tri-City area. The City’s program, known as Ride-On Tri-City!, provides subsidized rides on wheelchair accessible vans, taxis and ride-hailing services. The WAV service provides rides by advance reservation, while the Taxi and Ride-Hailing Services provide same-day ride access. As the needs of our community have changed, the Human Services Department has developed new ways to address transportation service gaps and to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities in the Tri-City area have access to reliable and affordable modes of transportation that are essential to maintaining a high quality of life.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5241) Meeting of September 3, 2024 Updated: 8/28/2024 2:48 PM by Dina Lewis Page 2
In 2006, the City was awarded PDGP funding by Alameda CTC to start a Travel Training Program in southern Alameda County to teach older adults and people with disabilities how to ride public transit. In 2011, the City was awarded PDGP funding by Alameda CTC to pilot an innovative Mobility Management Program to provide comprehensive assessments and education to help community members connect with transportation services that fit their particular needs. The combined Mobility Management and Travel Training Programs serve over 1,200 participants each year. In recognition of the impact of these programs on the quality of life for elderly and disabled Tri-City residents, the City was awarded $875,000 to continue these services from July 2024 through June 2029.
On a local and county-wide level, access to same-day, wheelchair-accessible transportation has been a critical unmet service need and has been identified as a priority action area in the City’s Age Friendly Action Plan. Same-day accessible transportation has also been identified as a funding priority of Alameda CTC. Currently, ADA paratransit services, such as East Bay Paratransit, and City-operated transportation services, including Ride-On Tri-City!, offer wheelchair accessible services on an advance reservation basis only. To address this unmet need and address equity in access to same-day services for persons using wheelchairs, the City applied for and was awarded $525,000 in PDGP funding from Alameda CTC to pilot an On-Demand WAV Pilot Program. With this grant award, Ride-On Tri-City! is able to redesign its WAV service to better meets the needs of the community and is seeking to contract with Nomad Transit LLC to pilot On-Demand WAV service beginning in January 2025.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: In preparation for launching the first on-demand, City-operated WAV service in Alameda County, the Ride-On Tri-City! program is being redesigned to:
• Implement innovative transportation software and service delivery models to improve program participants’ ride experiences, especially for those using wheelchairs. • Consolidate the suite of transportation services offered to increase program enrollment access, streamline community outreach and education, and effectively manage increasing transportation service demand.
• Increase the accuracy and availability of program data used to plan and sustain high quality, affordable and reliable transportation services by phasing out taxi services by the end of FY 2024/25 (taxi service participants will be reassigned to other Ride-On Tri-City! transportation services).
• Eliminate archaic paper-based transportation vouchers currently used for WAV and Taxi services, and the associated mailing costs and staff labor involved in the processing, tracking and financial reconciliation of transportation voucher orders. • Include credit and debit card payment options for fares on the new On-Demand WAV pilot.
In its search for a service provider for its On-Demand WAV Pilot, the City explored the options of separate procurements for transportation software and transportation service delivery, as well as a single procurement for turn-key operations which includes both. The City determined that the turn-key option would best meet the City’s needs. Under the proposed agreement, Nomad Transit LLC will provide turn-key operations for the City’s On- Demand WAV Pilot.
The City will procure Nomad Transit LLC services through the 791 Purchasing Cooperative, an administrative agency authorized by the Central Texas Council of Governments that provides publicly procured, competitively solicited contracts for a wide array of products and Council Staff Report (ID # 5241) Meeting of September 3, 2024 Updated: 8/28/2024 2:48 PM by Dina Lewis Page 3
services for use by local government entities in all states to increase quality and efficiency in purchasing. Fremont Municipal Code section 3.20.310 authorizes the City to participate with one or more public agencies, including those of another state, in a cooperative agreement to purchase services without using the City’s competitive procurement process.
The 791 Purchasing Cooperative has an agreement with Via Transportation, Inc., of which Nomad LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary, and the City has the opportunity to realize cost savings by using the price terms of the 791 Purchasing Cooperative agreement. Purchasing has determined that the 791 purchasing Cooperative’s contract and agreed upon pricing with Via Solutions and its subsidiaries, including Nomad Transit LLC, resulted from procurement methods similar to those required by the City, and, therefore, the City may award the contract without further competitive procurement.
The City’s On-Demand WAV Pilot will operate on the same parameters as other Rid e-On Tri- City services, with rides provided within the Tri-City area between 8am and 6pm, seven days a week, with a target of a one-hour response time from the rider’s request. Riders will have the option to request rides through a mobile application, a call center, or a web browser. Transportation software provides essential service data needed for service monitoring, reporting and evaluation. The proposed agreement includes the following costs:
hourly vehicle service fees, retrofitted minivans with rear entry wheelchair access and program branding with vehicle wraps.
FISCAL IMPACT: The proposed agreement with Nomad Transit has no impact on the City’s General Fund. The total not-to-exceed amount for the proposed agreement with Nomad Transit is $2,560,000 ($370,000 for FY2024/25, $1,110,000 for FY2025/26 and $1,080,000 for FY2026/27). The Human Services Department secured a $525,000 grant from Alameda CTC to support the implementation of Ride-On Tri-City’s! same-day Wheelchair Accessible Van Service. The matching funding and remaining program funding for the project will come from the City of Fremont’s, the City of Newark’s and the City of Union City’s Measure BB direct local distribution funds received from Alameda CTC. The Ride-On Tri-City Mobility Management and Travel Training Programs will be fully funded by the $875,000 PDPG award and $125,000 of the City’s Measure BB direct local distribution funds.
The City’s FY2024/25 Operating Budget includes sufficient appropriations in Fund 252 and Fund 176 for the transportation services described above.
The City’s Measure BB local distribution funding will continue to support the same-day WAV service after the initial pilot period ends in June 2027. City staff are optimistic a bout the ability to secure ongoing funding through Alameda CTC’s Paratransit Discretionary Grant Program. Alameda CTC anticipates that Alameda County will begin distribution of the TNC Access for All funding in the next two years and has identified Fremont’s On-Demand WAV Pilot as “highly eligible” for these funds. The Transportation Network Company Access for All Program was developed by the California Public Utilities Commission in response to SB 1376 (TNC Access for All Act) to address transportation accessibility issues for persons with disabilities. The TNC Access for All funding comes from the $0.10 access fee collected from each completed Transportation Network Company trip originating in California.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to, without limitation, CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2), (4) and/or (5), and/or 15061(b)(3) as an administrative or fiscal activity that has no potential to cause a significant effect on the Council Staff Report (ID # 5241) Meeting of September 3, 2024 Updated: 8/28/2024 2:48 PM by Dina Lewis Page 4
environment, directly or indirectly, each of the foregoing providing a separate and independent basis for CEQA exemption.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a five-year agreement (FY 2024-2029) with Alameda CTC for $875,000 for Ride-On Tri-City’s Mobility Management and Travel Training Program.
2. Approve and authorize the City Manager to execute a three-year agreement (FY 2024-2027) with Alameda CTC for $525,000 for Ride-On Tri-City’s On-Demand WAV Pilot Program.
3. Authorize the City Manager or her designee to execute an agreement with Nomad Transit LLC for the provision of Wheelchair Accessible Van services through June 30, 2027, in an amount not to exceed $2,560,000.
4. Make findings of CEQA exemption.